A laptop is like a pet: you must pick out the right one for you or forever will it dominate your destiny with its demands. Think we’re being dramatic? Just wait and see. So we’ve prepared a comprehensive list of special laptop features so that you’ll know what to expect when you set out to buy one. Educating yourself on laptop features also protects you against unscrupulous salesmen who have no qualms about preying on technological innocents such as yourself.

Weight

Most laptops weigh between 3 - 8 pounds, with the majority coming in at just over 5 pounds. When you’re buying your laptop, ask yourself if you’ll often be taking it outside your house. If the answer is yes, you’ll want to buy a thinner, lighter laptop that will fit into your bag or briefcase. Maybe you can even attach it onto a chain and wear it around your neck for extra easy access (and as a snazzy fashion statement).

On the other hand, if your laptop is going to inhabit your room for the majority of its existence, you might want to consider investing in a laptop that has more features; it’ll be bulkier, but at least it won’t fly off your desk when a strong breeze blows through the window.

Size

The most common screen sizes on laptops are 12.1, 13.3, and 14.4 inches (although some really tiny laptops feature screens that are as small as 8.4 inches). Again, a tiny screen is appropriate for frequent travelers, but it’d be ideal to have a larger, squint-free screen if you’re willing to sacrifice convenience (and some extra bucks) to buy it.

Input devices

Instead of a hand-driven mouse, laptops come with other more cumbersome “input devices” for navigating a cursor around the screen. The good news is you can’t get carpal tunnel from them, but the bad news is that you just might go berserk trying to edit a 10-page paper. Keep in mind, though, that all laptops allow you to plug in a standard mouse if you so desire.

Touchpad

A touchpad is a square-shaped surface located below the space bar of a laptop keyboard. It is touch-sensitive and you navigate the screen by moving your finger around the box, as if you were drawing. The majority of laptops sport a touchpad as their input device. A touchpad can be a bit tough to get used to (you have to be careful not to let your thumb fall on it while typing, or it’ll move the cursor), but they work quite nicely.

Pointing stick or rubberized nipple. Sounds titillating, but this is one pointing stick (or nipple!) you’ll wish you never touched. This input device is a tiny rubber nub that sticks out of the keyboard right between the G, H, and B keys, and it responds to pressure from your index finger. So you navigate the cursor by applying pressure in the direction you want the arrow to go (sorta like a joystick). Sounds easy, but most people find pointing sticks very frustrating to use - the slightest touch causes the arrow to go flying across the screen. We suggest you go with the touchpad instead.

In this fast-changing technological world, sometimes you are faced with some difficult choices. For instance, your current computer has matured to the ripe old age of six months and has been deemed obsolete. Now it’s time to rent a new computer and the question is, “Should I buy a laptop or a desktop?” But just because laptops are the new craze, it does not mean that you should run right out and get one. There are benefits and drawbacks that must be weighed.

Of course, the main benefit of a laptop is the portability. This can be a huge benefit, allowing you to take your computer to and from work, on planes, on camping trips, and practically anywhere else. Along with this benefit comes a large drawback. It is just as easy for someone else to walk off with it as it is for you. Laptops are stolen at an alarming rate, because they are just so easy to steal. And when that computer is stolen, not only do you lose the value of the computer, but also all of your valuable data.

Another major drawback of a laptop is that their parts are “proprietary” which means that if your laptop breaks, only the company that made it will be able to fix it, and after the warranty expires they will be very happy to charge you an exorbitant price for that service. While with a desktop computers, you are able to take advantage of your local computer store which will often fix it at a much more reasonable rate. However, renting a laptop circumvents this problem as you can easily return it in exchange for a new one.

A third drawback to the laptop craze is that in general, laptops are far more expensive than desktop systems. For the price of an average laptop, you could rent a much more powerful desktop. Of course, what you are paying for is the portability of a smaller design, but is that worth it? While it can be very fun to take your computer with you on a camping trip, how often do you need to type something up while fishing?

Now, the laptop is a very important part of the computer market, and I am not trying to dissuade people from renting them if they have need for them, but I have just seen far too many people dissatisfied with their laptops and wishing that they had rented a desktop.

One main example of this group of people is college students. Often first year students purchase laptops because they plan on taking their computers to class with them and being able to do their homework anywhere on campus. The stark reality of it is that laptops get stolen far too often at college, even right out of the dorm rooms, because they’re just so portable. To add to this, I do not know a single student who uses their laptop in classes. While a noble ambition, no one actually carries through with this plan.

Laptops should be viewed as a purchase that should only be made when necessary. You would not purchase a car with 4-wheel drive (no matter how fun it looked) unless you actually had use of that feature, because otherwise it wouldn’t justify the added cost. The same is true of laptops.

It is a little hard to determine what was the first portable or laptop computer, the first portable computers did not look like the book-sized and folding laptops that we are familiar with today, however, they were both portable and lapable, and lead to the development of notebook style laptops. I have outlined several potential firsts below and how each qualifies, many of the off-site links provide good photos of the computers that will let you see the progression in design.

The First Laptop? Maybe

Designed in 1979 by a Briton, William Moggridge, for Grid Systems Corporation, the Grid Compass was one fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was used by NASA on the space shuttle program in the early 1980’s. A 340K byte bubble memory lap-top computer with die-cast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen.

Gavilan Computer As The First Laptop?

Manny Fernandez had the idea for a well-designed laptop for executives who were starting to use computer. Fernandez, who started Gavilan Computer, promoted his machines as the first “laptop” computers in May 1983. Many historians consider the Gavilan as the first fully functional laptop computer.

The First Laptop Computer - Osborne 1

The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher founded Osborne Computer and produced the Osborne 1 in 1981, a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds and cost $1795. The Osborne 1 came with a five-inch screen, modem port, two 5 1/4 floppy drives, a large collection of bundled software programs, and a battery pack. The short-lived computer company was never successful. (second photo)

More History of Laptop Firsts

Also released in 1981, was the Epson HX-20, a battery powered portable computer, with a 20-character by 4 line LCD display and a built-in printer.

In January of 1982, Microsoft’s Kazuhiko Nishi and Bill Gates begin discussions on designing a portable computer, based on using a new liquid crystal display or LCD screen. Kazuhiko Nishi later showed the prototype to Radio Shack who agree to manufacture the computer.

In 1983, Radio Shack released the TRS-80 Model 100, a 4 lb. battery operated portable computer with a flat and more of a laptop design.

In February 1984, IBM announced the IBM 5155 Portable Personal Computer.

Three years later in 1986, Radio Shack released the improved and smaller TRS Model 200.

In 1988, Compaq Computer introduces its first laptop PC with VGA graphics - the Compaq SLT/286.

In 1989, NEC UltraLite was released, considered by some to be the first “notebook style” computer. It was a laptop size computer which weighed under 5 lbs. (second photo)

In September 1989, Apple Computer released the first Macintosh Portable that later evolved into the Powerbook. (second photo)

In 1989, Zenith Data Systems released the Zenith MinisPort, a 6-pound laptop computer. (more Zenith laptops)

In October 1989, Compaq Computer released its first notebook PC, the Compaq LTE.

In March 1991, Microsoft released the Microsoft BallPoint Mouse that used both mouse and trackball technology in a pointing device designed for laptop computers.

In October 1991, Apple Computers released the Macintosh PowerBook 100, 140, and 170 - all notebook style laptops. (more on Powerbooks)

In October 1992, IBM released its ThinkPad 700 laptop computer.

In 1992, Intel and Microsoft release APM or the Advanced Power Management specification for laptop computers.

In 1993, the first PDAs or Personal Digital Assistants are released. PDAs are pen-based hand-held computers