Two thoughts - first, bringing recipes into a software program (whatever it is) is a pain when you first get started, no doubt. But there are ways to ameliorate that. First, you can choose a program that lets you automatically download recipes from top recipe sites. Second, you can enter recipes as you make them, rather than try to sit down and do them all at once.
Second, about the safety of using the laptop in the kitchen. You definitely want to think this through and take precautions. In my kitchen, there is an opening between the kitchen and the dining room. There is a ledge wide enough to support my computer, but it is not used or designed for food prep, and it is not near the stove, sink, or even a countertop used for prep. It is as safe there as it is anywhere. I'm thinking about the kitchens of other people I know - and I can actually see safe places for laptops in most of them. A little bit of counter that's not used for prep and isn't adjacent to a sink or stove would be just fine, as long as that counter wasn't also being used for prep or too close to a prep area that it's susceptible to spills, splashes, etc. My software has something called "chef view" that brings up a very plain, high contrast window with huge type that I can see from across the room. I bring this up only because this doesn't have to be a deal breaker for someone thinking about using their computer to store recipes, provided they think out a safe location for their laptop.