Outlet addicts: Laptop owners who don't get the concept

(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

In the early days of laptops, battery life was horrible. Many of them would struggle to get two hours on a charge — and that was freshly out of the box. As those batteries aged, and it didn't take very long, those two hours would turn into one, or less. This short battery life conditioned users to never get too far from a power outlet, and we rarely used the laptop without plugging it in.

Fast forward a few years and the situation has vastly improved. Most laptops can last at least five hours on a charge. The days of racing from one power outlet to the next are behind us.

So why do so many laptop owners still plug in no matter where they are?

Outlet addicts admit to me that they get downright anxious if they can't find an outlet, even if their battery is full. They go from venue to venue, plugging in the laptop everywhere they land.

It's that conditioning in years past that turned a lot of laptop owners into what I refer to as outlet addicts. These folks immediately scope out a power outlet when they go mobile and arrange their work space around it. Even if they have to precariously perch their precious laptop to reach the outlet, then that's what they do. They will even string the power cord dangerously (often for fellow patrons) to reach the far-flung outlet. It doesn't matter how short a time they plan to work in a particular place, if the laptop is out of the bag, it is immediately plugged in.

You've no doubt seen this quite a bit if you work in public venues a lot. Like me, you've probably assumed that their battery was nearly empty and they desperately needed to top it off to get through the day. That's the only reasonable explanation for going to all the trouble to get plugged in, even exposing the laptop to possible accidents. Some will even ask patrons close to an outlet to change places with them.

I'll bet when traveling that you've seen more than one laptop user sitting on the floor next to what seems to be the only power outlet in the entire airport terminal. They've got the laptop propped on their knee or luggage, with the cord tethered to the precious outlet. Appearances are that they are charging their depleted battery so that they can work on the plane.

The truth is often quite different. I regularly ask these laptop owners in airports or other public venues if their battery is running low. More often than not, I am told that the battery is in fact full. They are just plugging in to keep it topped off just in case they can't find an outlet somewhere later.

Reality is that they rarely use the laptop in the manner for which it is designed, to work untethered on battery power. That conditioning mentioned earlier is in full force in outlet addicts, and they always have an overwhelming need to plug in. Some of them admit to me that they get downright anxious if they can't find an outlet, even if their battery is full. They go from venue to venue, plugging in the laptop everywhere they land. Just in case.

To be fair, those with older laptops may need to plug in as their old battery probably doesn't last very long. When I mention that my laptop gets six or seven hours on a charge, these folks get a wistful look and invariably comment that if theirs could do that, they'd never need an outlet. When I confess I never bring a power adapter with me on day trips, some of them get a look of panic at the thought.

I suspect that many of these laptop users are true outlet addicts, though. I'll bet they'd be plugging in all the time, even if they had a new laptop with six-plus hours of battery life. I see it happening all the time with new laptops tethered. Anxiety is an angry master.

I am convinced that this fear of running out of power on the laptop has been a driving force behind the rapid adoption of tablets. It's very uncommon to see any tablet user plugging in at public venues, thanks to the extended battery life the devices provide. When asked, a common reason given by tablet owners for switching to the tablet from a laptop is the battery life. The tablet has relieved the anxiety caused by the laptop. No outlet required.

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Android laptop? No! Give us Android apps on Chromebooks instead

An Asian source that often shares rumors that have no basis in fact recently put one out there about upcoming Android laptops. I'm not linking to it, as it's not a news report; it's pure conjecture. It's also a very silly idea on all fronts.

(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

A laptop running Android would offer nothing of benefit to consumers or the enterprise. The OS is designed for phones with small screens, and tablets with slightly larger ones that are totally operated by touch. As good as Android is on those devices, it would not be of much use on a laptop as the primary OS.

We already have Android tablets with laptop docks, like the Transformer line from Asus. These tablets are quite nice for occasional use in the dock as a laptop stand-in, but not as full-time laptops. While a few Android apps work fine on these hybrids in laptop mode, most really need a tablet form to be useful. That's lost on a pure laptop form.

An Android laptop would certainly need a touchscreen to even use most apps. The only apps that would be feasible to use on a laptop are those that scale up to a larger screen; there are quite a few that do, but far more that don't. There would need to be a way to find "laptop" apps in the Play Store, and even that would be hit and miss.

There are some good office suite apps on Android that would open the chromebook up to the enterprise market. While not real Office, these apps go a long way to replacing Microsoft's suite for many.

No, Android laptops won't serve any users that aren't already covered well by existing products. What I'd rather see Google make happen is bring Android apps to the chromebook.

With the first touch chromebook already on the market, it makes far more sense to bring Android apps to Chrome OS. These apps would extend the already useful OS by opening it up to the thousands of apps already out there. While many of the apps wouldn't be a good fit for the laptop form, quite a few others would work just fine.

There are some good office suite apps on Android that would open the chromebook up to the enterprise market. While not real Office, these apps go a long way toward replacing Microsoft's suite for many. Chromebooks could waltz right into the enterprise with ease if they could run Android apps.

The enterprise angle aside, chromebooks with Android apps would have outstanding entertainment options. There are lots of good games and media apps on Android that would be right at home on the chromebook touchscreen.

Chromebooks are solid devices without Android, and I'm not suggesting they need the apps to be useful. But if you have a choice to run the apps, then why not?

I'm happy with the Chromebook Pixel I am using, as it is a fine laptop. But when I think of it adding Android apps to the mix, it would be outstanding.

This would be the case of adding utility to an existing group of products, and that's always a good thing. Making an Android laptop that doesn't provide any utility not already possible with existing products serves no purpose. So please, Google, we don't need Android laptops. Give us chromebooks with Android instead.

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