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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
The latest on getting the most from laptops and tablets Not that long ago, laptops were seen as luxuries. Now they're practically an essential for many people, and--as faster computing power and super-sharp displays make many of them the equal of a desktop--the new wave of lightweight laptops is increasingly replacing the home PC with its bulky tower and multiple cords. Plus, you can use your laptop when chilling on the couch or venturing out for a quick coffee! In this fully updated edition of Laptops For Dummies, bestselling tech writer Dan Gookin takes a friendly walk through everything you need to know, from the basics (if you're new to laptops) all the way up to the latest hardware and tech updates--including the recent release of Windows 10. Along the way you'll learn how to synchronize your laptop with other machines, coordinate email pickup across devices, and beef up your security. You'll also learn how to * Choose the right laptop * Check out tablet options * Troubleshoot problems * Maintain and upgrade Whether you're choosing a new laptop or want to maximize what you're getting from the one you have, Laptops For Dummies has you covered, wherever you want to work--or play!
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Laptops For Dummies®, 7th Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020952025
ISBN: 978-1-119-74027-8; 978-1-119-74028-5 (ebk); 978-1-119-74029-2 (ebk)
Laptops For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Laptops For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
And Just Who Are You?
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: This Laptop Thing
Chapter 1: The Portable Computing Quest
The History of Portable Computing
Modern Laptops
Chapter 2: A Laptop of Your Own
Do You Need a Laptop?
Laptop Shopping
Software for Your Laptop
Laptop Hardware Buying Decisions
Service, Support, and Warranty
The Final Step: Buying Your Laptop
Part 2: Say Hello to Your Laptop
Chapter 3: From Laptop Box to Lap
Laptop Box 101
Set Up Your Laptop
Bye-Bye, Old Laptop
What to Do Next
Chapter 4: To Turn On a Laptop
Turn On Your Laptop
It’s Windows!
What’s Next?
Chapter 5: To Turn Off a Laptop
End Your Laptop Day
Shutdown Options and Configuration
Chapter 6: Traditional Laptop Tour
Around Your Laptop
The Pluggable-Innable Holes
Look at the Pretty Lights!
This Isn't Your Daddy's Keyboard
This Isn't Your Momma's Mouse
Chapter 7: The Tablet PC Tour
Tablet PC Types
The Tablet PC Tour
The Pen Is Mightier than the Mouse
Touchscreen Text Typing
Windows Does the Tablet PC
Special Tablet PC Software
Chapter 8: Your Laptop and Windows
The Big Windows Picture
Windows and Your Stuff
Settings and Options
Part 3: Out and About with Mr. Laptop
Chapter 9: You and Your Laptop
User Accounts
The Perfect Display
Removable Storage
The Software Side
Chapter 10: Portable Power
The Battery Will Get a Charge Out of This!
When the Power Gets Low
Chapter 11: The Printing Chapter
The Great Printer Hunt
Something Needs Printing
A Portable Printer for Your Laptop
Chapter 12: Expanding Your Laptop's Universe
USB Expansion Options
The Bluetooth Thing
The Laptop Becomes a Desktop
Chapter 13: O the Places You’ll Go
In the Bag
Flying with Mr. Laptop
Café Computing
In a Hotel Room
Mind the Laptop's Temperature
Chapter 14: Presentation Information
The Show Must Go On
To Create a Better Slide Show
Chapter 15: A Laptop at Play
The Laptop Media Player
Expand the Laptop’s Media Universe
Media Sharing
Laptop Phone Calls
eBooks on Your Laptop
Part 4: Laptop Networking
Chapter 16: The Networking Thing
The Big Networking Picture
Make the Network Connection
Break the Network Connection
Chapter 17: Network Life in Laptop Land
Network Configuration
Your Laptop, Windows, and the Network
Chapter 18: Your Files from Afar
Files from Here to There
Cloud Storage Synchronization
Part 5: Security and Maintenance
Chapter 19: Internet Safety
Security Central
Keep Windows Up-to-Date
The Malware Scourge
Behind the Firewall
Safe and Private Browsing
Location Information
General Security Settings
Chapter 20: A More Secure Laptop
The Hot Laptop
Before Your Laptop Is Stolen
Protect Your Data with a Strong Password
Back Up Your Data
The Laptop Reset
Chapter 21: Laptop Troubleshooting
The Universal Quick-Fix
The Windows Troubleshooter
Restore the System
Common Problems and Solutions
Chapter 22: Laptop Maintenance and Upgrading
New Laptop Hardware
How ’bout Some New Software?
Laptop Maintenance
Part 6: The Part of Tens
Chapter 23: Ten Battery Tips and Tricks
Don't Drop the Battery, Get It Wet, Short It, Play Keep-Away with It, Open It, Burn It, or Throw It Away
Reduce the Screen’s Brightness
Power Down the Hard Drive
Add RAM to Prevent Virtual Memory Disk Swapping
Keep Memory Empty
Guard the Battery's Terminals
Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Store the Battery if You Don't Plan to Use It
Understand That Batteries Drain Over Time!
Deal with the Low-Battery Warning
Chapter 24: Ten Handy Laptop Accessories
Laptop Bag or Travel Case
Spare Battery
External Storage
Cooling Pad
Minivac
USB Lamp
Full-Size Keyboard and External Mouse
Privacy Screen Filter
ID Card or Return Service Sticker
Theft-Prevention System
Chapter 25: Ten Things to Throw in Your Laptop Bag
Power Cord and Brick
Spare Battery
Mouse or Digital Pen
Screen Wipes and Cleaner
Laptop Lock
Removable Media
Headphones
Office Supplies
Cables, Cables, Cables
Not the End of the List
Index
About the Author
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Laptop Ports and Their Symbols, Designs, and Colors
TABLE 6-2 Pretty Laptop Lights
Chapter 7
TABLE 7-1 Pen and Mouse Actions
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 USB Color Codes
TABLE 12-2 Typical, Plain, Boring Uses for the USB Port
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: A late-model Osborne.
FIGURE 1-2: The luggable Compaq Portable.
FIGURE 1-3: The Radio Shack Model 100.
FIGURE 1-4: The Compaq III.
FIGURE 1-5: The Compaq SLT.
FIGURE 1-6: The NEC UltraLite.
FIGURE 1-7: A netbook PC, circa 2008.
FIGURE 1-8: A tablet PC.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Plugging in your laptop.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Likely locations for laptop lid latches.
FIGURE 4-2: Adjust the lid so that you view the screen at an angle that's just ...
FIGURE 4-3: The Windows 10 sign-in screen.
FIGURE 4-4: Finding your User Profile folder.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Power options on the Start menu.
FIGURE 5-2: Account options on the Start menu.
FIGURE 5-3: The Power Options menu, featuring the Hibernate command.
FIGURE 5-4: Setting options for various power buttons and the lid.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Typical laptop keyboard layout.
FIGURE 6-2: The hidden numeric keypad.
FIGURE 6-3: Fn keys and function keys.
FIGURE 6-4: Touchpad varieties.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: Various types of tablet PC.
FIGURE 7-2: A typical tablet PC stylus.
FIGURE 7-3: The touch keyboard keys.
FIGURE 7-4: The keyboard selection menu.
FIGURE 7-5: The pen input pad.
FIGURE 7-6: Tablet mode.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: The Windows desktop.
FIGURE 8-2: Things to look for on the Start button menu.
FIGURE 8-3: The Windows taskbar.
FIGURE 8-4: The Action Center.
FIGURE 8-5: The This PC window.
FIGURE 8-6: The User Profile folder.
FIGURE 8-7: The Settings app.
FIGURE 8-8: The Control Panel.
FIGURE 8-9: The Control Panel’s Windows Mobility Center window.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Account information in the Settings app.
FIGURE 9-2: Taking a selfie for your account image.
FIGURE 9-3: An AutoPlay notification and options.
FIGURE 9-4: Safely removing a storage device.
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Battery notification on the taskbar.
FIGURE 10-2: Power Options for setting low battery warnings and actions.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: The Add Printers & Scanners window.
FIGURE 11-2: A typical Print dialog box.
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: The A and B ends of a USB cable.
FIGURE 12-2: Bluetooth options.
FIGURE 12-3: The second display projection panel.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: The PowerPoint Print screen.
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: Windows Media Player.
FIGURE 15-2: The Photos app.
FIGURE 15-3: Viewing an image in the Photos app.
FIGURE 15-4: The Groove Music app.
FIGURE 15-5: Copying music from a CD.
FIGURE 15-6: Copying images from a smartphone to a laptop.
FIGURE 15-7: The Camera app.
FIGURE 15-8: Accessing media on another network PC.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: A typical computer network.
FIGURE 16-2: Selecting a Wi-Fi network.
FIGURE 16-3: Disconnecting from a wireless network.
Chapter 17
FIGURE 17-1: The Network & Internet Status screen.
FIGURE 17-2: The Public or Private setting.
FIGURE 17-3: Disabling the Wi-Fi radio.
FIGURE 17-4: The laptop’s network name.
FIGURE 17-5: Computers sharing the same local network.
FIGURE 17-6: A folder’s Advanced Sharing dialog box.
Chapter 18
FIGURE 18-1: The ugly cable thing.
FIGURE 18-2: OneDrive folders on a laptop.
FIGURE 18-3: OneDrive folders on the Internet.
FIGURE 18-4: Saving a document on OneDrive storage.
Chapter 19
FIGURE 19-1: The Action Center.
FIGURE 19-2: The Windows Security Center.
FIGURE 19-3: Windows Security Center antivirus.
FIGURE 19-4: Is it okay for this program to access the Internet?
Chapter 20
FIGURE 20-1: Checking File History settings.
FIGURE 20-2: Previous versions of a file.
FIGURE 20-3: The File History window.
Chapter 21
FIGURE 21-1: The Windows Troubleshooter.
Chapter 24
FIGURE 24-1: A cool cooling pad.
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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Introduction
It’s lightweight, high-tech, and portable; the product of years of research, a longtime dream of engineers and scholars, something people all over the world crave. It’s wireless. It’s about communications. And it will help you become the ultimate mobile computer user. Of course, I’m talking about this book: Laptops For Dummies.
This is the seventh edition of Laptops For Dummies, updated and spiffed up for the latest in PC laptop hardware and software as well as for Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 10.
This book covers your portable computer from laptop to lap-bottom, inside and out, on the road or resting at home. The information here runs the gamut, from introducing your laptop to making your first wireless connection at your favorite swanky cybercafé. You’ll find this book useful whether you want to go laptop shopping or you consider yourself an old hand.
About This Book
I’m glad that you’re still reading this introduction. Most people stop reading after a few paragraphs, or they don’t even bother reading the introduction. Consider yourself special.
This book covers laptop computing, from buying and setting up to going on the road, from networking and the Internet to power management and security and everything in between. There’s a lot of laptoppy advice to be had between this book’s yellow covers.
I don’t intend for you to read every chapter in sequence. That’s because this book is organized as a reference: Find the tidbit of information, the knowledge nugget you need to know, and then be on your merry way. Everything is cross-referenced, so if you need to look elsewhere in the book for more information, you can easily find it.
In writing this book, I assume that you may know a bit about computers, as most folks do today. But you may be utterly fresh on the idea of portable computing. Despite what they tell you, a laptop computer isn’t merely a desktop computer with a handle attached. There’s more to it, and this book is here to show you the ropes — and to let you take full advantage of what the laptop has to offer.
And Just Who Are You?
Let me jump to the conclusion that you're a human being, not a cleverly disguised owl. Furthermore, either you own a laptop PC or you want to buy one. You may already have a desktop computer, or perhaps you had a laptop a long, long time ago and noticed that things have changed.
I use the word laptop to refer to all types of portable computers, from the traditional notebooks to the teensy Ultrabooks. A new category is the 2-in-1 laptop, which is more like a tablet. Those are covered here as well and fall under a general category that I term tablet PCs. Any laptop with a touchscreen display is a tablet PC, and I wax eloquently on that topic in Chapter 7.
This book assumes that your laptop is PC-compatible, that it runs the Windows operating system. The current version is Windows 10, which is a great operating system for laptop users. This book doesn’t cover older versions of Windows, nor does it cover using Linux, which is fun but way too nerdy.
This book doesn’t describe the basic operations of a computer, Windows, or your software. I've tried to keep the information here specific to the portable aspects of the laptop computer. Beyond that, if you need more information about running your computer, any standard PC or Windows reference works fine.
Icons Used in This Book
The Tip icon notifies you about something cool, handy, or nifty — or something that I highly recommend. For example: “Never make a bar bet with a guy wearing a bowtie.”
Don't forget! When you see this icon, you can be sure that it points out info you should remember or something I said earlier that I'm repeating because it's important and you'll likely forget it anyway. For example: “There is no need to touch the electric fence a second time just to be sure that it’s on.”
Danger! Ah-oogah! Ah-oogah! When you see the Warning icon, pay careful attention to the text. This icon flags something that’s bad or that can cause trouble. For example: “The enormous sea monster slithering toward your village won’t be using the legal system to settle its grievances.”
This icon alerts you to something technical, an aside or a trivial tidbit that I simply cannot suppress the urge to share. For example: “My first laptop was a steam-powered, 8-bit 6502 that I breadboarded myself.” Feel free to skip over this book's technical information as you please.
Where to Go from Here
You can start reading this book anywhere. Open the table of contents and pick a spot that amuses you or concerns you or piques your curiosity. Everything is explained in the text, and stuff is carefully cross-referenced so that you don't waste your time reading repeated information.
My email address is [email protected]. Yes, this is my real address. I reply to all email I receive, and you’ll get a quick reply if you keep your question short and specific to this book. Although I enjoy saying hi, I cannot answer technical support questions or help you troubleshoot your laptop. Thanks for understanding.
You can also visit my web page for more information or as a diversion:
www.wambooli.com
This book’s specific support page can be found at
www.wambooli.com/help/laptops
There you’ll find updates, as well as frequent blog posts with laptoppy information, tips, and tricks.
The publisher also maintains a support page, complete with updates and such. You can visit the publisher’s website at dummies.com. To search for specific information related to this book, including the bonus online Cheat Sheet, search for Laptops For Dummies from the site’s main page.
Enjoy your laptop computer. I'll see you on the road!
Part 1
This Laptop Thing
IN THIS PART …
Discover how the modern laptop came to be.
Learn how to buy a new laptop that’s just right for you.
Chapter 1
The Portable Computing Quest
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding portable computing
Reviewing laptop history
Discovering modern laptops
Getting to know the subnotebooks
Recognizing the tablet PC
One summer day, in his 42nd year, Eugene noted how pleasant the weather was outside. He was inspired to attach wheels to the room-size, vacuum tube computer. Then he and the other three computer scientists, despite their utter lack of muscle tone, pushed the 17-ton beast out of the lab to work outside. It was this crazy notion that sparked the portable computer revolution.
Today the revolution continues. Computers are not only shrinking — they’re becoming more portable. Their names represent a pantheon of portable PC potential, including portables, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, convertibles, and tablets. Indeed, portable computing has a rich history, from the first dreams and desires to the multitudinous options now available.
The History of Portable Computing
You can’t make something portable by simply bolting a handle to it. Sure, it pleases the marketing folk, who are interested in things that sound good more than things that are practical. For example, you can put a handle on an anvil and call it portable, but that doesn’t make it so.
My point is that true portability implies that a gizmo has at least these three characteristics:
It’s lightweight.
It needs no power cord or other wires.
It’s practical.
In the history of portable computing, these three things didn’t happen all at once, and definitely not in that order.
THE ANCIENT PORTABLE COMPUTER
Long before people marveled over credit-card-size calculators, merchants and goatherds used the world's first portable calculator. Presenting the abacus, the device used for centuries to rapidly perform calculations that would otherwise induce painful headaches.
Abacus comes from the Greek word meaning “to swindle you faster.” Seriously, the abacus, or counting board, is simple to master. Schoolkids today learn to use the abacus as a diversion from more important studies. In the deft hands of an expert, an abacus can perform all the same operations as a calculator — including square roots and cubic roots.
In his short story Into the Comet, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote of stranded astronauts using many abacuses to plot their voyage home when the spaceship's computer wouldn’t work because the Internet was down and their version of Windows couldn’t be validated.
The Xerox Dynabook
The desire to take a computer on the road has been around a long, long time. Back around 1970, when Bill Gates was still in school and dreaming of becoming a chiropodist, Xerox PARC developed the Dynabook concept.
Today, you'd recognize the Dynabook as an eBook reader, similar to the Amazon Kindle: The Dynabook was proposed to be the size of a sheet of paper and only a half-inch thick. The top part was a screen; the bottom, a keyboard.
The Dynabook never left the lab, remaining only a dream. Yet the desire to take a computer on the road wouldn't go away. During the three decades after the Dynabook concept fizzled, many attempts were made to create truly portable computers.
The Osborne 1
The first successful portable computer was the Osborne 1, created by computer book author and publisher Adam Osborne in 1981. Adam believed that in order for personal computers to be successful, they must be portable.
His design for the Osborne 1 portable computer was ambitious for the time: The thing needed to fit under an airline seat — and this was years before anyone would even dream of using a computer on an airplane.
The Osborne 1 portable computer, shown in Figure 1-1, was a whopping success. It featured a full-size keyboard and two 5¼-inch floppy drives but only a teensy, credit-card-size monitor. It wasn't battery powered, but it did have a handy carrying handle so that you could lug around the 24-pound beast like an overpacked suitcase. Despite its shortcomings, 10,000 units a month were sold; for $1,795, you got the computer plus free software.
The loveable luggables
The Osborne computer was barely portable. Face it: The thing was a suitcase! Imagine hauling the 24-pound Osborne across Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Worse: Imagine the joy expressed by your fellow seatmates as you try to wedge the thing beneath the seat in front of you.
Computer users yearned for portability. They wanted to believe the advertising images of carefree people toting the Osborne around — people with arms of equal length. But no hipster marketing term could mask the ungainly nature of the Osborne: Portable? Transportable? Wispy? Nope. Credit some wag in the computer press for dreaming up the term luggable to describe the new and popular category of portable computers ushered in by the Osborne.
FIGURE 1-1: A late-model Osborne.
Never mind its weight. Never mind that most luggable computers never ventured from the desktops they were first set up on — luggables were the best the computer industry could offer an audience wanting a portable computer.
In the end, the Osborne computer’s weight didn’t doom it. No, what killed the Osborne was that in the early 1980s the world wanted IBM PC compatibility. The Osborne lacked it. Instead, the upstart Texas company Compaq introduced luggability to the IBM world with the Compaq 1, shown in Figure 1-2.
The Compaq Portable (also called the Compaq 1), introduced in 1983 at $3,590, proved that you could have your IBM compatibility and haul it on the road with you — as long as a power socket was handy and you had good upper-body strength.
Yet the power cord can stretch only so far. It became painfully obvious that for a computer to be truly portable — as Adam Osborne intended — it would have to lose its power cord.
The Model 100
The first computer that looked even remotely like a modern laptop, and was fully battery powered, was the Radio Shack Model 100, shown in Figure 1-3. It was an overwhelming success.
FIGURE 1-2: The luggable Compaq Portable.
WHAT’S A PC?
PC is an acronym for politically correct as well as for personal computer. In this book’s context, the acronym PC stands for personal computer.
Originally, personal computers were known as microcomputers. This term comes from the microprocessor that powered the devices. It was also a derisive term, comparing the personal systems with the larger, more intimidating computers of the day.
When IBM entered the microcomputer market in 1982, it called its computer the IBM PC. Though it was a brand name, the term PC soon referred to any similar computer and eventually to any computer. A computer is basically a PC.
As far as this book is concerned, a PC is a personal computer that runs the Windows operating system. Laptop computers are also PCs, but the term PC more often implies a desktop model computer.
FIGURE 1-3: The Radio Shack Model 100.
The Model 100 wasn’t designed to be IBM PC compatible, which is surprising considering that PC compatibility was all the rage at the time. Instead, this portable computer offered users a full-size, full-action keyboard plus an eensie, 8-row, 40-column LCD text display. It came with several built-in programs, including a text editor (word processor), a communications program, a scheduler, and an appointment book, plus the BASIC programming language, which allowed users to create their own programs or obtain BASIC programs written by others.
The Radio Shack Model 100 was all that was needed for portability at the time, which is why the device was so popular.
The Model 100 provided the
form factor
for laptops of the future. It was about the size of a hardback novel. It ran for hours on standard AA batteries. And it weighed just 6 pounds.
So popular was the Model 100 among journalists that it was common to hear the hollow sound of typing on its keyboard during presidential news conferences in the 1980s.
Despite its popularity and versatility, people wanted a version of the Model 100 that would run the same software as the IBM PC. Technology wasn't ready to shrink the PC's hardware to Model 100 size in 1983, but the Model 100 set the bar for what people desired in a laptop's dimensions.
PORTABILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS
Long before the Internet came around, one thing that was deemed necessary on all portable computers was the ability to communicate. A portable computer had two communications duties: First, it had to be able to talk with a desktop computer, to exchange and update files; second, it needed a modem, to be able to communicate electronically over phone lines.
Nearly every portable computer, from the Radio Shack Model 100 onward, required a modem, or at least an option for installing one. This was before the Internet era, back when a modem was considered an optional luxury for a desktop computer. Out on the road, away from a desktop at the office, early proto-road-warriors needed that modem in order to keep in touch.
The lunch buckets
Before the dawn of the first true laptop, some ugly mutations slouched in, along with a few rejects from various mad scientists around the globe. I call them the lunch bucket computers because they assumed the shape, size, and weight of a hardhat’s lunch box. The Compaq III, shown in Figure 1-4, was typical of this type of portable computer.
The lunch box beasts weighed anywhere from 12 to 20 pounds or more, and most weren’t battery powered.
The lunch bucket portables were the first PCs to use full-screen LCD monitors. (The Osborne and Compaq portables used glass CRTs.)
Incidentally, around the same time as the lunch bucket computers became popular, color monitors were becoming standard items on desktop PCs. All portables at the time, even those with LCD monitors, were monochrome.
Honestly, the lunch bucket did offer something over the old transportable or luggable: less weight! A late-model lunch bucket PC weighed in at about 12 pounds, half the weight and about one-eighth the size of the suitcase-size luggables.
Dawn of the PC laptop
The computer industry's dream was to have a portable computer that had all the power and features of a desktop computer yet was about the same size and weight as the Model 100. One of the first computers to approach this mark was the Compaq SLT, back in 1988, as shown in Figure 1-5.
FIGURE 1-4: The Compaq III.
FIGURE 1-5: The Compaq SLT.
The Compaq SLT was the first portable computer to resemble a modern laptop: A hinged lid swings up and back from the base, which contains the keyboard. This design is known as the clamshell.
Feature-wise, the SLT had what most PC desktop users wanted in a portable system: a full-size keyboard, full-size screen, floppy drive, and 286 processor, which meant that the computer could run the then-popular DOS operating system. The computer lacked a hard drive.
Weight? Alas, the SLT was a bowling ball at 14 pounds!
What the Compaq SLT did was prove to the world that portability was possible. A laptop computer was designed to feature everything a desktop computer could and to run on batteries for an hour or so. Believe it or not, consumers were delighted.
The search for light
Just because the marketing department labeled the computer a laptop didn't mean that it was sleek and lightweight. For a while there, it seemed like anyone could get away with calling a portable PC a laptop, despite the computer’s weight of up to 20 pounds — which is enough to crush any lap, not to mention kneecaps.
In the fall of 1989, NEC showed that it could think outside the laptop box when it introduced the UltraLite laptop, shown in Figure 1-6.
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 tumid laptops of the day. And the battery lasted a whopping 2 hours, thanks mostly to the UltraLite's lack of moving parts.
CALCULATING LAPTOP WEIGHT: THE MISSING PIECES
When computer companies specify the weights of their laptops, I'm certain that they do it under ideal conditions, possibly on the moon or at another location where gravity is weak. The advertised weight is, as they say, “for comparison purposes only.”
Commonly left out of the laptop's weight specs is the power brick, the AC adapter that connects the laptop to a wall socket. When the laptop isn't running on batteries, you need the power brick to supply the thing with juice, so the power brick is a required accessory — something you have to tote with you if you plan to take the laptop on an extended trip.
Back when laptops were novel, the advertisements never disclosed how much the power brick weighed — sometimes half as much as the laptop itself! Either that or the power brick was even bulkier than the laptop, as shown in the figure, in the obnoxiously big Dell 320LT power brick (and its cumbersome 30-minute batteries). Lugging around those items isn’t convenient. Things are better today.
FIGURE 1-6: The NEC UltraLite.
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:
Light weight
Long battery life
Full hardware compatibility with desktop systems
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 notebook
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 offers features similar to a desktop PC: fast processor, lots of memory, plenty of storage, LCD screen, wireless networking, and so on. Putting all these features into a laptop computer gives you today’s notebook.
The subnotebook
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, the 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 from the 2000s.
FIGURE 1-7: A netbook PC, circa 2008.
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. What they seek is a portable computer with a monitor but no keyboard. A digital stylus is used 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, though a keyboard is often included as a type of cover; it’s shown attached in the figure.
FIGURE 1-8: A tablet PC.
Tablet PCs can offer pen input by using a digital pen or stylus, or your stubby human finger. 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 the Samsung Galaxy Tab. A tablet PC differs from these gizmos in that it offers features associated with traditional computers and, thanks to a keyboard, behaves 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 a 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.
For you 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 buying 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 (see Chapter 12). You can also connect any number of popular desktop peripherals, such as a printer, a scanner, or external storage. The advantage is that, unlike with a desktop system, you're free to disconnect the laptop and wander the world whenever you want.
To use a laptop as a space-saving computer system
Unlike with desktops, you don't have to build a tabletop shrine to your laptop computer — that is, you don’t need a computer desk. If space is tight where you live or work, store the laptop on the shelf or in a drawer. Then set it up on the kitchen table or a coffee table whenever you're ready to work. Forget about the constant mess and clutter that orbit the typical desktop computer station.
To get a laptop as a second computer
Why buy a second desktop computer when you can get a laptop and enjoy not only the presence of a second computer but also its portability? Furthermore, you can network the two computers, allowing them to share the Internet connection and printers as well as each other's data and files.
To take the laptop on the road
Laptops let you take your work on the road. Thanks to cloud storage and other synchronization tricks, you can be off and running to anywhere you like.
Laptops let you escape the confines of your office and work anywhere you like for a few hours. Eventually, the battery must be recharged.
The laptop lets you take your work with you when you travel. It lets you experience the reality of using a computer on an airplane (which isn't as cool as it sounds).
MR. LAPTOP GOES TO COLLEGE
Setting up a computer in a college dorm room in the 1980s was the sure sign of being a nerd. Today, not setting up a laptop computer in a college dorm room is the sure sign of being a social outcast. I implore future students to pester their parental units early — say, starting in the second grade — to ensure that they leave for college armed with the best portable computing power possible.
No, I’m not being silly. Some colleges require students to arrive with laptops in tow. Those institutions may even publish laptop guides so that campus compatibility is guaranteed and issues such as viruses and spyware are dealt with before classes start. My advice: Follow those guidelines. Look for a laptop based on the school’s recommendations. But there’s still more you need to do.
Be sure to prepare a college-bound laptop for the onslaught of malware. See Chapter 19 for vital information about laptop security. Also see Chapter 20 for dealing with another college laptop issue: theft. You’ve probably spent a lot of time preparing for college; you should prepare the laptop for college as well.
Why you don’t need a laptop
Thanks to the fees charged by the miniaturization lab, laptops are generally more expensive than their desktop counterparts. They're also more expensive to fix. Forget about upgrading the hardware. Laptops are easily stolen. The battery life never lives up to the printed specifications. It's tough to get work done on a jet or in a café unless you’re really, really motivated to do so — ack! These are but minor quibbles.
You can dither about whether to get a laptop or a mobile device, à la the iPad. It’s a legitimate debate: If all you want to do is read email, browse the web, engage in the social networking thing, take pictures, watch films, or listen to music, you don’t need a laptop. Sure, the laptop can do all that, but if you don’t plan to create anything or do anything else requiring a full-on PC, get a laptop or tablet PC instead.
Laptop Shopping
The best computer you can buy is the one that does what you need it to do. To find this computer, you must familiarize yourself with some issues and deliberately ignore others.
Things to ignore when buying a laptop
When it comes to spending your money on a useful computer, especially a laptop, feel free to ignore these items:
Slick marketing campaigns: You’ll never be as cool as the person in the ad, no matter how much effort you put into it. As a tool, a laptop is judged by whether it offers features that you need, not by how nifty its advertising looks.
Brand name: Too many people consider brand name first and don't even know which components they need. Similarly, you don’t need to buy a laptop from the same manufacturer as the one who made your desktop PC. As long as the laptop runs the software you need, you’re fine.
Low price: An abundance of cheap laptops are available. In haste, you may buy a laptop, thinking that you’re getting a deal — but get stuck with a brick instead.
High price: It’s easy to be duped into believing that the most expensive laptop is the best. Buying too much is not a wise buying decision.
Things to heed when buying a laptop
Throughout laptop history, five key items have been vital to the laptop-choosing decision:
Weight: Nearly all laptops weigh between 2 and 7 pounds. The heavier laptops, the notebooks, have more features, such as a larger display or a numeric keypad next to the keyboard. The lighter models, the tablet PCs and subnotebooks, don’t necessarily have fewer features; they might actually have more lightweight or advanced features, which makes them more expensive.
Size: Most laptops are thinner than an inch. Tablet PCs are the thinnest. Subnotebooks are the smallest.
Display: Recently, manufacturers have discovered that people love the larger screen on a laptop — even though the larger display adds to the laptop's size and weight (and consumes more battery power). For a laptop being used at one location and only rarely going on the road, a huge display is wonderful. If you want portability, though, and a longer battery life, consider a smaller display.
Touchscreen display: If the laptop advertises itself as a tablet PC, or a convertible notebook, it has a touchscreen display. You can use your finger to manipulate the touchscreen. If the laptop comes with a digital stylus or pen, all the better.
Battery life: Despite their manufacturers’ claims, most laptops run anywhere from three to five hours unplugged. Subnotebooks and tablet PCs hold the record, with many of them lasting as long as ten hours. Regardless, it’s possible and necessary to manage the laptop’s power; see Chapters 10 and 23.
Stuff that's important to the overall weight of the laptop — the power brick and cord, keyboard cover, extra batteries, portable storage, and other gizmos — aren’t included in the basic tonnage calculation. Keep these items in mind when weight is important to you.
Convertible laptops, especially those with a twisting-folding lid, are thicker than standard laptops because of the extra circuitry required for their touchscreen displays. See
Chapter 7
.
If you desire both a large display and portability, consider getting an external monitor for your laptop. This way, you can enjoy the big, roomy screen when the laptop is at your workstation and still have the portability you need when taking the laptop on the road.
Software for Your Laptop
A computer system is composed of two parts: hardware and software. When you buy a new laptop, you probably pay more attention to the hardware. This approach is understandable, but it isn’t the reason you bought the device: Laptops, like all computers, exist to run software. If you want a laptop that does everything you need, I recommend looking for software first and then finding hardware to match that software.
The operating system
The main program that controls your laptop is the operating system. It’s the computer’s brain, giving the laptop its personality and giving you, the human, a way to control the computer.
For nearly all PC laptops, the operating system is Microsoft Windows. This book is specific to Windows 10, which has been around since 2015. Given that most laptops last perhaps six years at the most, my guess is that all PC laptops today run Windows 10.
There’s no special laptop version of Windows. The operating system offers features specific to laptops with touchscreens, but otherwise it’s the same Windows you would use and dislike on a desktop computer system.
If you have an older laptop that runs a previous version of Windows, please back up your data and consider buying a new laptop at once!
See
Chapter 8
for more information on Windows.
