NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Making the Laptop Move All Information Courtesy of Consumer Reports Professional Toolkit Series NSBE – Houston Space Chapter

Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Conquering the Desktop Laptops originally grossly inferior in capability or price to desktops – no longer true Any laptop can handle typical computing tasks Larger displays – often 15-inch, a few 17-inch models Prices have fallen – average laptop around $1500, but closeout sales or no-frills laptops can match desktop prices

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Display Types XGA (Extended Graphics Array) 1024x768 pixels (acceptable for most standard use) SXGA (Super XGA) 1280 x 1024 pixels SXGA+ (SXGA Plus) 1400 x 1050 pixels UXGA (Ultra XGA) 1600 x 1200 pixels

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Centrino Processor Intels name for the Pentium M Designed for mobile computing and wireless connectivity Longer battery lifetimes than other processors Generate less heat Quieter than other laptops (dont require loud cooing fan)

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Diminished Significance of Processor Speed No longer the all-important metric of computer performance Most processors deliver all the speed computer needs – additional speed not adding capability 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 and 1.4 GHz Centrino earned same speed score in Consumer Reports tests Direct speed comparisons difficult to make and potentially misleading

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Operating System Windows is best choice for most users Macintosh useful for photo editing, music, video, and other multimedia Select Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Office for business use

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Types of Laptops Lightweight (~ $1500 and up) –Cut weight by using plug-in drives –Processors designed for low power usage and maximum battery life –Screens may be small –Recommended target configuration: 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 mobile, or 1.4-GHz Centrino, or equivalent 12- or 14-inch XGA screen 20 or 30 GB hard drive Modular drive bay CD/DVD combo drive 256 MB RAM

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Types of Laptops Desktop Replacement (~ $1200 and up) –2.2-GHz Pentium 4 Mobile, or 2.7-GHz nonmobile processor, or equivalent –15-inch XGA display –30 or 40 GB hard drive –CD/DVD combo drive –256 or 512 MB of RAM –32 MB graphics processor

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Special Needs Serious digital imaging –Desktop replacement augmented with: 60 GB hard drive SXGA+ display For video editiong: –3 GHz processor or equivalent –512 MB to 1 GB RAM –DVD writer For extreme gaming: –64 MB gamer-class graphics processor

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Special Needs Frequent travel –Lightweight laptop augmented with: Desktop docking station Spare battery and padded case

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Special Option: Tablet PC Touch-sensitive screen Handwriting recognition Toshiba Portege – laptop that becomes a tablet (flip screen and lock down over keyboard) –Consumer Reports suggests Portege doesnt hold its own against other laptops, though the tablet PC portion works well

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Pre-Configured or Custom? Customized options pioneered by Dell and Gateway; becoming industry standard Generally tradeoff of price/convenience vs. optimization

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Other Components to Consider High speed USB port? (40x faster than earlier USB ports) Modular bay (holds CD-ROM, disk drive, or spare battery) Card slots Infrared port S-video output 3.5-inch disk drive

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Low Cost Units Units dont have all the frills, but may be options when on a budget Compaq Presario 2100: $800 to $1700 Dell Inspiron 1100: $850 to $1600 Gateway 400: $850 to $1900 HP Pavilion ze4300: $800 to $2100 IBM Thinkpad G: $900 to $2000 IBM Thinkpad R: $850 to $2500

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Consumer Reports Best Buys Desktop Replacement –Dell Inspiron 5100: 2.66-GHz Pentium 4, 15-inch, SXGA+ $1300 Lightweight –Gateway 450: 1.4-GHz Centrino, 15-inch, SXGA+ $1600 –Sony Vaio PCG-Z1: 1.5-GHz Centrino, 14-inch, SXGA+ $2400

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Warranties and Insurance Get longest manufacturers warranty you can afford If travel often, purchase screen insurance Wont need extended warranty from retailer if take full advantage of manufacturer warranty/insurance

NSBE – Houston Space Chapter Professional Toolkit Series: Laptop Summary Do your homework before making a purchase Decide what capabilities you want –Choose pre-configured vs. custom accordingly –Dont pay hundreds more for features you wont use Consider travel needs Consider peripheral needs Budget accordingly and enjoy