Laptop, Notebook or portable computer?

Definition: A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer) is a small mobile computer that run on a battery and/or AC/DC power.
Notebook often refers to a smaller Laptop, (who in turn used to be seen as smaller 'Portable computer')

A brief history of laptops

The idea of Laptop came as early as the late 1960 with the Dynabook. But the Tablet PC was mainly for children.
It wasn't until the early 80s that the first truly portable computer was developed, the Osborne 1 did not have any batteries, (it had to be plugged in), but at least the data and computer could be transported.
A couple of years later, in 1982, the Compaq computers were released.
It is widely accepted that the Compaq was not much better than the Osborn 1 but because it was using the new popular MS-DOS operating system, (used on most IBM computers at the time), it proved an instant success.
A year latter Epson announced the first truly portable computer with a nickel battery. The Epson was more like an advanced calculator with only 80 characters displayed at any one time.

The Compass 1101 also introduced around the same time is credited for giving us the, now familiar, design of the laptop computer with the screen folded shut over the keyboard.

In 1984 the Gavilan SC and the Sharp PC-500 entered the market, with the Gavilan been the first to introduce the concept of laptop, (and a basic pointing device).
1984 also saw the arrival of the Kyocera Kyotronic 85, it was small and offered many applications such as a word processor, a modem or Spreadsheet and it was very popular indeed.

By the end of the 1980s many laptop manufacturers had developed fairly similar machines. All about ranging from the size of an A4 page to an A3. Most notably the NEC Ultralite, the Cambridge Z88 and the IBM PC Convertible. The Compaq LTE introduced the concept of a portable hard drive, (until that time the operating system was stored on ROM and Floppy drives were used).

By the beginning of the 1990s the look and feel of the laptop was defined by the Apple computers, (built in trackball, keyboard and Palm rest). Not to be outdone the IBM Thinkpad 700C introduced the TrackPoint a year later.

Since the mid-90's only technology has improved the laptop computers. Longer lasting batteries as well as huge hard drives now make the Laptop a serious challenger for the desktop.

What am I probably going to forget/get wrong?

The number one mistake made is to under estimate what you will use your laptop for, too little memory and not enough hard drive space.
Consider that 1GB is about the size of one DVD, do you think that 20GB would be enough? Probably, but also consider that most operating systems use 1GB of space and most popular applications also use about the same amount do you still think it will be enough?
To make matters worse, some of the popular operating systems like about 50%, (yes 50%), of empty space to operate properly.

The same problem occurs when it comes to memory, is 256Mb enough? Probably, at the end of the day most, (big), applications only need 32Mb. But as you will probably have 10 or 20 applications running at any one time, (big and small), you run the risk of running out of memory very quickly.

As a rule, multiply by 2 what ever you think you will need.
As simple step is to ask your family and friends, who already have laptops, what they would like that their laptop does not offer, (for example, more HD space, more than one USB port, a modem).

Another common mistake is to blindly believe what the salesman might say.
They might be right, but why not take the time too double check some of the claims they might make?
It is also a common trend for most humans to refuse to admit their ignorance. Rather than asking to clarify a point most people will keep quiet and assume that what ever was said is true.

So, still looking for a new laptop? >>
Buying a laptop, what will you get wrong? >>