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      The UltraLite featured a full-size screen and keyboard but no disk drives or other moving parts! It used battery-backed-up memory to serve as a silicon disk, similar to today’s solid-state drives (SSDs). The silicon disk stored 1 or 2MB of data – which was plenty back in those days.

      As was required of all laptops, the UltraLite featured a modem, and it could talk with a desktop computer by using a special cable. Included with the UltraLite was software that would let it easily exchange files and programs with a desktop PC.

      The weight? Yes, the UltraLite lived up to its name and weighed in at just under 5 pounds – a feather compared to the obese laptops of the day. And the battery lasted a whopping two hours, thanks mostly to the UltraLite’s lack of moving parts.

      Modern Laptops

      As technology careened headlong into the 21st century, it became apparent that computer users were desperate for three things from their laptops – in addition to the basic PC compatibility, portability, and communications features that had long ago been deemed must-have items:

      Over time, all these qualities were achieved – at a price. Today, the holy grail of a lightweight, PC-compatible laptop that boasts a long battery life isn’t elusive; it’s just expensive!

      The modern PC laptop is dubbed a notebook. It can sport a full-size keyboard and numeric keypad but often has a compact keyboard. The notebook weighs in anywhere from 2 to 6 pounds, and the battery lasts somewhere between 4 to 6 hours.

      The rest of the typical notebook is similar to a desktop PC: LCD screen, wired and wireless networking. Some systems even sport an optical drive (CD and DVD). Putting all these features into a laptop computer gives you today’s notebook.

      Human laps aren’t getting any smaller. Human eyes can comfortably read text that’s only so big. Most important, human fingers have trouble with keyboards that are too tiny. Despite these limitations, a popular notebook category is the subnotebook, which is the smallest, lightest, and most portable type of laptop.

Several kinds of subnotebooks are available, such as the Ultrabook, netbook, and the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). Each of these offers compromises on the notebook design, primarily to accommodate for the smaller size and weight. Figure 1-7 illustrates a typical netbook computer.

       Figure 1-7: The eensy-weensy netbook PC.

The tablet PC

      Computer manufacturers have long attempted to create the electronic equivalent of a pencil and pad of paper – a very expensive pencil and pad of paper. Basically, what they’re after is a portable computer with a monitor but no keyboard. Data is input by using a digital stylus to write directly on the screen.

      Over the years, this digital triptych has had various names attached to it: the PenGo computer, the Apple Newton, Pen Windows, and eventually the tablet PC.

      The tablet PC can be one of two things. First, it can be a traditional laptop or notebook, but one that features a touchscreen interface. The screen can even bend and twist to cover the keyboard. This type of system might also be called a convertible laptop.

An even lighter and thinner version of the tablet PC exists, such as the Microsoft Surface shown in Figure 1-8. These computers are essentially laptops without a keyboard, although the keyboard is often included as a type of cover.

       Figure 1-8: A tablet PC.

      Tablet PCs can offer pen input by using a digital pen or stylus. This device effectively brings the laptop quest full circle to a pad of paper and pencil, although fully entrenched in the digital realm.

      ✔ Don’t confuse the tablet PC with mobile devices, such as the iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab. A tablet PC differs from these gizmos in that it offers features associated with traditional computers and, thanks to a keyboard, fully substitutes as a laptop computer.

      ✔

The ancients used something called a tabulae ceratea to write temporary messages. Every Greek or Roman schoolboy took with him to class a folding wooden tablet. Its insides were coated with a black wax. Using a stylus (basically a stick), the student would write into the wax, again and again. Oh, we’ve truly come such a long way.

      Chapter 2

      A Laptop of Your Own

       In This Chapter

      ▶ Deciding whether you need a laptop

      ▶ Buying a laptop

      ▶ Ignoring things when buying a laptop

      ▶ Choosing software for your laptop

      ▶ Finding the right laptop hardware

      ▶ Getting service, support, and warranty

      ▶ Buying your laptop

      When you go out to buy something new and scary, like a computer or floor-vacuuming robot, it helps to know two things. First, it helps to identify what you want to do with the new thing. Second, it helps to know as much as possible about what you’re buying.

      For a laptop, you probably want freedom and portability, if not the social status that comes with being a smart, handsome laptop owner. For a floor-vacuuming robot, the only thing that you mustn’t do is alter its programming so that it suddenly becomes hellbent on enslaving your family. Therefore, comparatively speaking, buying a laptop is far less risky.

      Do You Need a Laptop?

      The dream of portable computing has been realized. Laptops in all their glorious variety are everywhere.

      As a consumer, and as someone who needs a computer in order to survive in the 21st century, the question is simple: Do you need a laptop?

      As you might guess, if the answer were “No,” this book would be a lot thinner.

Why you need a laptop

      I can think of several reasons for getting a laptop computer:

      To have a laptop as your main computer

      A desktop computer cannot pretend to be a laptop, but a laptop can certainly fake being a desktop: You can use a full-size keyboard and monitor with your laptop. You can also connect any number of popular desktop peripherals, such as a printer, a scanner, or external storage.

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