PORTABILITY VS.

PRODUCTIVITY
• There is a wide range of mobile computing devices available in
the market today, from smartphones to laptops, and there is as
much variety in the sizes they come in.
• In fact, there might be too much choice that trying to decide
which one to buy can be pretty paralyzing. With most of the
specs being equal, it sometimes comes down finding the right
size finding your need.
• Portability and productivity are two terms that may translate
to different things for different people.
• Portability, in general, refers to how conveniently you can carry
a device around with you. Often it refers primarily to the size of
the device, whether it can easily fit in a bag or in your pocket.
• Portability sometimes also refers to the weight of the device.
Fortunately, these days you can have a larger device that isn’t
as heavy, but it isn’t always the case.
• On the other hand, productivity refers to whether you can
accomplish your intended task on the device. Now this gets a
bit more personal because different people have different work
requirements and work in different ways.
• In the final analysis, however, it can be simplified also to
considerations on size, whether you have enough screen to
work with, and weight, when it comes to hardware features
packed inside.
1. LAPTOPS
- when it comes to matters of portability and productivity, laptops
almost always comes to mind. They are, after all, the epitome of portable
productivity as far as computers go.
- but laptop also cause some of the biggest debates between the two ends
of spectrum. How big is too big? How small can you go? What is the perfect
size?
- as might have guessed, there is no perfect answer other than “it
depends”. Fortunately, the criteria for that is a bit clearer cut in laptops.
- most laptops these days fall into 12/13, 15, or 17 inch size, with very few
going to smaller or even larger sizes.
- so when it comes to productivity, the decision usually revolves around
screen real estate and keyboard layout.
- the portability side is a bit tougher. A true gaming laptop, for example,
will never be as lightweight and thin as a MacBook Air.
2. PHONES
- the situation with smartphone has curiously become less convoluted and
almost straightforward.
- hardware is more standardized and more uniform in the smartphone market.
Weight and thickness is no longer a function of a hardware but of the design.
- the new question will be how much you’re willing to pay for a smartphone
and whether you want to still squeeze one into your slim jeans’ pocket. And, no,
smartphones are never going to get smaller.
3. TABLETS
- the tablet market, in stark contrast, is like the Wild West. Yes, their numbers
are dwindling but the few that are left are so varied and so different that it’s
actually harder to choose.
- there are different operating systems to choose from a different form factors
and different form factors to fit different needs. It is also in tablets that the tug of
war between portability and productivity is at its peak.
NECESSITY
VS.
LUXURY
• Books and articles about living on a personal budget often emphasize
the importance of cutting spending on luxuries. They say that cutting
out “frivolous” expenses, you can save thousands each year.
• It’s pretty clear that the items like portable TV really are luxuries, while
expenses like rent and utility bills are necessities. However, in other
cases, the line between luxuries and necessities isn’t so clear.
• For example, is a daily newspaper a necessity because you need to stay
informed, or is it a luxury because you can read news online for free? Is
a cell phone plan a luxury because you already have a landline, or is it a
necessity because you need to keep in touch with your work contacts at
all times?
• As it turns out, the answer to these question isn’t absolutely clear- cut.
Economists, pollsters, and business owners have different ways of
drawing the line between necessities and luxuries – and that line can
actually move over time.
• NECESSITY is an “indispensable things” – something that
everyone needs such as food, water, shelter, and clothing.
• Yet even within those categories, there’s a surprising amount of
wiggle room. For instance, you need food to live, but that doesn’t
mean you need a gourmet meal at a five-star restaurant. Or you
need shoes to protect your feet, but that doesn’t mean you need a
$400 pair of Italian leather boots.
• Over the past decade, Gallup polls have tracked Americans’ access
to “basic necessities”. Gallup’s list of basic necessities includes 13
items, which can be grouped into three broad categories:
1. Food
2. Housing
3. Health
• On the other hand, if necessity is something that everybody needs, it
seems logical that a luxury must be something that nobody really needs,
but many people want.
• However, the dictionary definition goes a little bit further than this. It says
a luxury is “an inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to
obtain”
• Note that this definition has two parts. A luxury isn’t just something
that’s desirable – it also has to be expensive. This suggest that luxuries
are valuable not just for the enjoyment they provide, but also a sign of
status.
• For example, a fur coat is valuable partly because it’s nice and warm, and
an iPod is valuable because you can store all your favourite tunes on it.
However, another part of what makes these items desirable is high price
tags. Because not everyone can afford them, owning one is a way to show
your wealth and position to the world.
• The line between necessities and luxuries isn’t rigid. It changes over
time as new goods enter the market or become obsolete. It also
depends on what’s seen as normal – not just the world, but in your
own social group.
• This means that what’s a clear luxury for one person could be seen as
normal – even necessary – to another. If your friends have cars and you
don’t have, a car could be luxury. But if everyone you know has a car,
it may become necessity.
• None of this means that spending on luxuries, in itself, a bad or dumb
idea. After all, luxuries aren’t just for showing off – they’re also
valuable because they’re high- quality items that looks better, feel
better, or last longer than ordinary goods.
• Allowing yourself a few luxuries in your life – as long as you can
afford them and you get genuine pleasure out of them – is a way to
reward yourself for your hard work.
• The important thing is to be able to recognize the difference
between luxuries and necessity. Knowing what a necessity is
and what a luxury for your personal situation is helps you
figure out what to cut if you ever have to tighten your belt.
• And, at the same time, it helps you appreciate the luxuries more
when you can afford them.