I think you laptop bashers are nuts!<g>
I have two desktops and one laptop. I've had a laptop since 1993. I don't travel. I seldom take my laptop anywhere. So why would I never, ever be without a laptop?
Because it unchains me from the desktop! I spend just about every evening sitting on a comfy rocking chair in the living room with my feet up while I watch TV and do my e-mail, forums, and Web browsing. I have enough Ethernet connections around the house so that I can sit anywhere, or even out on the deck, and be connected to the Net.
Yes, laptops cost more, comparatively, than desktops, but not so much these days. You can get a perfectly adequate laptop anytime for $450 US or less. Yes, if something goes wrong, you probably need a pro to fix it. You just have to keep your fingers crossed that you don't have a problem, and there's a good chance that you won't.
I don't like touchpads. Instead, I use a regular USB mouse. I use the laptop on a small lap desk and there is enough room for the mouse. If you're traveling light, there actually is enough space on the part between the keyboard and the front of the laptop to run a wireless notebook mouse if you have to use the laptop on your lap. Or use the touchpad in those circumstances. If you turn off "tap to click" the touchpad isn't so bad.
As for LCDs, I much prefer them to CRTs because they seem to be brighter, so easier for my aging eyes to see. I can't stand the way CRTs take up SO MUCH space and they also give off a lot of heat. Right now my two desktops have LCDs and the laptop does, too, of course. lagagnon: "CRT screens still have much faster response time than any LCD and thus fast action gaming is still much easier on the eyes on a CRT." LCDs have become much faster and I don't think CRTs are *much* easier on the eyes now. That used to be true.
The fact that I cared enough to bother to write this should tell you something because I've been afflicted with what is probably gout in the lower knuckle of my left little finger. Very painful. To reduce pain caused by movement we immobilized my little finger. After 50 years of touch typing, having no use of my left little finger is difficult and I'm making lots of typing mistakes. Fortunately, the finger is much better today and I should be able to remove the splint in a couple of days.
--GrannyGeek