Chapter 6

This blog will be a short summary on chapter 6 What is chapter 6? You might be asking what does chapter 6, well chapter 6 is all about mobile devices and the main things we will be studying are about PDAs SmartPhones Laptops PDAs and smartphones PDAs: PDAs are now kind of old technology, not many people use them although they can normally fit in your pocket (Portable) and do these things: Use Address book Use Calculator Alarm clock Internet E-Mail Global positioning But the reason they are not that common is because more people use SmartPhones Smartphones are mobile phones (so you can call and text people) but it also does nearly everthing that a PDA does and more like Having a built-in camera Allows document access T.V (television) Abbreviated note taking So the SmartPhone is more popular but there are more devices out there like a tablet but i wont go into all that stuff! Laptops There are many components on the laptop but lets start on the bottom of the laptop first

Bottom view: First we have the RAM (Random access memory) Panel, now if you unscrew this panel and take it off you can access the RAM, Next we have hard drive access panel, well this panel does the same job as the RAM access panel but instead of accessing the RAM, you access the internal hard drive bay. The batterly latches next you pull these levers to open up the battery so you can replace insert or secure the battery. The docking connector is a socket that allows you to attach a laptop to a docking connector but the docking connector can also be on the back or sometimes it will not have one at all!

Top view: Normally there is nothing on the top of a laptop but sometimes there are bluetooth, power and stanby indicators. Front view: Sometimes the front of the laptop has a laptop latch to open the lid up. The front can also have intergrated speakers but these 2 items are not on every laptop but a ventalation grill and infrared port are normally on the front.

Rear view: The back (rear) of the battery has a battery bay (used to attach a battery). Also it has the AC power connector to recharge the battery and can have a parallel port.

Side view(s): On the left side there is normally a grill and a PC combination card slot and on the right side is the optical drive (Used for DVD etc). The rest on the sides are normally ports.

Front view(Open) and the laptop keyboard: When the laptop is open you can find the touch pad with the buttons to right click etc but on some laptops you can ‘Deactivate’ the touch pad and plug in a mouse instead (with the USB ports) Also you have the keyboard(Obvious) and on some laptops you can have a fingerprint scanner and a pointer (nipple) in the middle of your keyboard and off course on the open side of your laptop you can have indicators too (most of the indicators are above the keyboard, these indicators are like CAPS LOCK, POWER ON etc

Laptops are the most common bits of technology, many people use them for Gaming Watching movies Checkig email Using the internet But you might say “well a desktop computer can do all of these things, why isn’t it as popular? Well the main selling point for a laptop and why it is so much more popular is because its PORTABLE! Sure a desktop computer can have a bigger screen and can be faster it can be very inconvenient. For example if you are a businessman and need to present something to your fellow workmates and none of them have a computer you can just bring it in and show them! VS                                 But you can choose which is better!

Laptop

Advantages Portable Lightweight Option of touch-pad or mouse (Attach Via Ports) Can have cases for laptops (For protection or style)

Disadvantages Usually small screen Higher chance of being lost/stolen Could cost more (Because getting more popular) Normally runs on battery (Got to Recharge) Desktop

Advantages Normally bigger screen Flexibility (You can mix and match accessories) Normally Larger memory

Disadvantages Heavy Requires more space Not portable Only use of mouse Keyboard not built in Could cost a lot Normally not very colourful Another difference between a laptop and a desktop is there motherboards. A Laptops motherboard has been shaped to fit into the laptop

Here is a normal desktop motherboard                                                        And here is a laptop motherboard

Another think to look out for is the POWER MANAGEMENT There are 6 main things to worry about with power management on a laptop Advanced Hiberate – Power manager Power scemes Alarms Power meter But if you do choose a laptop, like a desktop or anything there is SAFETY Of course its electrical so avoid having a liquid near it (Like a drink) Also, when you are cleaning your laptop use the right tools for the right  job (Consult your manual) and TURN THE POWER OFF And leaving it on charge overnight could be very dangerous and please try to avoid it If there if any other safety issues you want to know about, consult your user manual Cool fact: Did you know that the first ever laptop was called the osborne 1, Heres more information on the osborne 1