Choosing a Laptop in 5 Easy Steps

You're ready to buy a laptop computer but you don't have the foggiest idea what you should be looking for. To a technologically challenged person, all the available and necessary features are too confusing to deal with. What are you going to do about it?

Forget it. There are five basic things a layman person needs to know when choosing a laptop or notebook computer. And what are those five things, you want to know? I thought you'd never ask. Well, actually, I did.

That's why I'm writing up this guide, because I know how confusing it is. I've been there and I came out with the perfect Laptop for me.

The Brand name is not the issue here. Many manufacturers put out a great product. I'm not going to get into the Mac's and the Apple's because I'm a PC person all the way. So, know that I'm talking about the PC platform in this article. Look over the items below and don't get crazy trying to figure it out.

Vision Friendly

You want your laptop to be VISION FRIENDLY. If you've been using a desktop computer screen, you want to stick with the 15 inch screen. You can go 12 inches but you'll be squinting and look like your grandma Irma before your 30^th birthday. You can 17 inch but then you'll be carrying around a 17 inch computer and that can be pretty heavy to carry around. A compact size is better. My suggestion is 15 inches. It's a perfect size for vision and for portability.

Connection

Consider your connection. Your laptop should have both an Ethernet port and a wireless internet card. You may have cable or DSL as for your connection at home, but what good is a laptop if you can't take it to Starbuck's with you? You'll need a wireless connection for that. Or you may just want to take it to bed with you so you can check your email in the middle of the night. Got to have that wireless option.

Memory

ROM and RAM- Read Only Memory is where all the information is stored on your computer. The more information you want stored, the more ROM you're going to need. Is this confusing? No. In fact, any computer on the floor has enough ROM for you. Don't worry about it. RAM - Random Access Memory is what you need to open and display programs on your screen.

Get the most ROM you can afford because next week all the programs you want to access on the internet are going to require twice as much ROM as you have available today. The good news is you can buy RAM in chips if your computer becomes too slow.

Hardware and Software

Hardware/Software- Minimum Hardware: CD/DVD RW Drive to copy and play music and video, USB ports to plug in your additional hardware (mouse, external drives, camera, etc), sound card, modem and/or wireless card. Minimum Software: Internet, Games, Movie and Music Programs, Microsoft Office.

Battery Power

Battery Power- As we discussed above, you're going to want to take your laptop with you, otherwise who needs a laptop? In order to be able to use your laptop you're going to need a battery that has enough power to keep you going for several hours. Check the time factor on the battery and if you plan on being away from a wall outlet for long periods of time, spring for an extra battery.

There you have it - the basics to look for in a laptop for the non-nerd computer user. Happy shopping!