Laptop

Given the advent of faster processors every few months, it may seem intimidating to shop for a consumer-oriented laptop. So what are some basic display, wireless, connectivity, and weight options you should consider in your laptop evaluation calculus? Does it make sense to go with a name brand, like IBM, Dell, or Gateway, or should you piece together a souped up laptop vis-a-vis a private company?

Let's first consider the issue of memory. Thanks to super-small chip technology, most laptops contain enough hard drive space to store copious data. Whether you are working on a spreadsheet for the office, grabbing music off the Web to burn later, or simply storing a bunch of on-site information from an associate, a 40 GB hard drive should be plenty of space. Twenty GB should suffice for most business applications.

In terms of RAM--the amount of memory your programs use while running--512 MB comes standard with most newer models. 256 MB, which was the industry standard for years, will suffice to run e-mail, spreadsheet, and document applications all at once. However, 256 MB RAM doesn't offer much breathing room. You could easily run into slow start-up issues, particularly if you run unusually large programs, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

As far as speed is concerned, it's worthwhile for most people to invest in good processors, such as the Intel Pentium 4 or Pentium 5. That said, a good Intel Pentium M 1.0 GHz processor should be good enough under normal circumstances. Indeed, today's best notebooks, such as the HP Pavilion and some of the newer Compaqs, run as fast as or faster than same-class desktops.