operating system. It’s the computer’s brain, giving the laptop its personality and giving you, the human, a way to control the computer.
For nearly all PC laptops, the operating system is Microsoft Windows. This book is specific to Windows 10, although older laptops may come with Windows 7 or Windows 8. If so, I recommend upgrading to Windows 10. I recently purchased a huge amount of Microsoft stock in anticipation of the upgrade, so your efforts are greatly appreciated.
✔ There’s no special laptop version of Windows. The operating system offers features specific to laptops with touchscreens, but otherwise it’s the same Windows you would use and dislike on a desktop computer system.
✔ See Chapter 8 for more information on Windows.
Laptop computers run the same software as desktop computers. Most major computer applications, such as Microsoft Office, are commonly used on laptops and might even come preinstalled. Just about everything you can run on a desktop PC runs on a laptop.
✔ Laptops are okay for playing computer games, but you need to ensure that your laptop has the graphics horsepower to run high-end computer games, such as Call of Duty or Mass Effect. Such hardware often makes the laptop larger, which is good because those games benefit from a larger display.
✔ If you plan to run graphics editing programs, get a laptop with a high-end video card, larger display, and lots of memory.
✔ If you plan to edit video on your laptop, you need the maximum amount of internal storage. I recommend an SSD, if you can afford one. It’s also advisable to get an external hard drive or other storage, which many video editing programs require.
✔ See Chapter 9 for information on installing new programs, as well as on removing some of those “free” programs that are included on a new laptop.
Laptop Hardware Buying Decisions
In the balance between computer hardware and software, it’s the software that determines what type of hardware, and how much of it, you need. After you know what the software needs, choosing the matching hardware is a snap.
Beyond weight, size, and battery issues are four core parts of a computer that play a special role in choosing a laptop:
Processor: Spend the extra money to invest in a fast processor. Doing so extends the useful life of your laptop by ensuring that you can run tomorrow’s software before tomorrow comes, but not before yesterday. You’ll be thankful later.
Memory: Memory is where the action happens in a computer, where the work gets done. Not having enough memory in your laptop limits its performance. Having enough (or way too much) memory makes Mr. Laptop very happy indeed.
Mass storage: The mass storage device is the electronic closet where the laptop stores your stuff. The mass storage device is either the traditional hard drive or a solid-state drive (SSD). It must have room for the computer’s operating system, all the software you get and later install, all the data files and junk you collect, plus room (lotsa room) to grow.
✔ The processor is the main chip inside a computer. It’s not the computer’s “brain.” Software is the computer’s brain. No, the processor is more like the computer’s muscle.
✔ Laptop processors are more expensive than their desktop counterparts. That’s because laptop processors are designed to use less power and generate less heat. These improvements take time, so their development cycle is longer; hence the added cost.
✔ How do you know how much memory or storage is enough? Easy: Look at the software you want to use. For example, if the software states that it wants 2GB of memory, get a laptop with at least that much memory. If the software requires at least 100GB of storage space, factor that amount into your laptop’s mass storage capacity requirements.
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✔ The things that consume huge amounts of hard drive storage space are video, music, and photos, in that order. If you plan to collect any of these files on your laptop, get a humongous hard drive!
✔ I recommend a laptop with at least 300GB of mass storage. If you need more storage, you’ll have to go with a traditional hard drive because high-capacity SSDs are expensive.
✔ Tablet PCs don’t require as much storage as traditional laptops. That’s because tablet PCs are used primarily for nonproductivity purposes – reading email, browsing the web, or enjoying digital entertainment.
✔ To save space as well as battery power, most laptops don’t come with an optical drive. Once these drives were necessary for installing software, music, and movies. Today that task is handled over the Internet. It’s still possible to get an external optical drive, if you really need one.
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Your laptop must have gizmos that quench its communications thirst. Here are the options, in order of importance:
Wireless networking: It’s a given that your laptop must come with some type of wireless Ethernet adapter. Connecting to a Wi-Fi network is a must. See Chapter 16 for details.
Wired networking: Traditional laptops come with a wired Ethernet port, allowing you to connect the device to a wired network when one is available. Most of the time, the laptop uses the Wi-Fi connection. Ethernet ports aren’t available on netbooks and many tablet PCs.
Dialup modem: Once the mainstay of mobile computing, few if any laptops come with a dialup modem. The problem with this type of connection today isn’t the laptop but rather a lack of availability of a hardline phone connection as well as dialup Internet access.
Another communications option is for the laptop to share a smartphone’s mobile data connection. That process is covered in Chapter 16.
As human beings, it is our duty to be good stewards of the environment. If you care about your other mom (that would be Mother Earth), you can be wise about how you spend the planet’s resources when you make your laptop-buying decision. Two issues are important: power usage and materials.
In power usage, laptops have always been ahead of the computer desktop curve when it comes to getting the most from our planet’s energy resources. See Chapter 10 for information on power management.
Beyond power usage, you can check the greenness of your laptop’s materials: Some laptops are designed from environmentally friendly materials or at least contain no lead, mercury, plutonium, mayonnaise, or other toxic materials. Even better, some laptops are designed to be recycled. The only way to know is to check with the manufacturer; they love boasting about such things.
Service, Support, and Warranty
The issue of service and support is much more important for a laptop than for a desktop