Choosing A Laptop Computer

What is a laptop computer? Most people are familiar with laptops these days but it is only in recent years that they have become more affordable and they are now realistic alternatives to the older standard of desktop machines.

A Laptop computer is quite literally a computer you can use on your lap. They are portable computers powered by batteries and they include their own display screen so they provide a complete computing solution in a convenient and very transportable way. You can use a laptop anywhere, provided it has power in its batteries or you have a convenient power supply to plug into where you can recharge the batteries while you use the computer.

When laptop computers were first developed they were the size of a small suitcase and weighed enough to stretch a gorillas arms to the floor. These days a portable computer can weigh less than a bag of sugar and can be as small as a paperback book.

The original portable computer designs tried to be a desktop computer in a portable case and this made the machines big and heavy but as developments in smaller and lighter computer parts enabled more to be squeezed in to a smaller space, true laptops began to appear and it became much more realistic to consider travelling with a computer.

The one factor that decides the size of a laptop computer, more than any other thing, is the size of the screen. You simply can't have a portable computer smaller than it's screen because the screen is rigid and cannot be bent, twisted or folded though that may be only a matter of time until new developments in screen technology make the bendable screen commonplace. The screen is normally mounted on the underside of the lid which hinges back to reveal the keyboard beneath it with the screen display standing vertically behind so you can easily see the screen as you type.

Laptop computer usually use a track pad rather than a mouse for controlling the cursor on the screen and for clicking icons and windows. A trackpad is a responsive area, usually just in front of the keyboard, that responds to finger pressure. As you move your finger over the track-pad the cursor on screen responds in the same way it would respond to mouse movements. There are usually two buttons next to the trackpad that are the equivalent of the buttons on a mouse.

Laptop computers are sometimes referred to as notebook computers but there is no difference between the two. Smaller notebooks have been developed, known as netbook computers, which have smaller screen sizes and are usually less powerful machines intended for simple web browsing and text editing etc but they are perfect for many people's computing needs. Netbooks do not usually have either a floppy disk or DVD drive preferring to make use of the USB ports provided to plug in USB flash drives or a network cable or wireless connection to transfer data and information.

The biggest benefit and, at the same time, the most significant limitation of a laptop computer when compared with their desktop equivalents is the battery power source. While the battery lasts a laptop can be used just about anywhere. You could be in the middle of a desert, thousands of miles from a plug socket and still use your laptop, while the battery has a charge. Once the battery runs down you face the problem of how to recharge it.

The batteries used in laptop computers are much better these days than they were when the first portable computers were released. Now you can get between two and four hours use from most laptops on one well charged battery while some of the more efficient netbooks can last for twelve hours or so. Laptops can be recharged in a couple of hours and you can use the computer while it is charging so this is not always such a great inconvenience.

Having a portable computer can change how you spend your time on the Internet. No longer are you tied to where the computer is. Now you can take the computer to where you want to be so, if you want to sit on the sofa and watch TV while surfing, you can. If you want to go to be you can still have your computer with you if you wish. Laptops are great for being able to work wherever you want to.

Having made the case for the benefits of laptop computers we now have to consider how to choose a laptop from all the hundreds of different makes and models out there and this will usually come down to balancing your needs and requirements against cost.

You can get some incredibly powerful laptop computers with enormous hard disks, powerful processors, lots of RAM memory and large screens so there is almost no limitation in ability when choosing a laptop instead of a desktop computer but all these features come at a price and you may not want to spend as much as the top of the line laptops cost.

Most people walk into a computer store and because they are unsure about the best laptop to suit their needs they are seen as easy targets by sales staff. Many people walk out of the store with a far more powerful laptop computer than they really need.

Computer sales staff invariably play the 'future-proof' card and most of us fall for it. None of us wants to think that the shiny new computer we bought today will be an outdated relic in six months or a year so future proofing sounds very appealing.

The reality is that few of us will take advantage of any of the upgrade possibilities such computers provide. Did you increase the RAM memory or have a larger hard disk installed in your last laptop? Some do but most people just use the computer as it was originally provided until it finally packs up working which is the time we decide to buy a new laptop.

What you should be looking for is a laptop that fulfills your needs now and will continue to be adequate for the future. You need it to be powerful enough to do what you do now but to have the capability to handle what you require of it as your needs develop. Having said that, most people would find most laptops more than capable for managing their requirements because most people do not use even 50% of the power of the computers they use.

The cost of a very capable computer processor chip is around $20 or you can spend $1000 buying a top of the range one. Most people will never notice the difference and there would be little point in spending that extra money.