[tengbretson]

Yes, however a laptop justifies this by unlocking a whole new set of working patterns, whereas an AIO desktop is almost entirely aesthetic.

Furthermore, even though it is all-in-one in nature, a laptop's form factor is small enough that "putting it out to pasture" to live its life as a server with the screen always closed in your media center, or in a closet next to your cable modem is totally feasible.

[innocentoldguy]

I’m still not seeing the difference. I like my iMac because it is a lot easier to transport than a desktop, monitor, and cords. I can also use my old iMacs as servers with the screen in sleep mode, as you suggest with laptops.

Regarding monitors, I used to use self-assembled PCs all the time, and while there was a time where I would use the same monitor across different PCs, I just didn’t do that anymore by the time I bought my first iMac. Because monitor sizes and resolutions get better over the years, I’d typically give my entire computer to someone else and just buy a new monitor to go with my new PC. Maybe others don’t mind looking at an old monitor. To each their own, I guess.