I simply can't work to the same productivity on a laptop as I can with my desktop. I would absolutely love to, and I am envious of those that are (or believe they are) just as productive on a macbook air as they would be on say a 27" iMac with another monitor.
I really hope to attain that level of productivity and mobility, and I understand that some output is better than no output--When I am working I want to be using the best tools I can reasonably afford, and that for me is a desktop with a few monitors and plenty of space to spread things out.
Now when they release a high-res macbook pro I might get one, but for now I am sticking to a desktop.
Thunderbolt pretty much gives you the best possible compromise these days. Granted, no laptop will give you the power of a desktop, but if you can get by with less power, Thunderbolt lets turn your MBP or Air into a high screen real-estate workstation with mouse/keyboard/speakers/fast storage by plugging a single cable.
To me the ability to pull up my laptop and go work somewhere else for a few hours, or have my main workstation with me at conferences, etc is well worth sacrificing some power. Sure I can make use of multiple large displays, but I can do a lot of work without them without losing much efficiency. For stuff like design where I really need it, I can wait til I get home.
Sounds too good to be true, and it is. I tried this exact same setup and the noise the new MBP (was a 15" model) make when not even under full load is nothing i wanted to experience all day. It also got really hot in the upper keyboard area.. I those issues werent there, it would indeed be perfect.
I really hope to attain that level of productivity and mobility, and I understand that some output is better than no output--When I am working I want to be using the best tools I can reasonably afford, and that for me is a desktop with a few monitors and plenty of space to spread things out.
Now when they release a high-res macbook pro I might get one, but for now I am sticking to a desktop.