Hacker News Reader

Weight matters more if you tend to walk or bike around a lot. Carrying a 6+ lb. mobile workstation from your desk to your car and visa versa isn't much of a burden, but schlepping it around on your back for an hour or more on a regular basis can cause serious back and shoulder pain.

Ergonomics are important when you're either sitting in front of a computer or carrying it on your back for 90% of your waking hours.

View on HN

For me I normally don't care at all how big, bulky or heavy a laptop is until I am traveling/vacationing.

I like to travel light, so it's nice if my laptop is so light and small that rather than needing a whole bag of its own, it can slip comfortably into a bag I was going to bring with me anyway. Being a cheapskate with high tech standards, my solution was the Asus AS1410 (dual core model). For about $100 more than a netbook, you get a laptop with decent specs that's almost netbook sized, but has a keyboard that doesn't hurt to type on, and a much higher resolution display.

Every day I bike with a 4.5 pound MacBook... which (incidentally) weighs the same as my bike lock. That's 9 pounds right there -- with the right bag, you don't even notice it.

But airports... oh my god. What's perfect on a bike is a nightmare when you're walking, standing, and waiting.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com