Notebook Handouts Section 2

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Chapter 2. Portable PC Overview: Types and Features

Types and Classes of Portable Computers

Major Features

Types and Classes of Portable Computers

The evolution of portables over the past 20 years shows a continual trend in

miniaturization. While the general appearance of desktop computers has notsubstantially changed much since 1985, the portable computer industry has

spawned several new classes of computers. In general, each new class is smallerthan the previous one. The end result is that computers with as much power asfull-sized desktop systems can now fit into handheld or notebook-sized portables.

At least seven different categories of portable computers have appeared on themarket. Today, while there are individual or niche market exceptions, only fourmain categories of PC-compatible portable computers remain popular:

Laptops/notebooks

Subnotebooks/ultraportables/ultralights Tablets Handhelds/palmtops

In general, as new, smaller classes appear, the older and larger classes become

extinct. The laptop/notebook category, however, has not been replaced by asmaller category and instead has proved so powerful and useful that it continuesto be the most popular class by far in the portable computer industry.

Laptops Versus Notebooks

The dividing line between what we might call a laptop or notebook system was

always somewhat poorly defined, and in fact today the terms are completely

synonymous. While the marketing departments in the computer manufacturershave overwhelmingly decided to call all of their laptops notebooks, most peoplecontinue to use the more readily understood term laptop instead.

The definition of a laptop computer is fairly simple, a laptop is any portablecomputer featuring a clamshell design (where the screen and keyboard are

hinged together), which is also small and light enough that it is capable of beingused on one's lap. To that definition, most people would add the requirement thatthe system should be capable of running on internal batteries.

The definition of a notebook computer is unfortunately much less clear. Originally,notebook computers were just that, computers the size of a paper notebook. In

other words, they had to be about 8.5 inches wide by 11 inches tall. They alsohad a fixed display, which means the system did not feature a hinged clamshelldesign like a laptop. Eventually, the marketing departments of the various

computer companies began using the term notebook to apply to notebook-sizedlaptops, meaning systems that incorporated the hinged clamshell design.Eventually, they began using the term notebook on systems that were larger than

a true notebook, but having a weight below some arbitrary figure like six pounds.

Finally, all size and weight distinctions were dropped, and the marketers simplybegan to use the term notebook to describe all of their laptops. Perhaps theythought that calling them notebooks was sexier than laptops and somehowimplied that the systems were smaller and lighter than they really were?


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In any case, today's laptops have become high-end machines, offering featuresand performance comparable to a desktop system. Compare that to the original

generation of laptop systems, which normally didn't even have a hard drive.Indeed, many high-performance laptops are now being issued to users as theirsole computer, even if their only form of travel is to go from home to the officeand back. Active-matrix displays as large as 17 inches, up to 2GB or more RAM,

and hard drives of up to 160GB or more in size are all but ubiquitous, with

virtually all systems now carrying fast DVD+/-RW or CD-RW drives, onboardspeakers, and connectivity options that enable the use of an external display,

high-speed storage, and a surround sound systems. Most models now includewireless Wi-Fi network capabilities as standard equipment as well.

Sub notebooks: The End of a Trend?

The evolution of laptops has followed an interesting path. As the internal

components of laptops continued to shrink in size, of course, so did the size oflaptops themselves.

Eventually, the sizes shrunk to a weight of less than 3 pounds, and thus a newcategory was born the sub notebook. But a small size meant a small keyboard

and screen, which further meant that the sub notebook could be difficult to use.Despite some initial excitement for these systems, they failed to attract a

significant following, and the category was soon abandoned. At long last, portablecomputers had become so small that some of them were now too small.

Nevertheless, the idea of a highly portable laptop was too good to let die. As

components continued to decrease in size, it soon became possible to design alaptop that was both lightweight and reasonably powerful. But instead of adoptingthe tainted name of sub notebook, these systems were now given the new nameof ultra light, a category that will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.

The Many Types of Laptops/Notebooks

As laptops and notebook computers became increasingly popular, manufacturersbegan to segment the market. As with most products, one of the primary ways to

segment the market was by price. Most manufacturers thus began offering threelines of laptops according to price: high-end, medium, and bargain-basement orvalue.

Another way to segment the portable market was in terms of size and weight. Inmany cases, the smallest and lightest laptop was also the most expensivebecause it was using the latest components. But often users actually preferredheavier systems.

Today, most manufacturers segment the market into up to five classes: desktop

replacement/gaming laptops, mainstream laptops, value laptops, thin & light

laptops, and ultra light laptops. Some might combine the mainstream and valuesystems into a single category, or likewise combine the thin & light and ultra lightinto a single category as well. A small group of companies specialize in an

additional class: ruggedized laptops. Table 2.1 compares the basic dimensionsand costs associated with the most popular types of laptops.


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Table 2.1. Typical Characteristics and Price Ranges for Various Types of Laptops

Laptop Type Weight (lbs.) Thickness (in.) Display Size (in.) Price Range

Desktop replacement 6.08.0 1.52.0 1517 $1,000$4,000

Mainstream 6.08.0 1.52.0 1415 $1,000$2,500

Value 6.08.0 1.52.0 1415 $500$1,500

Thin & light 4.55.5 1.01.5 12 $1,000$3,000

Ultra light 3.04.0 0.81.2 710 $1,000$3,000

Table 2.2 list the typical processors, maximum memory, and maximum hard drive

capacities found in the various types of laptops.

Table 2.2. Typical Processors, Maximum Memory, and Maximum Hard Drive CapacitiesAvailable for the Different Laptop Types

Laptop Type Typical Processors

Maximum Memory

(GB)

Maximum Hard Drive Size

(GB)Desktop replacement Pentium 4 4 160

Pentium M

Athlon 64

Turion

Mainstream Pentium 4 2 120

Pentium M

Celeron M

Athlon 64

Turion

Sempron

Value Pentium 4 2 100

Pentium M

Celeron M

Celeron

Athlon 64

Turion

Sempron

Thin & light Pentium M 2 80

Celeron M

Turion

Sempron

Ultra light Pentium M 1 60

Celeron M

Turion

Sempron


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The various laptop form factors are described in more detail in the following

sections. Note that these designations can be somewhat vague, and the

marketing departments in most companies like to come up with their own termsfor what they think a particular system might conform to.

Desktop Replacements

Desktop replacements are the heavy-weight division of the laptop family. Laptops

of this class are very similar in size and weight to the original laptops. Theytypically weigh between 7 and 12 pounds or more and are usually large enough

to accommodate the largest laptop displays available, now 1517 inches measureddiagonally.

As the name implies, the desktop-replacement system is designed to have mostof the power and features of a typical desktop computer. This eliminates the needfor a user to have both a desktop and portable, which saves quite a bit of money.

These laptops generally have two or three data-storage drives: A large hard drive

and an optical drive of some type (usually a DVD drive or a combination DVD/CD-RW drive) are usually included as standard; plus in some cases an optional thirddrive bay might be available as well. Because all these drives employ rotatingstorage media, they are frequently referred to as spindles. Thus, most desktop

replacement laptops have historically been referred to as two- or three-spindlesystems. Note, however, that because of the decreasing use of floppy disks,many vendors are no longer bundling floppy drives as standard equipment andonly offer them as $50 external USB attached options. This, combined with the

emphasis on reducing size, weight, and power consumption, has also causedvirtually all three-spindle designs to be discontinued. As such, most moderndesktop-replacement laptops are now two-spindle designs, with the second drive

contained in a swappable media bay with optional optical drives or hard drivecarriers available to plug in.

Desktop-replacement laptops either come standard with top-of-the-line

components or have them available as options. This means the fastest mobileprocessors, the largest amounts of memory and hard drive storage, and the best

mobile video accelerators. Table 2.2 shows how the components in these laptopscompare with those in other categories.

These systems generally de-emphasize battery life and power-conservingtechnology in favor of desktop type processors and video components, makingthem more suitable for gaming and multimedia applications. Many desktop

replacements are being positioned in the market as gaming or multimediasystems suitable for delivering presentations on the road. Because of theirgreater weight, these laptops leave the desk only in the company of salespeopleand other travelers who absolutely require the features they provide.

To use them as a desktop replacement, you can equip many laptops with adocking station (or a less expensive port replicator) that functions as the user's"home base," enabling connection to a network and the use of a full-size monitorand keyboard. For someone who travels frequently, this arrangement often works

better than separate desktop and portable systems, on which data mustcontinually be kept in sync.


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Mainstream Laptops

People who buy large numbers of laptops are interested in the best combination

of functionality and price. As with the thin & light laptops, the compo entry of amainstream laptop does not have to be of the latest and greatest vintage, but

neither does the laptop have to be very light? The main goal is low price. Thelaptops have to be relatively powerful, but any component that is not absolutely

essential is left out.

To cut costs, mainstream laptops use average-size displays (today, 14 or 15

inches in diagonal), lower capacity hard drives, and include an average amount ofRAM. Floppy drives have universally been eliminated from virtually all modernlaptops; however, most manufacturers enable users to attach (and optionallyboot from) an external USB floppy drive if necessary.

Because they are two-spindle systems and do not need space for a large display,

these laptops can be significantly smaller and lighter than the desktop-replacement systems.

Value Laptops

Value laptops are designed to appeal to people who require only a minimum level

of performance. These laptops are designed to sell at low prices. To create theirvalue line, some manufacturers simply take a variation of their existing

mainstream laptops and configure them only with the most affordablecomponents available. Some value laptops are stripped-down models with only

the barest minimum of components. Value systems may be two generationsbehind the high-end laptops when it comes to performance and features. For

example, it is quite common for value laptops to use Intel Celeron or AMDSempron processors, which sacrifice performance for price when compared tohigher powered CPUs. Nevertheless, the absolute decrease in functionality

between successive generations of processors and other features is actually quitesmall. Although low-cost processors may have clock speeds only half that of the

latest generation of CPUs, the actual performance difference may be substantiallysmaller. As the name implies, these laptops can represent a good value for thecustomer.

Value systems generally use chipsets with integrated graphics, which also sharessome of the main memory for graphics use. Also, these laptops are invariablyequipped with the smallest hard drives available these days, 40GB, with largerdrives as an optional upgrade. They also generally use the slowest 4200 rpm

drives, which causes significantly longer boot and hibernation/resume times aswell as slower operation reading and writing files in general. Some may includewireless networking as standard equipment, but the lowest cost models may offerwireless as an extra cost upgrade.

Thin & Light Laptops

Many users do not need to carry the equivalent of a desktop around with them.

They especially do not want to carry around something that weighs close to 10pounds. For these users, manufacturers have come up with the thin & light classof laptops, which attempts to combine an optimum amount of portability andfunctionality.


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As the name suggests, this category of laptops keeps a low profile, generallyabout an inch in height. Likewise, its weight is relatively low, typically around 5pounds.

Despite the low weight, these laptops can pack a considerable amount of power

and incorporate numerous features. The processor is usually one generationremoved from the fastest available, but this penalizes performance by only a

small amount. The available memory and hard drive capacity are similarlyreduced but still highly capable. Also, to fit into a 1-inch profile, these laptopsrequire the thinnest available optical drives. Therefore, the latest and greatestcombination rewritable drives may not be an option.

Ultra lights

Sometimes it seems you cannot keep a good idea down. The original lightweight

laptops called sub notebooks never caught on with the public, and by the late

1990s most manufacturers had abandoned this segment. There was always,however, a group of highly mobile workers who needed the lightest functionallaptop possible. Fortunately, by the turn of the century, mobile technology hadcaught up with them.

With the advent of tiny 1.8-inch hard disk drives, laptop designers could now

design a highly functional laptop that weighed less than 3 or 4 pounds. Floppieswere now completely unnecessary because most input and output was done via anetwork or USB connection. Even CD-ROM drives were less crucial. Largeprogram or data files could be easily downloaded over a local network or USB

connection. The only problem with this category of lightweight laptops was itsname. The term sub notebook had negative connotations as an inferiortechnology. Thus was born the ultra light category.

The typical ultra light weighs no more than 3 or 4 pounds and is generally no

larger than 8.5x11 inches in size. The most desirable characteristic particularlyamong executives is thinness. Laptop designers continually try to shave

millimeters off the profile of these devices to get them as close as possible tomeasuring under an inch.

One weak point of ultra lights is battery endurance. To keep the weight down,

designers of these laptops employ the smallest possible batteries. This can offersignificant weight savings because batteries are typically the heaviest componentin the system. The smaller battery is partially offset by the decreased powerrequirements of the smaller components in these laptops, but in general ultra

lights are hampered with notably short battery lives, sometimes barely more thanan hour.

Because the accent is on size and weight, the internal components are generally

two generations behind the leading edge in terms of performance and capacity.

Processor clock speeds are typically around 1.5GHz or less. Hard drives aregenerally no larger than about 60GB.

As with value laptops, the components may not be the latest and greatest but aregenerally good enough to handle most jobs. The most crucial compromises ofthese products, however, are not buried inside but plainly visible on the external

surfaces. The keyboards are often shrunk by 90 95%. And screens are no largerthan 12.1 inches the smallest generally available for laptops. On the back panel,

the lack of real estate often forces designers to jettison all but two or three of themost necessary connectors.


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Some manufacturers achieve a good compromise with portability by combiningthe ultra light with a slab containing those components that are not needed very

often. For example, the ThinkPad X-series uses a detachable module (or slice)that fits under the main system to carry CD-ROM or DVD drives and floppy drives.

In most types of products, devices become more inexpensive as they get smaller.But the situation is often the opposite in complex electronic gear, where prices

often increase as the size gets smaller. Some ultra lights are intended (andpriced) as high-end executive jewelry, such as for the executive who uses thesystem for little else but email and scheduling but who wants a lightweight,elegant, and impressive-looking system.

Ruggedized Laptops

Laptop computers are normally designed for relatively genteel environments: an

office desk, an airline tray table, and maybe a hotel coffee table. Many workers,

however, need computing power in the outside world, a place where even themost delicate electronic equipment may be caked with sand, rained on, anddropped repeatedly.

For that reason, a small number of manufacturers have specialized in creatingruggedized laptops. These devices are built to withstand varying degrees of

stress. Almost all rugged laptops can handle drops well. Their delicate internalcomponents, such as their hard drives, are shock-mounted to avoid damage. Theoutside case of the laptop may be reinforced by magnesium and have a rubber-like outside skin.

Rugged laptops vary in the degree to which they are waterproof. Most will

withstand significant amounts of rainfall. Some are completely waterproof andcan be safely dropped into a pool or even salt water.

Inside these computers, you can easily see that the emphasis has been placed ondurability instead of performance. Most components are two generations old.

On the outside, ruggedness can sometimes interfere with usability. A waterproofkeyboard is not as easy to use as a regular one. Note also that for true

ruggedness, all the many connectors on a laptop must be securely covered withwaterproof rubber plugs. Connecting and disconnecting these plugs can betiresome.

Although rugged laptops use older, less powerful components, you would neverknow this by looking at the price. These units are typically the most expensive

laptops on the market, often costing twice as much as a desktop-replacementsystem. Still, for many companies, the cost is well worth it. They would ratherbuy a single rugged laptop than a more delicate system that has to be replacedthree times because of damage.

Tablets

In some applications, a keyboard is either unnecessary or a hindrance. For that

reason, manufacturers have repeatedly offered tablet-style computers. Thesesystems are like laptops without the keyboard. The top panel of the deviceconsists solely of a large LCD panel. Except for a few buttons accompanying the

screen, all input is accomplished via a stylus on a touch-sensitive panel thatcovers the tablet's screen.


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In the fall of 2002, Microsoft launched a new initiative for tablets with a specialversion of its Windows operating system, dubbed Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC

Edition. This operating system differs from the regular version of Windows XP inthat it enables users to manipulate the Windows interface with a stylus and toenter text using handwriting. Microsoft claimed that these new tablets would offerenhanced usability and would be better able to read the user's handwriting than

previous attempts. Several companies, such as Acer, HP, and Gateway, are

offering tablets that can use this operating system. Most of these devices arereally hybrid notebook/tablets. The basic design looks like a notebook, except

that the screen can be rotated and closed down on the keyboard, thus hiding itduring tablet use.

A typical tablet is represented by the ThinkPad X-Series Tablet. At first thesystem looks like a small, 4-pound ultra light laptop with a 12.1-inch colordisplay. Inside is a special low-voltage version of the Pentium M processor

complemented with 512MB1.5GB of DDR2 SDRAM and a 4060GB hard drive. Themain difference between this system and a standard laptop is that this systemincludes a touch-sensitive display that can be twisted around and then foldedback to cover the keyboard, at which time the included stylus can be used for

input.

Most Tablet PCs have the advantage that they can be used either as a tablet oran ultra light notebook. Other systems are permanently in tablet form, these aresometimes called slates. Despite having been on the market for a couple of yearsnow, it is still too early to say how successful these devices will be.

Handhelds/Palmtops

The rarest category (at least outside of Japan these days) is the handheld or

palmtop PC. Not to be confused with the PDAs (such as the Palm and Handspringseries) or the Pocket PC, these handheld mini-laptop computers are true PCcompatibles even though they are hardly larger than a paperback book. The mostfamous handheld is the Toshiba Libretto.

Palmtops such as the Libretto offer a standard layout of keys, but with small keys

spaced much more closely together than with a standard keyboard. As such,these systems are very difficult to use for extensive typing, but for simple fieldwork, email, or Internet accessory anything that doesn't require a lot of dataentry they are incredibly useful.

PDAs

PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are another form of small computer often

associated with PC compatible laptops. There are currently three main types ofPersonal Digital Assistants, differing primarily on the operating system on whichthey are based:

Palm operating system

Microsoft Windows Mobile (formerly known as Pocket PC or Windows CE)

Linux/Java-based

While these systems can be used with PCs, none of them are PC compatible, andas such are not intended to be covered in this book.


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Palm OS based PDAs are meant to be used more as laptop accessories ratherthan laptop replacements. In their initial incarnation, Palm systems were

designed only for simple management of personal information, data such asmight be found in an address book or a daily calendar. The Palm's strongestfeature was its easy communication with a laptop or desktop, allowing the user toquickly back up and update the data on the PDA. As the power of tiny PDA

processors has increased and wireless communication has become more

commonplace, the new generations of Palms are tackling more communicationstasks, such as email and cellular voice communication.

Windows CE devices always had more ambitious designs. In their original form,they looked and acted like handheld computers, featuring a keyboard and simple

computer-style applications such as word processing. For a short time,manufacturers even offered so-called "Jupiter" handhelds that were as large asultra light laptops. Because they were not PC compatible, however, these tiny

systems could not run the thousands of Windows programs on the market andhad to wait for Windows CE applications to be developed. Because of this lack ofsoftware, Windows CE devices eventually evolved into a form factor that wassimilar to the Palm systems but could handle more applications.

The Linux/Java-based PDAs are primarily embodied by the Sharp Zaurus models.They are sort of a combination of Palm and Windows Mobile devices, usuallyincluding a tiny keyboard, standard PDA software, as well as the ability to handleemail, web browsing, and media playing.

In general, PDAs are viewed more as laptop accessories than laptopreplacements. A small but growing number of people, however, are using PDAs as

highly mobile email terminals, the advantage being that they can sometimesleave their heavier laptops home.

Major Features

No matter which type of laptop you have, you can be sure that it has a somewhat

standard set of components.

Processors

There has always been a range of processors available for laptops, but one rule

has almost always applied: The fastest laptop is almost never as fast as the

fastest desktop. The problem is one of power. Fast desktop processors run on ACpower, of which there is a relatively limitless supply available. Portables in mostcases at least occasionally must run on batteries, which have to be small enoughso that the laptop can be lifted. Portable systems are also smaller than most

desktops, and the tighter confines mean that the ability to run a high heat-producing processor is more limited. Therefore, a mobile processor in general hasa more limited amount of electrical power available.

Intel has responded to the needs of mobile systems by offering low-power "M"versions of its most popular processors. Figure 2.1 shows the Pentium 4-M chip,

the mobile version of the Pentium 4. These processors are generally similar to thedesktop versions except they use lower voltages internally and can adjust theirclock speeds depending on the user's requirements. By lowering their voltages

and clock speeds, these chips can cut their power requirements and thus extenda notebook's battery endurance. Note also that the maximum clock speeds ofthese chips are almost always slower than those of desktop chips.


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Figure 2.1. The Pentium 4 Processor-M chip from Intel. (Photo courtesyofwww.intel.com.)

Table 2.3 shows a comparison of the clock speeds of various mobile processorsfrom Intel.

Table 2.3. Clock Speeds (in GHz) Available for Intel's Mobile Processor Chips

Intel Mobile Processor Clock Speeds (GHz)

Pentium M 1.0 to 2.26

Mobile Pentium 4 1.4 to 3.46

Celeron M 0.8 to 1.5

Mobile Celeron 0.65 to 2.8

In March of 2003, Intel introduced its Pentium M chip for laptops, a part of its

Centrino platform. The Celeron M followed as a low-cost version of the PentiumM. Unlike previous mobile processors from Intel, these chips are not a variation

on a desktop chip, but a Pentium-compatible processor built from the ground upfor mobile applications. Intel claims that laptop designers can achieve 10%-40%longer battery endurance if they use this chip.

In addition to the chips' energy conservation, Intel also claims that the Pentium M

and Celeron M are faster than they may appear. Because they use a different

internal architecture, they are able to squeeze out more effective work duringeach clock cycle. As a result, you cannot directly compare the clock speeds ofPentium M/Celeron M and other mobile Pentium chips. For example, Intel claims

that a typical laptop running a 1.6GHz Pentium M chip will race throughbenchmark programs 15% faster than a Pentium 4-M running at 2.4GHz. Intelalso claims that this same laptop's batteries last 78% longer on the Pentium Mthan on the Pentium 4-M.

Another processor specifically designed for portable applications is the Efficeon

chip from Transmeta. This chip promises very low power consumption but at the


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expense of processing speed. The Efficeon has a different instruction set thanIntel Pentium processors, requiring it to perform extra steps to translate the

Pentium instructions into a form that the Efficeon can understand. Thus, althoughthe Efficeon may have clock speeds comparable to Pentium M chips, itsperformance is considerably slower. Unfortunately, Transmeta has yet to capturemuch of the market and is concentrating more on licensing its power-savingtechnology rather than selling processors.

Some laptop manufacturers occasionally opt for the highest performance possibleby using desktop processors. As can be expected, these power-hungry chipsresult in surprisingly short battery endurance. Note, however, that this quest fordesktop performance is never completely successful. Overall system performance

depends not merely on the processor but on several other components, and as aresult these devices have yet to equal the performance of the fastest desktops.

Video Display Size and Resolution

Ever since the days of the luggable in the early 1980s, the design of portable

computers has been highly dependent on the latest lightweight displays. Whenlow-power LCDs became available, the development of the battery-powered

laptop finally became possible. Today, the size of the display is the single mostimportant determinant of the size of the laptop.

Currently, virtually all laptops use active-matrix color displays. These screensprovide needle-sharp images of high contrast, in most cases better than the CRTdisplays that most desktops use. Indeed, many desktop users are now upgrading

to flat panels. The prime impetus for this switch may be to save space, but theimproved image quality is at least a partial factor.

There are, however, a few drawbacks to LCD displays. The first is that they havea fixed or native resolution. CRT displays can easily switch to higher or lower

resolutions. When LCDs are moved above or below their native resolution,however, the image becomes decidedly blurry or even distorted.

The second drawback of LCDs is their limited field of view. These displays may

present high-quality images, but only to viewers sitting directly in front of thescreen. People who may be sitting a few feet to the right or left of that optimal

position may see an image where the colors have been shifted and the contrastlowered. With the increasing popularity of LCD televisions, some LCDmanufacturers are developing screens that are more suitable for wide-angleviewing. If you plan to use your laptop for informal presentations, you should

take a look at laptops that advertise wide-angle capability. Of course, somepeople prefer a more limited viewing angle because it makes it harder for otherpeople to read your screen when you are working in public.

One other downside of LCD screens is that they are considerably more expensive

than CRTs. The good news here, however, is that the prices of LCDs havecontinually dropped over the years and will continue to do so. Indeed, thepopularity of desktop LCD displays should lead to increased volumes and lowerprices for both desktops and laptops.

Because the technologies used in today's LCDs are basically similar, the main

differences among screens have to do with their sizes, their resolutions, and theiraspect ratios.


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Screen Size

Size is, of course, the most visually apparent property of an LCD screen. In

general, as time progressed, screens became continually larger. There is,however, a size limit for laptops. As LCD screen sizes moved beyond 17 inches,

measured diagonally, they became too large to be portable and were relegated todesktop use.

In today's laptops, screen sizes vary from 7.2 inches (measured diagonally) forthe smallest systems to 17 inches for the largest. The most common size is now14.1 inches, which represents a good compromise between size and portability.

In general, users are well advised to get the largest screen they can comfortably

carry and afford. But note that for some screen sizes, there may be a choice ofseveral different resolutions available. Choosing the wrong resolution may makethe screen harder to read, or limit the amount of information that can bedisplayed.

Screen Resolution

The resolution of a screen depends somewhat on its size. As the size of the

screen increases, it can comfortably accommodate more pixels, thus allowing forincreased resolution.

For 14.1-inch screens the most common variety most laptop manufacturers offertwo choices of resolution: XGA and SXGA+. A few vendors also offer SXGA, but

the unique aspect ratio (5:4) makes that size and resolution somewhat rare. Theincreased resolution of SXGA+ over standard XGA enables users to display nearly87% more onscreen information such as folders, documents, web pages, and soon, at the same time. Increased resolution also increases pixel density (the

number of pixels per inch of screen size), which in turn increases the apparentsharpness of photographs and graphic images. Some people even maintain thatincreased pixel density increases the readability of text. On the downside,

however, increased resolution also decreases the size of standard text and iconson the screen. As personal preference varies, users should personally examineseveral different size/resolution combinations to see which seems best to them.

Note that once you have chosen a resolution, it cannot be changed. A laptop'svideo circuitry can simulate a change in resolution, but the resulting image will bemuch less sharp than the image at the screen's original or native resolution.

Table 2.4 lists common LCD screen sizes and the resolution they support.

Table 2.4. Screen Size and Resolution: A Sampling of the Most Common CombinationsAvailable for Laptops

Screen Size (in.) Resolution Type Resolution Aspect Ratio Pixel Density (Pixels/in.)

12.1 SVGA 800x600 4:3 83

12.1 XGA 1024x768 4:3 106

13.3 XGA 1024x768 4:3 96

14.1 XGA 1024x768 4:3 91

14.1 SXGA 1280x1024 5:4 116


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Table 2.4. Screen Size and Resolution: A Sampling of the Most Common CombinationsAvailable for Laptops

Screen Size (in.) Resolution Type Resolution Aspect Ratio Pixel Density (Pixels/in.)

14.1 SXGA+ 1400x1050 4:3 124

15.0 XGA 1024x768 4:3 85

15.0 WXGA 1280x800 8:5 101

15.0 SXGA+ 1400x1050 4:3 117

15.0 UXGA 1600x1200 4:3 133

15.4 WXGA 1280x800 8:5 98

15.4 SXGA 1280x1024 4:3 106

15.4 WSXGA+ 1680x1050 8:5 129

15.4 WUXGA 1920x1200 8:5 147

17.0 WXGA+ 1440x900 8:5 100

17.0 UXGA 1600x1200 4:3 118

17.0 WUXGA 1920x1200 8:5 133

Screen Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio for most laptop displays is the same as that for desktops and

televisions: 4:3 (that is, the height of the screen is 3/4 the width).When 4:3 LCDscreens came out, the public quickly gravitated toward this standard shape.

Now, however, with the popularity of DVDs and high-definition TV, manymanufacturers are installing widescreen displays on their systems (see Figure2.2). These displays have a wider aspect ratio of 8:5 (16:10). Note that although

this is much wider than the standard computer display, it is not quite as wide as

the 16:9 proportions of HDTV, but is able to accommodate a full 16:9 HDTVpicture within a 16:10 display with only a small upper and/or lower border (oftenused by the DVD player controls). Widescreen laptops are usually sold as

multimedia or desktop replacement systems, due to their larger (and clumsier tocarry) sizes.

Figure 2.2. The Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2, with its 17-inch WUXGA display.(Photo courtesy of Dell Inc.)


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One interesting thing to note is that having a widescreen display doesn't

necessarily mean you get more resolution or desktop screen real estate. For

example, many so-called "widescreen" laptops have 15.4-inch WXGA (1280x800)displays. Personally, I would rather have a standard aspect ratio 15.1-inchSXGA+ (1400x1050) display because even though it doesn't have the"widescreen" aspect ratio, it actually offers an overall wider and deeper image in

pixels than the so-called widescreen display. At the higher 1400x1050 pixel

resolution, you'll actually be able to fit more open windows (web pages,applications, and so on) both in width and depth than you could on a WXGA

screen. In fact, the SXGA+ screen has nearly 44% more overall resolution,meaning you can fit that much more content on the screen. The primary

advantage of using a widescreen on a laptop is that human vision sees moreperipherally than vertically, making wider screens better suited to what youactually see on them.

Video Accelerators

A crucial and sometimes overlooked aspect of computer performance is the speed

of its video accelerator. This chip, shown in Figure 2.3, speeds up the process ofmoving pixels around the screen. Computer game players have been especially

sensitive to the speed of their video processors because this can greatly influencethe quality of their entertainment.

Figure 2.3. Video accelerator chips from NVIDIA. (Photo courtesy ofwww.nvidia.com.)

Currently, the best laptop video accelerators are from ATI and NVIDIA. Note thatas in the case of processors, laptop video accelerators are usually not quite asfast as those in desktop models. Typical video accelerators are listed in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5. Typical Video Components and the Best Optical Drives Available for DifferentLaptop Types

Laptop TypeScreenSize (in.) Video Accelerator

VideoMemory(MB) Optical Drive

Desktopreplacement

15.4/17 ATI Radeon X300/X600 NVIDIAGeForce Go 6800

128/256 DVD/CD-RW orDVD+/-RW

Mainstream 14.1/15 Intel Media Accelerator 900 ATIRadeon 9000 ATI RadeonX300/X600

64/128 DVD/CD-RW orDVD+/-RW

Value 14.1/15 Intel Media Accelerator 900 64/128 DVD/CD-RW

Thin & light 14.1 Intel Media Accelerator 900 ATIRadeon X300/X600

64/128 DVD/CD-RW

Ultra light 12.1 Intel Media Accelerator 900 64/128 None


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In addition to the type of video accelerator used, laptop users should also pay

attention to the amount of video memory installed. The amount of video memory

used for laptop graphics chipsets currently varies from 64MB to 256MB. In mostcases the video memory is dedicated memory (separate from main RAM) used tohold information that will eventually be displayed on the screen. However,systems with video accelerators built into the motherboard chipset (such as the

Intel Media Accelerator 900) use shared memory, which means that the video

accelerator borrows main system RAM for video use. Since there is no dedicatedvideo RAM, this results in a less expensive design (which also uses less power),

but sacrifices performance when compared to dedicated video memory designs.The more video memory available, the more colors the laptop can display and the

faster the video accelerator can operate. Large amounts of video memory arealso useful for 3D graphics such as in games.

Purchasers should be careful to note the type of video chipset and amount of

video memory in a potential new notebook. Although there are a few selectmodels with upgradeable graphics, in most cases the video acceleratorcomponents cannot be changed.

Spindles (Storage)

The classic three-spindle laptop is disappearing. These systems generally had

three forms of rotating memory: a hard drive, an optical drive, and a floppy drive.Now, because floppy disks are so rarely used, many laptop manufacturers have

been leaving them off in order to save weight and lower costs. In some two-spindle systems, the floppy can be swapped into the storage bay normallyoccupied by the optical drive, but you can't run both simultaneously. In most

cases, the floppy is relegated to being used as an external device that connects tothe system via a USB cable. Since floppy drives aren't used much anymore, thisdoesn't seem to bother many people, which is one reason the three-spindledesigns are fading. As average file sizes continue to grow well past the capacity

of a floppy, this once familiar component may well disappear altogether.Currently, most vendors offer external USB floppy drives for laptops as a $50

option.

The most important drive in a laptop is its hard drive. Currently, drive sizes range

from 20 to 160GB. Many experts suggest that users get as much hard drivestorage space as they can afford. When users eventually purchase a digitalcamera or start storing audio and video on their hard drives, they will soon takeadvantage of all the storage space they have available. External USB drives can

also be used to extend the storage of a laptop, and are actually quite excellent forbackup, but when mobile, you generally have to rely on the drive that is installedinternally in the system.

Some laptops have drives that rotate at higher speeds than other drives. The useof faster rotating drives will positively impact system performance by a significant

amount. A faster-spinning drive enables the system to access information fromthe hard drive more quickly. Faster drives also have a major impact on startup(boot) times, as well as the time it takes to hibernate and resume fromhibernation.

For some time there has been a variety of optical drives available for laptops.Most systems today include a DVD-ROM drive, a combo DVD/CD-RW burner, or a

DVD+/-RW drive, many of which can also handle DVD-RAM as well. In most casesthese drives are not nearly as fast as their desktop counterparts, especially whereDVD burning is concerned.


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Expansion Options

Laptop components are so tightly crammed together that few expansion options

are available. Often the only way to expand the capabilities of a laptop is to inserta PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card (see

Figure 2.4). These cards, also known as PC Cards or Card Bus Cards, wereoriginally designed as memory cards but are now capable of providing a wealth of

features. Almost any feature not provided on a laptop or not provided in sufficientquantity can be added via a PCMCIA card.

Figure 2.4. A diagram of the PCMCIA PC Card.

Note that there are two types of PCMCIA cards and three sizes. In addition to the

older 16-bit PC Card, there is also a high-speed 32-bit Card Bus Card that isrequired for high-speed wireless networking cards. The three sizes are Type I,Type II, and Type III, which mainly vary in thickness (see Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.5. An illustration of the three sizes of PCMCIA PC Cards: Type I,II, and III.


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Note that a Type III slot can accommodate a Type I or Type II card as well.

Virtually all laptops have either a single Type III slot or two Type II slots stackedtogether so that they can also accommodate a single Type III card in the lowerslot if necessary. Note that there are no Type I slots, and all laptops will take

Type III cards in at least one slot. Because most of the capabilities formerlyprovided by these cards are now included as standard on the notebook's

motherboard, many manufacturers have tried to save money by including onlyone Type III PCMCIA slot on their laptops. Although this does save a little on cost,

it does limit the expansion capabilities of a laptop, in that you can install only asingle Type I, II, or III card at any given time.

A sampling of the different kinds of PCMCIA expansion cards available includes:

Encryption/Security Dual serial ports Data acquisition

10/100/1000 Ethernet USB/FireWire Flash card reader

Hard disk card TV/FM tuner Video capture

ATA/SATA interface

SCSI interface

External Interfaces

A standard set of connectors for laptops includes a serial port and a parallel

printer port. Because the devices that usually connect to these ports now areequipped with USB connectors, many laptop manufacturers are omitting theseconnectors.

It is quite common for laptops now to have several USB 2.0 connectors. They canconnect to a variety of external devices, including a keyboard, mouse, printer,scanner, storage drive, and even a USB hub to allow connection to more than twodevices.

A small number of laptops have IEEE 1394 (FireWire/I. LINK) connectors, RCA-style or S-Video connectors, and DVI interfaces. The IEEE 1394 connector, which

is also known as FireWire or I. LINK, is mainly used to connect to digitalcamcorders. The RCA and S-Video connectors are used with TVs and VCRs. Mostof the RCA, S-Video, or DVI connectors are video-out, but a few can also accept


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video input as well. The DVI interface is used with new display devices such asplasma TVs. Users who are interested in using their laptops for video applications

should be sure that the necessary connectors are present. If they are not, theymight be supplied via PC Cards.

One connector that should be on all laptops large or small is a standard analogVGA port. Without this, you will not be able to use your laptop with a video

projector to make presentations.

Pointing Devices

Traditionally, there have been three types of pointing devices: trackballs, pointingsticks, and touchpads. If you do not like the device on your current notebook,you can always add an external mouse via a USB connector.

Trackballs

Trackballs originally premiered on the Apple Macintosh Portable and soon

appeared on several PC laptops. Because this type of pointing device takes up arelatively large amount of space, both in terms of its footprint and its height, ithas been dropped from laptop designs.

Track Point (Pointing Sticks)

Pointing sticks originally premiered on the IBM ThinkPad but soon became a

standard feature on many Toshiba, Dell, and other laptop systems. This device,which looks like a colored pencil eraser placed in the middle of the keyboard, can

be accessed by the user without moving his hands from the keyboard (see Figure2.6). IBM refers to it by the trademarked name Track Point.

Figure 2.6. The IBM Track Point, the original pointing stick. (Photo

courtesy of IBM, www.ibm.com.)

Touchpads

Touchpads originally debuted on the short-lived Gavilan, one of the first laptops.

Laptop designers particularly like them because they take up so little space.Beginners or casual users like them because they are easy to use; however,

experienced laptop users do not find them nearly as fast or accurate as a TrackPoint.


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Two manufacturers make most of the touchpads in use: Alps and Synaptic. Manyreviewers prefer the Synaptic touchpad because its sensitivity can be adjusted. If

the touchpad is too sensitive, you can activate it simply by floating your thumb afew millimeters above the surface, something that happens frequently duringtyping.

Combination Pointing Devices

Some laptops offer two pointing devices: a touchpad and a pointing stick. This is

a great idea because many users have strong preferences for either one or the

other device. The combination enables manufacturers to offer a single laptopthose appeals to both groups of users.

Docking Options

All portable computers entail some type of compromise. One way to lessen that

compromise is to purchase a docking station. Most laptops have available both afull-function docking station and less expensive port replicator. Laptop users can

quickly snap their laptops into either of these devices and suddenly endow theirsystems with additional capabilities.

Unfortunately, port replicators and docking stations are not standardized in theindustry; the connectors and physical formats are proprietary to the variousmanufacturers. This means that a port replicator or dock for one system will most

likely not work with another, unless it is a compatible model from the samemanufacturer. Most manufacturers that make port replicators and docking

stations available try to make them work with multiple different models or evendifferent product lines.

Many bargain laptops do not have available port replicators or docking stations.

On the other hand, if you rarely plug external devices into your laptop or nevermove it from a stationary location, then a port replicator or docking station mightbe something you could live without.

Docking Stations

Docking stations are designed by laptop manufacturers to provide laptops with

many of the advantages of desktops. The exact features provided by a "dock"vary from one model to another. Some provide a wealth of storage options, such

as extra hard drives and optical drives. A few will also provide desktop-styleexpansion slots. These slots can be used with a wide array of unusual expansioncards, such as signal-acquisition cards.

Port Replicators

Port replicators are designed to provide some of the benefits of docking stationsat a low cost. One of the chief benefits of these devices is to make it easy toquickly connect a laptop to a number of external devices. For example, whenmany users take their laptop roaming, they need to disconnect and then laterreconnect their external monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, network, and phone

lines. With port replicators, all they need to do is connect those devices to theport replicator a single time. Then they can simply dock and undock their laptopfrom the replicator as needed. Port replicators are a major convenience item,even if a laptop is used only at home.


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Notebook Handouts Section 2

Documents

Transcript of Notebook Handouts Section 2