With regard to the iPhone, I really see it as a communication device (voice, email, calendar, address book, & quick interfaces to important info; for instance, maps, todoist, et cetera). That “real” internet stevey j. was talking about is quite a ways off, the iphone needs to have a unique web interface to truly be effective.

Instead of talking about my current setup, I’m going to try to describe my ideal setup (with more emphasis on workflow, rather than data-access). I say this because I know for a fact that are a crapload of holes in the whole single-laptop setup for my workflow, plus I’m always willing to try new things (that’s what she said).

One of the things that I think really matters, is the operating system. In my opinion, which is far from humble, (os x || linux) && laptop is really amazing. Windows on the other hand, I find lacks certain inherent methods of navigation. there are a lot more, but the things that really speed up my flow are expose, spaces, spotlight/quicksilver. I know vista comes with that new search thingy in the start menu, but how many people use it for launching or searching files (this is an honest question, i have yet to see anyone really using it)?

So going back to the ideal setup. I’d say it would be very similar to what phil mentioned, pc+gadget. However, the fact that osx is not really prevalent in labs and society in general, i really need to have access to a full-fledged mac everywhere i go, which I is why i don’t like leaving it at home. I have recently started storing more of my data online, or at least syncing it so i have quick access in case im unablet to access my laptop.

There was more I was going to say, but I’ve been writing this on and off for about 2 days, so I keep forgetting where I left off. I’ll be more succinct next time =P

And I backup stuff on external usb harddrives and offload old stuff when needed. Laptops are becoming preety good desktop replacement machines in terms of computing power and resources nowadays.

PS: I use external keyboard and mouse when docked at home

My reason for getting one was the convenience and portability of it. Labs on campus are all equipped with different OS’s and different software. If you have a laptop, however, then you know exactly what you have and where it is. Storage capacity is small, especially if you dual boot, but a laptop shouldn’t be the main storage hub anyways.

For non-programmers, a laptop-only environment can suffice I’m sure. Laptops have no problem browsing the internet, office software, basic multimedia, etc. The main reasons for a desktop-specific environment are development, gaming, storage, and overall cost. Yeah, you can do all of those on a laptop, it’s just more expensive.

As for programmers, desktops are almost always mandatory. The laptop is just there if you’re really that addicted to your computers

That said, I’ve just ordered what I consider the ultimate portable-as-a-secondary computer, 12″ Powerbook. It’s not powerful but it’s relatively cheap and ultra powerful. What I consider the perfect companion to a big screen, powerful desktop computer. It’ll be interesting to see how I find it.

I’m waiting for a native app for todo as well. EDGE is totally usable if you can avoid all the HTML/CSS/image overhead: MobileMail is delightful to use, while even something as basic as Todoist is not.