If they care that much about compile time, they would work on a desktop instead of a laptop.

Then the company would issue a desktop and a laptop, since they want engineers to be able to use computers in places other than their desk.

Yep, but then the laptop just becomes a screen and keyboard and can be the cheapest on the market. Remoting into your desktop to code is much more efficient than actually coding on a laptop, especially if you care about compile time. Then you can even set something compiling, shut your laptop and jump on your bike home, and have it done by the time you get there!

...and we're back to trying to convince a penny-wise pound-foolish company to buy twice the computing hardware for every developer.

Or just buy everyone desktops. Honestly I think laptops are completely superfluous for every business I've ever worked at. Nobody is truly getting value out of bringing a laptop to meetings, they just like them.

I think whatever companies you were at just didn't have very effective meetings. There's a time for "laptops down" and there's a time for laptops. If we can't prototype, brainstorm, outline ideas... why even have meetings in the first place?

> why even have meetings in the first place

Exactly. I personally have never been in a meeting which I thought was absolutely necessary. Except maybe new fire regs.

Nope, laptops are just very cheap thin clients to remote onto the desktops with much higher power. This gives the advantage of being able to leave things compiling whilst you shut your laptop at the end of the day.