alt Hacker NewsI remain puzzled why anyone would want to do inference on a laptop if they have a home internet connection and a phone.
If you really want to do DIY inference, plug it in at home and set up tailscale so you can access it on the go.
No huge battery drain or toasty hot laptop required. Lower cost laptop. Lighter laptop. Longer battery life laptop. Win win win win.
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Not everyone grew up in a situation where home was a stable dependable place. Not everyone has a home to go to. If you have it with you, they can't mess with it or take it away from you when you're not there. If you grew up in a broken home, you would understand.
private memory.
unique local data and know how not shared with cloud.
> why anyone would want to do inference on a laptop
Because reviewers tell them this is is a good use case, and people want to take advantage of the HW they buy [0]. Unfortunately those reviewers didn't take any extra step to validate anything beyond the default config, out of the box.
[0] https://arstechnica.com/reviews/2026/10/the-surface-laptop-u...
I have been saying this for years, and the answer hits a nerve that gets you downvoted into oblivion: people prefer the aesthetics of laptops, simple as that. They will absolutely go to the grave arguing that they need the mobility etc, then just leave it plugged in. They simply prefer how laptops look, and they absolutely hate it when someone dares say it.
The RTX Spark is also sold in a mac mini form factor. That's pretty well suited for home inference.