For a long time now I've worked on my trusty black MacBook. Bought back in 2008, it has served me well for the last four years. Now though it's starting to get a bit slow and my need for a more modern computer to develop on is growing on a daily basis.

I abandoned the idea of ever having a desktop computer again about ten years. I had an extremely ugly desktop PC with an equally ugly monitor. I never wanted to see anything like it again, and my next purchase was a laptop to replace it. However ten years in technology is a long time, and I'm starting to consider a desktop again as my main development machine.

Working from home means that I need some that is powerful enough for day to day development, but if I was ever needed to work on site I need the flexibility of being mobile. I was considering going just for a powerful laptop and using that at home and on location, but wielding such a machine about might be a bit cumbersome. I would prefer to carry a smaller laptop about with me if and when I needed it.

Technology decisions such as this are never easy and everyone has their own preferences. In an ideal world I would have a powerful laptop that was lightweight and easy to carry about, but even today such a machine doesn't exist unless you are prepared to go all out on the latest MacBook Air with every upgrade possible. For the price of that I could get a decent desktop and laptop for just a little more. The best of both worlds.

I'm still on the fence about my decision and I won't be making it in a hurry, well just as long as my little black MacBook will keep going.