Before buying a laptop computer, decide if you'll take itanywhere.
That you have to ask this seemingly nonsensical question shows howthe portable-computing market has changed. As laptops' share of thebusiness has grown from niche to near majority, laptops themselveshave changed.
Increasingly, they're built and bought to take the place ofdesktops. This new kind of laptop runs on desktop processors andfeatures screens as big as those of many desktops -- but sacrificesweight and battery life in the process.
That can be a fair trade-off. If the laptop won't leave your houseuntil your furniture does, a desktop-use laptop (for lack of a betterphrase) will take up less space than an actual desktop and be simplerto set up, albeit at the cost of a less comfortable keyboard andpointing device. You'll still be able to move it from room to room,and it may not even cost much more than a comparable desktop.
But if you're ever tempted to take that hefty laptop out of thehouse, remember that you can't put it on a diet.
So while the most important aspect of a laptop remains its price,its weight must come right after that.
Manufacturers try to blur this issue with descriptions like"lightweight -- only 7 lbs.!" But those seven pounds increase toeight with the laptop's power brick. Then add in the other junk inthe average briefcase, attache case, backpack or messenger bag, andyou've got 10 or more pounds hanging off you.
That's not fun. So don't buy a laptop that weighs more than fivepounds or so if you plan to take it anywhere.
The next most important measurement is the screen's size. Fourteen-and 15-inch displays are normal, but 12-inch screens can be quiteusable, too. Compare a screen's size with its resolution, how muchdetail it can handle; this is too often described by such unexplainedabbreviations as XGA (1,024 by 768 pixels), SXGA (1,280 by 1,024),SXGA (1,400 by 1,050) and UXGA (1,600 by 1,200).
The other items in my laptop shopping list:
Processors and memory: Even today's slowest processors are morethan fast enough for most home computing tasks. Don't buy a laptopwith a desktop Pentium 4 processor because it seems faster -- you'reunlikely to notice the extra speed, but you will notice the shorterbattery life, heat buildup and the consequent buzzing of coolingfans. (Consider such a machine, however, if you're on a tight budgetand won't use it on the road; desktop P4 chips cost less than mostlaptop-optimized processors.)
Don't be spooked by the relatively low clock speeds of Pentium Mprocessors either. In practice these new chips (often marketed underthe "Centrino" label) perform as fast as, if not faster than,processors with higher clock speeds while offering much betterbattery life.
Memory matters more than processors these days. Get at least 256megabytes, and buy 512 if you can. If you don't get 512 megs now,make sure your laptop has a memory slot left open for a futureupgrade.
If you're a gamer, get a graphics accelerator with 64 megabytes ofits own memory.
Storage: Get a 40-gigabyte hard drive and a combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM optical drive, or at the very least a CD-RW drive.
Floppy drives are a waste of money unless you regularly exchangefiles with antique, USB-deprived PCs. In all other cases, cheap "key-chain" flash-memory drives that plug into USB ports are the way togo. (None of the laptops reviewed here even includes a floppy drive.)
Some laptops include slots for the SD Card or Memory Stick storagecards used by digital cameras and handheld organizers -- a thoughtfulextra that's likely to grow in popularity.
Communications: A WiFi wireless-networking receiver, which willget you on the Internet from anywhere within range of a "hot spot,"has joined modem and Ethernet ports as a mandatory feature. Thefaster "802.11g" variant of WiFi is worth a few extra bucks, but"Centrino"-branded WiFi hardware is not -- this Intel certificationdoesn't add any new capabilities.
Expansion: At least two USB ports are mandatory, and they had bestbe of the high-speed, USB 2.0 flavor. You'll need FireWire ports ifyou want to edit digital video, and a PC Card slot can help ensureyour laptop accommodates any gadgets not yet invented.
Parallel, serial and PS/2 ports are pointless for anybody withperipherals bought in this century.
Bluetooth is a faddish, often buggy wireless connection to somenew peripherals, worth maybe $25 extra if you enjoy trying out newtechnology. Infrared ports aren't much more useful in practice.
The other things to consider in a laptop all fall into thetiebreaker category. Eyeball the machine's exterior to see if itsmanufacturer commits any of the usual design fouls: keyboards withundersized or misplaced keys, ports scattered at random or speakersplaced where they can't be heard.
If you're shopping for a Windows-compatible laptop, beware ofcomputers that don't include system CDs and instead require you torely on a system-restore partition on the hard drive. That takes awaydisk space you paid for and makes it harder to install otheroperating systems.
Most laptops can be bought with an extended warranty, which can bea good deal. Making the purchase with a credit card that extends thestandard warranty is always a good idea.
Tech support ought to be the most important tiebreaker. But whilewe've found plenty of manufacturers that are bad at it, we've yet tofind one that provides help nearly as good as what you'd get from anexperienced friend or colleague.
Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro atrob@twp.com.
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