Defining the Portable Computer
Portables, like their desktop counterparts, have evolved a great deal since the days when the word portable could refer to a desktop-sized system
with a handle on it. Today, much smaller portable systems can rival the performance of their desktop counterparts in nearly every way. Many portables are now being marketed as "desktop replacements," which are portable systems powerful enough to serve as a primary system. This chapter examines the phenomenon of portable computing, showing how it has evolved and why it is so popular.
Portables started out as suitcase-sized systems that differed from desktops mainly in that all the components, including a CRT-style monitor, were installed into a single case. In the early 1980s, a small Houston-based startup company named Compaq was among the first to market portable PCs such as these. Although their size, weight, and appearance are almost laughable when compared to todays laptop or notebook systems, they were cutting-edge technology for the time. In fact, unlike modern laptops, the components used by these bulky first generation portables were virtually identical to those used
in the most powerful desktops of the day.
Most current portable systems are now approximately the size of the paper-based notebook they are often named for and are built using the clamshell design that has become an industry standard. Inside these systems, nearly every component has been developed specifically for use in mobile systems.
Portable PCs, however, are not the same as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), such as the Palm series, Handspring, and PocketPC. Portable
computers differ from PDAs in that they use the same operating systems and application software as desktop computers and use memory, CPU, and drive technologies that are similar to desktop PCs as well. PDAs, on the other hand, use different operating systems, applications, and hardware compared to either desktop or portable PCs and thus fall outside the scope of this book. Instead, this book focuses primarily on laptops or notebook-style portable PCs. That said, in terms of technology, much of this book will also be applicable to a relatively new category of portables: Tablet PCs. Actually Tablet PCs have been around since the early 90s, but a lack of standardized software, combined with relatively low power and functionality, limited them to special applications rather than mainstream use. In many respects, modern Tablet PCs are identical to laptop/notebook computers except that they are equipped with a touch-sensitive display, lack the integrated removable storage (such as a CD/DVD-ROM drive), and include a
special tablet-oriented version of Windows. While most include a keyboard and basically look like a standard notebook computer, a few Tablet PCs do not come with a keyboard at all. Those that dont include a keyboard generally offer one as an accessory or can use any standard external keyboard if desired.
Many people use portable systems as an adjunct or accessory to a primary desktop system in their principal working location. In those cases, the portable system may not need to have all the power of a desktop, since it will only be used when away from the main office. In my situation, the roles are reversed. All my professional life I have been teaching PC hardware and software, usually on the road. As such I have always needed a powerful computer I can take with me, and because the amount of time spent traveling is equal to or more than the amount of time spent at a home office, I have had to rely on portable PCs of one type or another as my primary system.
All my books on upgrading and repairing PCs, starting with my first self-published seminar workbooks in 1985, have been written on a portable system of one type or another. With the processing power of modern laptop/notebook systems evolving to the point where they are nearly equal to all but the most powerful desktop systems, I look forward to carrying even smaller, lighter, and more powerful laptops in the future.
Portable computers have settled into a number of distinct roles that now determine the size and capabilities of the systems available. Traveling users have specific requirements of portable computers, and the added weight and expense incurred by additional features make it less likely for a user to carry a system more powerful than is necessary. Others may not do much traveling, but simply like the flexibility and small footprint that a laptop provides.
