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Laptop computers and the PVP
effect!
By: Tom Fox
Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop
is here, and it's here to stay! For a while now
notebooks have outstripped their ageing desktop PC
siblings, easily
winning the gold medal in the computer sales olympics.
We will illustrate how the PVP effect has contributed
greatly to the increase in popularity of notebook
computers.
(P) Portability:
Firstly it may be stating the obvious, but people buy
laptops because they can take them anywhere. Office
workers need no more be confined to their
claustrophophic
cubicles. Instead those statistic charts and data
reports can be compiled on a train, in the comfort of an
arm chair, or even on the beach! Portability equals
flexibility, but
alas this hasn't always been the case. Todays ultra
portable laptop computers have a come along way since
the bulky, sewing machine sized machines of the late
seventies and early eighties. Indeed one of the first
portable computers was built by IBM, and this machine
(IBM 5100) weighed in at a hefty 50lbs! Today's corridor
warriors
would have trouble lugging that puppy from meeting to
meeting, unless of course they subjected themselves to
an intensive dose of steroids :)
(V) Value:
In the seventies the aforementioned IBM 5100 would have
set you back a staggering 20,000 dollars. Today a top of
the range IBM Thinkpad can be bought for around 3000
dollars. Cheaper Thinkpads can often be obtained for
well under a thousand dollars, especially if you don't
mind purchasing a used or refurbished model.
(P) Performance:
Many laptops today come fitted with Centrino processors
which offer superb performance and improved battery
life. What is Centrino I hear you ask? Well this is
Intel's
name for their new notebook technology that combines
their Pentium M processor, 855 chipset and the Intel
PRO/Wireless 2100 WiFi 802.11 network interface. Laptops
fitted with these processors are usually lighter because
of the smaller components used.
Couple this attractive feature with wireless networking
technology and you have a powerful technological
package. Wi-Fi is short for "Wireless Fidelity" and it's
usage is
growing quickly amongst home users, office workers, even
coffee shops. If you enter Wi-Fi areas with a properly
equipped notebook, you can access the Internet at
broadband speeds. |
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