The worst feature of any laptop computer I've ever encountered is the sound quality and volume of the built-in laptop computer speakers. Except for applications where sound isn't very important, they're practically worthless.
After seeing a couple of blurbs today about how the iPad will crush or slay netbooks and e-readers, I just have to add my two cents and say that they're wrong. Whenever Apples comes out with a shiny new, cool-looking gadget, the Apply fanboys are all over it in droves. Of course, since Steve Jobs came out and said it was awesome and better than a laptop or a smartphone, that's just fuel for the fire. Let's get this straight. The iPad is an application device and not a computer. A netbook or notebook (or laptop by any other name) – they're computers.
A Bluetooth wireless headset has its uses but the kind you see pictured doesn't work very well with any computer, whether it's a desktop or a laptop. How do I know? I have a USB Bluetooth dongle and the headset to go with it. I could get it to work, after a lot of hassle, but the battery runs down quickly since it has to be in "call" mode all the time.
When most people think of wireless electricity, they think of batteries. Until the current decade, a battery was the only way to use electricity without wires. That has all changed and it began with a MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) invention of WiTricity in 2007. Using electricity without wires, and without batteries, is something I look forward to.
Most laptop computers (and most desktop computers, for that matter) only have a single audio output jack. Regular computer speakers use a single plug (usually green) and then split the signal between two speakers. This works well for just about anything… except music and DVD audio.
Only you can determine how wireless you need your computer to be. There are more ways to go wireless than you can shake a stick at. Some people believe you need a laptop to be wireless, but it just isn't so. Not only that, but some people who have laptop computers use them in a "wired" fashion.
Do you need a Blu-ray optical drive for your laptop or desktop computer? I guess the answer to that question would depend on who I ask and what you intend to use the Blu-ray drive for. Do you need a Blu-ray player just for playing movies and installing software, or do you need to be able to copy files to and from Blu-ray rewritable disks?
Until I saw an article which announced the Lenovo IdeaCenter Q110, I didn't even know nettops existed. After quick research, I found that the word nettop is a portmanteau (a word blended from two words) of Internet and desktop, much like the word netbook is a portmanteau of Internet and notebook.
Like netbooks, nettops are designed to be in smaller form factors and consume fewer resources than their big brothers, the desktop computers.
There are five (5, count 'em) accessories I think laptop road warriors should consider, especially if they have a notebook or a mini notebook (a netbook by any other name would, well, you know) keyboard which isn't quite big enough for their fat fingers. I'll list them for you and then expound on them a little bit.
If you own a laptop of any kind, be it a notebook or a netbook, you should know what I'm talking about when I say the included speakers are insufficient for anything except for listening to in a quiet room. I firmly believe a wireless Bluetooth headset is the best headset option for use with laptops.
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