It's infuriating how fast we went from "if you have a computer because you can afford one at all" to "if you have a computer because you even bother to use one in the age of smartphones"
Laptop keyboards are, as someone said, like running barefoot on cement: you can do it for short periods, but if you do it for a long time you start feeling the effects. I need to use a full width keyboard to be confortable programming. And not any full width keyboard; I need the ones where the keys are sculpted and their curvature varies (like the inside of a sphere) depending of the position of the keyboard. That way I can have a good feedback of the position of my fingers, again, without needing to watch the keyboard. If I'm going to connect a full keyboard to a laptop, I may well get a full desktop computer.
Why a desktop:
if something craps out, is easier to change individual components in a desktop.
my current desk is overcrowded and also is not designed to house a laptop and an additional monitor
I despise using laptops for gaming and for anything that doesn't require mobility. My serious computing is static, not mobile. My work provides me a laptop, but I can easily work from home, and also they don't provide desktops. For my own machine, my choice is desktop, period.
I am a touch typist and laptop keyboards are fine. I haven't tried keyboards with weird curvatures but most desktop keyboards are too wide if you don't have big hands.
I can see the first point about repairability but it's not really something you can't do without and is the price to pay for mobility (which is something that could be considered essential). If you use a laptop with full peripherals, it can act as a desktop when there is no space but you can't do the opposite :p
I am a touch typist and laptop keyboards are fine.
Were in violent disagreement, then.
repairability [...] it's not really something you can't do without
Being able to disregard e-waste and discarding a whole machine when something fails is a privilege that not everyone has. If you leave in a wasteful country whose society benefits from the wealth produced by destroying other countries, I can understand the mental blindness.
is the price to pay for mobility (which is something that could be considered essential)
For whom? For me it's certainly not.
If you use a laptop with full peripherals, it can act as a desktop when there is no space
A laptop with many peripherals tends to occupy nor horizontal space, not less. And the fragile hubs needed for expansion are a frequent point of breakage.
@Blaze is right, that most people's personal computer scope of usage doesn't reach far beyond scrolling through Facebook and paying bills once a month. A phone is perfectly well fit for that. Tech-savvy nerds of Lemmy such as myself or you have more requirements and scenarios where they need a more comfortable, powerful and capable device.