Notebook designs continue to evolve with more functional, easier-to-use designs. Many advancements arrive first in the high-end models, such as the ones we tested for this report. Here are some design trends we noted.
TRACKBALLS
Vendors used to scatter trackballs everywhere around their notebooks. In their latest incarnations, high-end notebooks generally have trackballs centered below the keyboard, often within a wrist-rest shelf. This design, popularized by the original PowerBooks, accommodates lefties and righties and keeps the fingers of touch-typists within an approximate range of the home row.
AUDIO
Built-in sound, plus integrated speakers and microphones, are helpful tools if you are using a fast, local-bus-video notebook computer for presentations. Seven of the 24 note
books we tested were configured for sound.
NIMH BATTERIES
The 16 notebooks using the nickel-metal-hydride battery chemistry lasted an hour longer on average than those with more traditional nickel-cadmium batteries.
Flexible C++
Matthew Wilson
My approach to software engineering is far more pragmatic than it
is
theoretical--and no language better exemplifies this than C++.
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Raising The Bar On Ease Of Use
