Specify Your Laptop's Features

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My first laptop, which I still have but rarely use, had one USB port, two PCMCIA slots and a handful of other ports, now commonly called "legacy" ports (because they're primary function is for connecting old or obsolete peripherals), that I never used. My needs were, and are, simple. Nonetheless, my current laptop is feature-filled. Among the features you might want to include on your wish list are the following:

Integrated Wi-Fi

Personally, I enjoy, and recommend including, integrated Wi-Fi. There are still occasions when I find it necessary to use a high-power adapter coupled with a high-gain antenna but, on the whole, I find the performance of built-in Wi-Fi to be more than adequate; and highly convenient.

I especially like Centrino® equipped laptops. To qualify for the Centrino® label a laptop must include in it's list of features one of several specific Intel® processors, a specific mobile Intel® chipset, and an integrated Intel® PRO/Wireless radio transceiver. These specifications are vague because, even though the processor, chipset and integrated transceiver have always been required Centrino® components, the specific models have changed over the years.

When Centrino technology was initially introduced I read article after article stating that Centrino offered no significant advantage over any other wireless solution; integrated or otherwise. I beg to differ. I do believe that, because the components included in the Centrino package have been designed to work together, as a team, Centrino outperforms other integrated Wi-Fi solutions; offering better connectivity and longer battery life.

LCD Screen

I could include within theCyberTruckStop.com a complete section focusing on laptop screens. Someday, maybe I will. Until then, these few paragraphs will have to do.

When you begin deciding which laptop screen will be best suited to your needs you should have a basic understanding of the following:

• Aspect Ratio: The aspect ratio of any screen - TV, laptop or desktop - is determined by counting the number of pixels across the screen and the number of pixels down the screen. Most TVs, for example, use an aspect ratio of 4:3 meaning that for every 4 pixels across there are 3 pixels down.
• Native Resolution: Laptop LCD screens display a single given resolution referred to as the native resolution; expressed as Width x Height. A 14.1" laptop screen, for example, might have a native resolution of 1280x800. The aspect ratio can be extrapolated from the resolution by determining, and dividing by, the highest common denominator:
  1280/160 x 800/160 = 8 x 5 (commonly referred to as 16:10).
  High resolutions result in sharper, but smaller, images and text and, while screens can be adjusted to display a resolution lower than the native resolution; the method used, pixel blending, can result in reduced image quality.
• Screen Size: Laptop screen sizes, like TV screens, are determined by measuring the screen diagonally; from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. Laptop LCD screens fall into two general categories:
  • Standard Screen: With one exception, standard screens incorporate a 4:3 aspect ratio and are, most often, 14" or 15" screens.
  • Wide Screen: With one exception, wide screens incorporate a 16:10 aspect ratio and can be found in sizes ranging from 10.6" to 17". The most popular wide screen sizes, though, seem to be 14.1" and 15.4"

To further confuse the issue, aspect ratios and resolutions are rarely advertised. Instead they've been replaced by abbreviations that indicate the display standard. This practice began in 1990 when IBM introduced the eXtended Graphics Array (XGA) standard; which has since been "improved" upon:

Standard Screens

• XGA: A resolution of 1024x768 equaling a 4:3 aspect ratio.
• SXGA: A resolution of 1280x1024 resulting in a 5:4 aspect ratio.
• SXGA+: A resolution of 1400x1050 equaling a 4:3 aspect ratio.
• UXGA: A resolution of 1600x1200 equaling a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Wide Screens

• WXGA: A resolution of 1280x768 resulting in an aspect ratio of 5:3. (Normally found in UltraPortable laptops.)
• WXGA: A resolution of 1280x800 resulting in an aspect ratio of 16:10.
• WXGA+: A resolution of 1440x900 resulting in an aspect ratio of 16:10.
• WSXGA: A resolution of 1680x1050 resulting in an aspect ratio of 16:10.
• WUXGA: A resolution of 1920x1200 resulting in an aspect ratio of 16:10.

Ports & Slots

Arguably, the most useful ports on any laptop are the USB ports and my current laptop is equipped with four of them. I've never used all four at once but I often use two and, at times, I've used three; at a minimum, look for a laptop equipped with two USB ports. Further, if you'd like to use a digital camcorder or iPod with your laptop; make sure it has a "FireWire (IEEE 1394)" port. If you want to output video to a TV; find a laptop with an "S-Video out" port. Additionally, most laptops will be equipped with an internal dial-up modem, at least one Ethernet port, along with microphone & headphone ports.

A PC Card (or PCMCIA) slot in a laptop provides expansion opportunities. Additional USB, FireWire and Ethernet ports as well as Wi-Fi adapters are available in PC Card form. PC Cards and slots come in three sizes but Type II, for input/output devices, are most commonly used. Smaller PC Express cards are quickly gaining ground on their larger Type II cousins and laptop manufacturers are including slots for them in increasing numbers.

Bluetooth Capability

Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed primarily to replace cables connecting PCs and peripherals or communication devices. It can be used for both voice and data communications.

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