[FRIAM] Desktop & Laptop Coordination

[Owen Densmore]

Well, its time to get a new mac.  I've got a 17" powerbook, so the  
obvious solution is to get a  macbook pro when the next batch comes out.

But I'm kinda thinking about a desktop instead.  I can keep the  
powerbook chugging along for another year, maybe two.  And get now a  
killer desktop.

So the question comes up: for FRIAMers having both a laptop and a  
desktop: what is your strategy for keeping the two in synch?  Or do  
you bother -- instead doing some sorts of things on the desktop, and  
other stuff on the desktop, with a small intersection.

A lot of my work is could really benefit by having great  
performance.  For example, here's a prototype applet for studying  
stadium evacuation:
   http://www.backspaces.net/models/Stadium/applet/
You can change the settings via the keyboard, and navigate the 3D  
space via the mouse.  To really make it struggle, type "f" to bring  
in a real stadium, then "0" to make a 100K agents.  I get about 1.4  
fps.  To really slow it down further, hit "s" twice which makes the  
shape be a 3D box.  This can crawl along at around .5 fps or so.

I went into our local apple shop and it seemed to me that I could  
double that with the latest hardware, with the desktops doing even  
better.

So just interested what folks do who still have desktops and laptops  
both.

     -- Owen

Owen Densmore    505-988-3787 http://backspaces.net
Redfish Group:   505-995-0206 http://redfish.com  http://friam.org/