Back then, workplaces were more static. Today, they are almost-relentlessly dynamic. Work is everywhere, and professional users and businesses cannot afford to have their productivity saddled by the usual trade-off between performance and portability.
Of course, in the past, it was almost impossible to get around making that choice. Professional users could either go with the mobility-factor attached to notebook PCs or the performance-factor attached to desktops. Anything in-between wasn’t so much a hybrid as it was a half-measure. This meant you either lose out financially by buying both a PC and notebook or miss out in productivity by only having one.
Thankfully, this is no longer the case as the usual drawbacks either don’t apply or matter as much. Some might go so far as to say the notebook is the new desktop. The former is no longer just an expensive stop-gap for professional users; it is now the smartest choice on the table.
Safety First
Effective cyber security is - for better or worse - always going to come down to the user’s own actions. However, unlike desktops, notebooks are more compatible to be kitted out with biometric security features like fingerprint sensors (found in the MSI WS63) and facial recognition. There is nothing stopping you from building a composite system for a desktop. However, with notebooks, that added layer of security becomes a seamless one.
Cooling Technology
Over time, the weaknesses of the professional-level notebook experience have only become weaker while the strengths have become stronger. Take for example, heat build-up.
Back then, the discomfort-factor that often made laptops and notebooks less suited for high-end workstation use isn’t really as much of a factor. These days, heat-build up is not exactly extinct. However, it is nowhere near as much on an issue as it used to be - and this has served to make notebook workstations a better fit for everyday usage.
High-end Processing and Graphical Power
High-end processing and graphical power is no longer tied to the desktop. Many high-end notebooks can match to the latter, even in demanding production use-cases. Some, like MSI’s WS63VR, even feature Quadro graphics capabilities. Like the advances that have been made with cooling technology, this only served to raise the ceiling for what a notebook workstation can accomplish. When specs are no longer the obstacle, why wouldn’t you embrace the superior form-factor of a notebook?
Portability
With increased mobility within the workspace, portability is king. In 2017, the idea that work stays within the boundaries of an office has never been more of a falsehood. This trend has compounded the value traditionally imbued to notebook and laptops. Simply put, the need for more mobile workstations has never been greater than it is now, and the value of being able to take your office wherever you went has grown accordingly.
Even Software Giants Have Made the Shift to Notebook Workstations
As a sign of the times and in recognition of that trend, even software giants like Adobe and Autodesk are developing their most popular programs with mobile workstation use in mind. What this means is that hundreds of extra hours of testing are deployed by vendors to ensure notebook workstations like the MSI WS63 are able to tout the ISV-certification and deliver a smooth, responsive and reliable experience for enterprise users.
Conclusion
The notebooks of the past had the right idea, but the technology wasn’t quite there to execute on their potential. Now, it is. The compromises of the old are nowhere to be seen and the software and hardware vendors of today are standing in firm support of the mobile workstation. The notebook workstation is no longer a pipe-dream - it is the dream.
Click here to find out more about MSI's line of workstations.
