The laptop computer - baby you've come a long way

The laptop computer is now a mainstream piece of technology and found in most workplaces. Where has the laptop come from and where is it going?

A laptop computer, or simply 'laptop', is a small battery powered personal computer that usually weighs around 1 to 8 kilograms.

These days, many office workers use their laptop as their primary source for computing using an external mouse, keyboard and monitor when in the office, and using the laptop's organic screen, pointing device and keyboard when traveling.

Laptops usually run on a single main rechargeable battery, or from an external AC/DC adapter that charges the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself.

Laptop batteries usually last from between 2 and 5 hours between recharges. New battery technology is set to extend their useful life by factors of 3 or 4 times within three years.

Most laptops also have a button cell battery to run the clock and store the computer's bios. In most cases, the laptop also holds an image of the main operating system that can be used to restore full functionality after a virus attack or other computing disaster.

Laptops contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturised and optimised for mobile use, low weight and efficient power consumption.

Typically the laptop gives less computing power per dollar because they use customised components and propriety designs to lower weight and give lower power consumption.

Laptops usually have colour liquid crystal displays, and most of them use different memory modules than standard personal desktop computers . In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may also offer users a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a track-ball for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can usually be attached.

The first commercially available portable computer was the Osborne 1 in 1981, which used the CP/M operating system. The Osborne 1 weighed 10.7 kgs, had a tiny 13cm CRT display, and a single density floppy disk.

Although it was large, heavy and useless compared to today's laptops, it had a revolutionary impact on business. Computing and engineering professionals were able to take their computer and data with them for the first time.

Since these early days the major developments in laptops have been focused on processing power, weight reduction, price reduction, battery life, and more recently, aesthetics.

It wasn't until the mid to late 1990s that laptop computers became common place as prices reduced and they became less burdensome to travel with. As far aesthetics are concerned, Apple's range of laptop computers are examples of brilliant industrial design combined with serious computing power.

Weighing in at less than 3 pounds, the MacBook Air is less than .77 inches thick and will run for up to 5 hours on a single charge.

The future for laptops looks promising. As industrial design and battery technology improves, laptops will get faster, smaller and lighter. The laptop will become more of an industrial strength PDA than a computer. It won't be too long until you will be able to get full computing power in a handheld device 12 x 12 cms by 8mm thick. The Apple iPhone is half-way there.

For more information, visit Laptop bags Australia, mobile phone cases Australia and iPod case Australia from Rumtree.

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Simplified file holography

I did some more thinking about my holographic filesystem ideas and some reading on coding theory and I realized that most of the complexity of the system actually comes from the desire to make it work for read-write.  If we design it more narrowly for read-only media like DVD-R discs, and tie less closely to the operating system's filesystem code, the result can be much more compatible and keep most of the advantages.  The new idea is that instead of being a full filesystem, it would come as two utilities:  one that appends extra redundant blocks to an existing filesystem image so that it will be more recoverable in the future, and another that performs the recovery.  If no blocks in the main image are lost, then the filesystem can be read normally by software that doesn't know about the recovery scheme, just ignoring the extra data at the end. [1762 words...]

Holographic Filesystem

In preparation for the end of this phase of my life and the start of the next, I've been digging through the files on the computer I mothballed several years ago when I bought my present one - looking at organizing them and archiving so that my old projects won't be lost.  I've found that the hard drive on that machine has developed some bad blocks, and that reminded me of an idea I once had for an holographic filesystem.  I've also been painfully reminded that I used to do a lot of cool things and I haven't done very many lately, so that it's time to start some interesting new projects, and this might be a good start for one. [2897 words...]

Boats, Life, Wives & Children

I bought my first boat when I was 25 years old. I only needed to consult my bank account, I needed to consult only with myself, and I happened to readily endorse this idea.

What A great boating, fishing season that was (from what I remember.)

 

FAST FORWARD 20 YEARS. Not being able to part with my boats through the years, I now own three, one that runs occasionally. Let's just say all of my decisions regarding boats may not have been the best over the years. Although I must say, I have not regretted any time spent on a boat, regrets begin for me when I am entering the harbor.

 

My last boat was a 28 ft. Carver, it was an old boat but that boat was a yacht for me. My wife thought it would be a good idea to get a survey ( inspection ) beforehand. I didn't think that was needed at all, why spend 250.00 for nothing.Only after it was taking on water and the hull deemed not seaworthy did I think maybe she was right.

 

Did this stop me? Being a boat addict, I was driving by a boat dealer (happened to be in the neighborhood, 10 miles out of town.)  My dealer had the good stuff right in front, a brand new 23 ft. PRO LINE, My Dream Boat.

 

Wasting no time, I took my wife to see this beautiful creature, to this day I don't know if she likes it or not.

Gentleman, Listen to my advice. My wife said "go ahead and try, they are not going to finance you." Well, I took this as an open invitation to get a new boat, they did finance me and 2 days later I came home with a new boat.

Don't ever take the challenge, when your wife says" go ahead and try" I am pretty sure that means " if you buy that boat I will make your life miserable for the next 5 years." I have owned the boat for 3 years now.

Speaking of boats, We run a shop called Good Tidings in Algoma, wi. and specialize in Nautical Gifts.

 

I have had several great trips with my sons  on this boat and I have learned more about kids on these trips then I have learned on land.

 

My son Paul and I were headed out for an over night trip on the bay of green bay to catch perch, I have a few spots that nearly always produce. Well, as fishing goes all that was biting was a fish called sheephead, or, freshwater drum, these are considered trash fish around here, they do get to about 10 lbs. Paul was having a blast catching these while I was wasting my time being mad about not catching perch. If I would have been paying attention to the fun my son was having, we would have stayed there all day and caught those fish. Lesson learned.

 

Our next trip was an overnight adventure on the bay of Green Bay again, we started off on a beautiful day, with a twenty mile trip ahead of us. We stopped and swam on the way, kind of a tradition. By the time we got to the island it was early evening, we made camp, fished off shore and caught these gross little fish called gobies. We caught 50 - 60 and decided to have a championship, my son earned the title of goby master. It was hilarious, tied up to a dock with this beautiful boat, and catching these ugly things.

 

Morning came along with a strong wind that cut our day short, we had to head back 20 miles in 3-4 ft. waves, never pleasant. If we had not caught the gross fish the night before, we would have caught no fish. I learned again.

 

I guess the motto with kids would be, as long as they are enjoying it, it must be fun! I will still always prefer to catch salmon, trout etc, but a yearly goby/ sheephead trip is quite likely.

 

 If You happen to be in Algoma, Wi., stop in and say Hi, we have a great selection of beach theme decor, nautical gifts for you to choose from. We are only minutes from door county, wi. and 25 miles east of Green Bay, on the shore of lake Michigan.

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Project Wonderful price index

If Project Wonderful is like the stock market, then it ought to have indexes, right?  Even if it isn't, it seems like an index of the overall level of prices on Project Wonderful would be useful.  I've observed that the bid prices on my own ad boxes seem to all go up and down more or less in synch with each other, and also in synch with the prices on others' boxes.  There are also theoretical reasons to expect that.  It seems like a lot of the money being bid on ad boxes in general is recycled ad revenue from other boxes, so when some boxes go up there's more money to spend on others.  There's also stuff going on like campaign bids (which make up almost all the incoming bids I see) all resetting at midnight and then running out of funds over the course of the day, so we'd expect overall prices to rise and fall on a daily cycle.  How do we know the current status of overall prices?  How do we verify things like what I said a year ago about large sites being more expensive than small sites? [2233 words...]

Phantom invasion

I was watching television coverage of the war in some distant country.  Which one was never mentioned but it seemed to be very hot and sandy.  Even though it was a colour signal everything on the screen was yellowish tan.  The mistress of the generalissimo at the head of one of the factions, had herself become an important figure in commanding troops and resolving what was going on.  The television people had somehow gotten a camera into an important hideout of one of the factions and were broadcasting live video of her meeting with other officers.  As I watched, the location suffered an attack and I saw them all grabbing weapons and running out the door. [984 words...]

Technical Analysis

The difference I can't plausibly deny.

Garage sale: Miscellaneous stuff

See the general terms and conditions.  Email me if you want any of this stuff. [184 words...]

Garage sale: Magazines and journals

See the general terms and conditions, and email me if you want any of these.  Note I'm selling and giving away a bunch of other stuff too; see the parent category for things other than magazines and journals.  These are free; you pay for shipping, or pick them up in Waterloo, Ontario. [434 words...]

Death Note witch trials

There's a popular anime series called Death Note whose plot revolves around a magical notebook (the "Death Note" of the title).  Humans whose names are written in the Death Note, die.  The book falls into the hands of a high-school student who uses it to go on a killing spree - starting with criminals he thinks the world will be better off without, but quickly moving on to killing the police too in order to protect himself from discovery.  This series is currently being shown on US television in translation, and it's already been very popular in the original Japanese, and as happens with popular anime series, there've been licensed products based on it.  Including notebooks styled to look like the Death Note. [478 words...]

Garage sale: Books and media

Books and similar surplus to my needs.  See the general terms and conditions, and email me if you want any of these.  Also, with this page even more so than my other "garage sale" pages, there will be updates in the future and so you should check back and/or subscribe to the RSS feed for future items. [2803 words...]

Garage sale: Computer hardware

Here's a list of computer hardware I'd like to unload.  See the general terms and conditions.  Unless otherwise specified, I'll give this stuff away for free (you pay shipping), because disposing of it as waste would cost me money.  Be sure to check back on this page, or subscribe to the RSS feed, for future additions and updates.  Email me if you want any of this stuff. [755 words...]

Garage sale terms and conditions

Everything I'm selling is as-is, caveat emptor, and so on.  I'm located in Waterloo, Ontario, and you pay for shipping, packaging, and so on.  What kind of shipping you want and how much it'll cost are open to negotiation.  So are prices, for things that have prices at all.  My main goal is to get this stuff out of my apartment and into the hands of people who will have uses for it; but I don't want to be out of pocket in order to achieve that. [399 words...]