Ports on side rather than back...

[Magic Man]

My Inspiron that I bought last year has power jack, ethernet, modem, VGA and a couple of USB ports on the back relying only on the side for flash card, a couple more USBs, svideo and a firewire port.

Looking around at new laptops it seems to be that more and more are opting to litter the sides with ports as opposed to using the back. Is it just me that doesn't like this?

Running mine from the adaptor with a webcam and a spacenavigator plugged in with also potentially a second screen attached I can do all this without wires trailing from the sides that get in the way of mouse areas etc. as well as look ugly. Any reason why manufacturers are doing this?

Any recommendations for laptop ranges that still put the main connections (at least power jack and ethernet port) on the back...?

 

[fish99]

My Vostro 1500 has the power input and 2 USBs on the back, and these are the only ports I use. I also really appreciate not having wires sticking out the sides.

 

[malcolm]

I've just bought my first 'web-book', the Advent 4211, a clone of the MSI Wind, which has all of it's ports around the sides. The reason is clear, the case is too small for ports at the back, but it becomes a mess when you use all those ports.