Free Laptop

Laptop History

In a fast-paced world, using portable devices has become a way of life. Sleek Blackberries, pint-sized IPods, and paper-thin Macs have mushroomed throughout the global market. Whether it is for the office or for relaxation, people seemed to have the idea that a day without their handheld gadgets would make their lives incomplete. While most of the questions surrounding the world engrossed with multi-tasking and deadlines involve what to do and how to do it, we oftentimes neglect questions that would answer as to why we have these gadgets in the first place. Among the day-to-day gadgets we use every day, the laptop computer has been one of the most useful. Laptops have LCD screens, weigh less than 8 pounds, have portable batteries, and run using AC power. Over the years, the laptop has significantly reduced in both size and cost and increased in speed and data storage. In fact, the early laptops heavily depended on RAM or floppy disks for storage space. Looking back though, portable computers in their early guises were bulky and even looked like large calculators. There has been much debate as to which device pioneered as the precursor of the laptops. The idea was there as early as the 1960s. Some would point out that Alan Kay of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre first came up with the idea of a portable computer in the 1970s. Kay first envisioned of a portable device that looked much like the modern-day laptop. Called the Dynabook, the device was seen as a type of tablet computer that could run for an eternity in battery life. Sadly, the idea had to be kept inside drawing boards because of the insufficient technology available in that era. Arguably, some would point out that the first notebook every built was made in Britain by William Moggridge in 1979 together with Grid Systems Corp. A prototype made in magnesium, the Grid Compass had 340 kilobytes of memory and had a folding screen. Although it looked Neanderthal to laptops today, it served as a start. However, the device accepted by many as the first laptop was Osborne 1. Founded by Adam Osborne, the Osborne Computer Company released its first set of sewing-machine-shaped devices in 1981. Powered through electricity with an accompanying battery backup, the device used 5 ¼-inch floppy drives and had a modem port. Osborne 1 only had a 5-inch display screen and could only show 52 characters per line. Moreover, it weighed only 24 pounds and cost US$ 1,795. Although short-lived and unsuccessful, Osborne 1 served as a milestone in the evolution of the laptop.

On the other hand, the Gavilan Computer was considered as the first fully functional laptop. Designed by Manny Fernandez in 1983, the Gavilan Mobile Computer featured a clamshell design with a foldable screen and nickel-cadmium batteries that could last for as long as 9 hours. It weighed 9 pounds, stored 128 megabytes of memory, had a touchpad mouse and even a portable printer. Comparing it today, the Gavilan was only a few pounds heavier than its contemporaries. Because it used its own operating system, the Gavilan was incompatible with other computer systems and eventually, it died down. Still, some earlier laptops predated the development of the Gavilan. Epson released its HX-20 Mobile Computer in 1981. Battery powered, this mobile computer featured a 20-character LCD display and a printer attached to it. It weighed less than 4 pounds and equipped with a full-size keyboard. It could run independently on AC power for 50 hours using built-in Nickel-Cadmium battery cells which needs 8 hours charging. Soon enough, a flurry of laptop computers were released after the first set of Gavilan Computers was sold in the market. Immediately a year later from the birth of the Gavilan, Apple Computers also launched its Apple IIC model. Still, it was far less as than its predecessor. However, Apple IIC featured an optional LCD panel which revolutionized today’s notebook computers. In the same year, IBM released the 5155 Portable Personal Computer as its version of the laptop computer. It featured two double-sided 5 ¼-inch disk drives and a 640K RAM. Common to many versions during that period, the 5155 could not support graphics and was only used for text-based information. In 1986, IBM then launched its IBM PC Convertible. It featured two modern 3.5 inch floppy drives, a space for an internal modem, an LCD screen, and basic applications for word documents and management of appointments. Despite its fancy features, the Convertible sold at a whopping US$ 3,500. On the other hand, Radio Shack joined the race in the same year with its release of the TRS-80 Model 200. Earlier, Radio Shack was able to launch TRS-80 Model 100. Developed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the model was originally discussed with Bill Gates until Radio Shack agreed to manufacture the computer. In their later model, the TR-80 Model 200 was more compact, had a larger display, demonstrated better battery power, and had a built-in software equipped in creating simple documents.

Much of the laptops made during that time could only carry text-based information. However, Compaq broke barriers in 1988 when it released the SLT/286 Laptop to include graphics features. It weighed 14 pounds, had a 1.44 floppy drive, and a 286 processor. Soon, NEC joined the race with its lightweight UltraLite. The UltraLite only weighs 4.4 pounds. A year later, Macintosh joined in and launched the Macintosh Portable in 1989. It weighed a hefty 16 to 17 pounds, had a 9.8-inch matrix screen, and featured an operation time of close to ten hours in lead-acid battery use. This design eventually evolved into the Powerbook. In the same year, Zenith Data systems released its Zenith Minisport. It weighed around 6 pounds, had a 20-megabyte ESDI hard drive, a 1.44 megabyte floppy disk drive, a built-in modem, 640 kilobytes of RAM and had a CGA Coloured LCD display. Entering into the 1990s provided a floodgate of opportunities for laptops to radically evolve. Companies like Toshiba and Zenith where among those to ignite the explosive growth of laptops in the market. In this decade, technology was already available to stuffy circuits in less space, to increase computing power, and to expand its data storage capabilities. Among the great landmarks during this period was the development of tablet computers. The development of handwriting recognition became a hit in the laptop market as people found it useful to jot down notes while still having legible writings in their tablet PCs. Even smaller portable devices have been developed in the mid-1990s, but this already belongs to a different category of gadgets we use every day. Although the development of the laptop has improved a lot through the ages, most of us continue to complain with short battery life, slow RAM, or highly delicate maintenance issues. Still, there is much ahead to the development of the laptop, and we may never now by the end of this century what it will be.

Advantages of Laptop over Desktop

Technology seems to be working to our advantage as it has continued to find better ways on how we live and apply it in our daily lives. Several innovations and improvements have, since then, been introduced to mankind in order to do more out of what is existing and have better, more efficient ways of doing things. Thus, a laptop was borne and made into a reality, far from the idea planted only in man’s imagination. Today, laptops are already scattered and are widely patronized and utilized all around the globe. Even many developments are being seen in the laptop technology, and now, it is something that still has a long way to go, and things can indeed only get better. The laptop, ever since its introduction to mankind, has brought about several advantages and benefits to man’s living. That includes, of course, the main edge that laptops, whether free laptops or not, hold over the desktop computers – portability. Over the years, people have been so used to using a computer indoors, with all the necessary wires, cables and connections. The laptop, thus, gives that sense of freedom to operate a computer outside the four walls of your house or office. It allows anyone to do the usual work you make in a desktop computer without the burden of having all those bulky separate stuff gathered and connected. With a notebook, which you can grab from a free laptop offer, you can have a computer right with a small rectangular metallic gadget, and literally, you can have a real computer there on, only smaller and more convenient to use this time. With the edge of being portable, laptops like a free laptop for students also can be brought anywhere you go. You can put yours inside a bag and off you go. You just bring yourself a battery that can sustain to power your laptop for as many hours you need, and you can use it right when you need it. Even more advantageous is that you can bring your laptop to any Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) zone, usually common in coffee shops, malls and other public places, and you can instantly and easily access the Internet right in your own laptop. Of course, aside from that, the laptop, even that you can avail from a free laptop offer, has the edge of mobility and convenience. It has a small size and is light weight, which both allow the user to carry it wherever he or she decides to go and do the work in the computer. The mobility it boasts of also allows convenience on the user’s part, mainly because it’s easier to use and the user has more freedom to use it. The fact that laptops, including free laptops, can also be designed and added with a customized touch through skins, cases and covers, causes laptops to be more appealing especially to the youth and the youthful. These notebooks are preferred over desktops mainly because of these reasons, among others.

Laptop Care and Maintenance

The laptop (like free laptops), as we all know, due to its complexity in machinery, is a sensitive gadget that needs to be given utmost priority especially in terms of care and maintenance. An owner of a laptop, may it be a laptop for free or one that is spent much money for, cannot risk to cause damage in the laptop because of the important data, files and documents that are saved herein. Preventing possible data loss in your laptop can be achieved through ensuring extremely good care, protection and maintenance steps for your precious laptop. For the information, the primary thing to protect your laptop from is dust. Because laptops are portable, they can only be put anywhere – in tables, corners, chairs. This is especially in the case of students, where they only put the free laptop for students they have in any convenient area they can find. This is a probable cause for dust to accumulate inside the laptop, and thus may result to damages in the internal parts. Even in the keyboard of your laptop has the possibility of becoming nasty with the collected dirt and grime that may clog up and stop the ease and softness of using the keys. All these – dirt, dust, and small particles – can indeed cause possible damage and dangers in the operations and processes of your laptop computer. The solution for this problem is to really protect the laptop and not put it anywhere. You can make certain that it is located somewhere where it is away as possible from sources of dirt and dust. Also, keep it away from floors and dirty places, where the dust can transfer to your computer or free laptops easily. Several solutions have also been provided in the market to prevent and minimize occurrences in notebooks and free laptops, like dirt and dust clogging. These include the protectors, cases and computer covers, which can provide total protection to your laptops. It is also to keep your notebook look and operate as good as new. Computer filters can also be provided for your own laptop. Today, there are even many laptop enclosures and cabinets, which can save your laptop from the harsh environment. Not only are they waterproof, they are also dust tight. Moreover, they are economical solutions and ways on keeping your free laptops or any notebook protected at all times. The laptops and notebook computers of today, which include those from a free laptop offer, also come with built-in fans and filtering system for added protections from water, oil, dust or heat. Additionally, a laptop owner or user can take advantage of using external fans and blowers, which are now widely available in the market. Other than those, clear plastic covers that are durable can also be a good solution to the hardest of the surroundings. Of course, worthy to mention also is to equip your laptop, no matter if you got it from a free laptop offer, with the right protection through a bag or a case, which contains a foam or a padding that are shock-proof. There is the hard cover, the sleeves, the fabrics. All these can lighten up the worry in you with the responsibility of keeping your laptop computer have that necessary protection at all costs.

Laptop Designs and Configurations

Laptops today are not only evolving in terms of their efficiency and functionality but, to the surprise of some, even in their designs and configurations. Laptop art now exists. Right today, the designs of laptops, even those of the laptop for free, are also already given much importance, and proof to that is the emerging variety of innovations in sleeves, covers, skins, stickers and cases, even featuring several styles and concepts in fields such as animals, comics, digital art, and photography. We can witness more and more laptop designs coming in the market. Others even come in stickers and are customizable for anyone to put a little more personal touch on the laptops. These designs can serve as added attraction to your well-loved gadget – the laptop. They can be the outfit of your free laptops or notebooks you bought. They can be an expression of the user’s or the owner’s personality and character. The engravings you can equip your laptop with will surely be decorations and accessories of that technology you care much for. They are the reasons why laptops and notebook computers today are already considered edgy and stylish. In some notebooks, the designs are through skin printing, which is another great innovation. Through this, laptops now are also made to be cool to look at. These are even popular in the case of free laptop for students, where their youthfulness shows in the designs of their laptops. Several stores in malls are also including these products, with a wide selection of creative designs, concepts and ideas. Even laptop and computer giants Intel and Asus have introduced this idea of asking ideas of laptop designs from users. Just last month, a site called the WePC.com was launched to seek for collaborators for computers, including free laptops, to be ‘community designed.’ It is their initiative in making the consumers the designers of the products that they will soon be using.

Laptop Buying Tips and Advices

It may seem to be hard to find the right specific laptop, even in a free laptop offer, that you are really looking for. After all, there are so many that are available you can choose from in the market. The diversity of the products may only be a problem for you instead of providing you with several concrete solutions to your computing needs. For you to easily get a specific idea of what to buy, especially if you are in the middle of free laptops, you should begin with the end in mind. First, you must have a clear picture of what you will use the laptop for. Is it for gaming, for student works, for business, for budget, for home, for rugged, or for desktop replacement? You should know first what you demand your laptop to be. The specifications and details would follow. For example, if you are looking for one as a student, that can help you with choosing just the basic features that you will soon need in your school works. Each type of laptop that you can determine based on your need has its own distinct strength and advantages. For every need, there are particular features that you should look out for. If you are to choose among free laptops, there are still ways on getting good quality ones. One important thing is to take advantage of reviews and product guides on the Internet that you can find. Perhaps you can take note of the product that you are prospecting to buy, even those free laptops, possibly. Upon getting an access to the Internet, you can read and learn from reviews and information guides you can find. It will actually be useful for you because you get to hear feedbacks on the product from other customers or users. Of course, the cost or the price of the laptop set is also a very primary consideration. No wonder that free laptops are popular today. But it is also equally essential not to compromise quality when it comes to price. In this age of technology, it is an assurance that one can find quality laptop products at reasonable costs. These things, among others, can help you maximise your purchase on laptops and notebook computers.

Laptop Accessories

A new market niche has been spawned by the rapidly growing use of laptops and notebook computers among professionals and students. This market niche is that of laptop accessories, which as a whole has resulted from the widely varied demands of diverse users who rely on free laptops and notebooks for their portability and versatility. These accessories have come about in response to demand from various user communities in different professions or industries, even for young professionals and students, like in the case of free laptop for students. The most popular among these accessories are the following:

a)Flash memory card readers and USB hubs: The variety of memory cards in use (often dictated by the preferences of digital camera and camera-phone manufacturers) has necessitated the production of card readers since most laptops, such as in a laptop for free, only have SD/MMS and Memory Stick provisions built in. Data card readers include SIM card readers for transferring mobile phone directories to the laptop. In any of free laptops or notebooks, additional USB ports have also been made necessary by the increasing number of accessories that need to be used together at the same time.

b)External speakers: These are especially necessary for laptops since in most cases the supplied internal speakers do not provide a satisfactory range of sound fidelity. External high-fidelity speakers provide the user an experience that approximates being in a theatre or concert.

c)External webcams and microphones, which are preferred by users who want better picture and sound quality than would be possible with the built-in webcam and microphone. Today’s webcams are capable of 5-megapixel image resolution and face-tracking technology.

d)USB-powered cooling fans: These are intended to augment the processor fan and help lower the internal temperature of the laptop or notebook. Some designs only take up a small space and suction the heat away from the bottom of the laptop, while others are designed to also become an entire platform supporting the whole laptop and can sometimes feature additional USB ports as well.

e)TV tuners and video-capture dongles that have become in great demand as more and more users learn to edit and produce home videos and share them with many others. These include additional fire-wire modules that come in various configurations.

f)External audio and MIDI modules and interfaces as a response to semi-professional users intent on using their laptops or free laptops in producing sophisticated audio and music projects, often involving surround sound and further external connections.

g)External hard disk drives with enclosures for high-capacity data storage: These are becoming highly popular for free laptops and for those who need to isolate sensitive data or keep backups of important files.

h)USB-powered lamps, beverage heaters, phone chargers, fans, Internet phones, Bluetooth devices

i)Anti-theft locks

It is entirely possible that many more optional aftermarket items for free laptops and notebooks will still be developed in the near future. Users will benefit from it all in terms of an enhanced level of convenience, comfort and quality of life.

Upgrading Your Laptop

As you begin to grow as a laptop user and learn more skills that are possible with your machine, your needs will become more sophisticated and as a result you will be more discerning and more demanding of the one of free laptops or computer unit you own. Inevitably, you will want to upgrade your laptop with the aim of making it more powerful and capable of higher levels of performance.

These are the common ways of upgrading a laptop (including free laptops):

1. Adding more RAM — increasing the random access memory capacity will result in smoother and quicker operation when the laptop handles graphics-intensive and memory-intensive applications such as 3D games, video editing and music arranging and editing. You can always buy a larger RAM, which is usually a PCB chip that you or the store technician can insert into the proper slot inside the laptop body. Take care to buy the correct type of RAM for your unit as specified in the owner’s manual.

2. Replacing your CD-RW drive with a DVD rewrite-capable drive. Nowadays you will find that DVDs are more efficient at storing data and making backup files. Of course you also get much better video with DVDs than with VCDs. Nevertheless, practically all new laptop units, including free laptops, now come with a DVD burner as standard rather than just a player. When Blu-ray disk drives become available for laptops as well, it would be a good idea to get yourself one as a replacement for your DVD drive.

3. Replacing your existing hard disk drive with one that has a higher capacity. This will enable you to store much more data and more songs, movies and videos in your free laptops or even expensive notebook units. You will have to reinstall your operating system when you replace your current hard disk drive. A better option is usually just to buy an external hard disk drive and an enclosure for it. You can retain your current system hard disk and use one or more removable external hard disks for storing data and movies as needed.

4. Buying an external webcam and microphone to replace the built-in devices of your free laptops. You will find that the built-in microphone will also pick up vibrations within the laptop that come from the hard disk drive motor, DVD drive motor and processor cooling fan. Thus you will eventually want a good noise-cancelling microphone. By the same token, you will find that the built-in webcam does not offer the resolution and sharpness you would like. Thus you will be looking for an external webcam that gives better picture quality and which you can aim in other directions. Today’s external webcams feature face-recognition technology, meaning that when it detects a human face it will focus on it, making it brighter and sharper than other parts of the picture it is capturing.

Safeguarding the Data in Your Laptop

It is true that the laptop, whether it is a laptop for free, anyone owns may most likely contain critical files and documents, whether for school, work or business. That is precisely why it is crucial to have the necessary protection, care and maintenance for your laptop. All the data and information must be preserved in your laptop and even keep them from being accessed by outside users. Today, many security and privacy threats hound the safety of the data stored and saved in your notebooks and free laptops. That could be the down side of being highly advanced in this age. It is, then, of utmost importance, to equip for and do the protection work on your laptop. One way of ensuring safety and protection in your laptop is by providing locks. Electronic laptop locks are now popular, and they can even be used for a laptop for free. It serves as a mechanism where a software is being run to generate and manage locking and unlocking of one portable lock. The need, therefore, of a physical key is eliminated. You can also prefer the manual lock, where there is a physical key that can use to lock and unlock. It keeps the laptop secure, and the user can unlock and re-lock it as many times he or she desires. It is, however, less preferred than electronic laptop locks, because the steps are found to be annoying and troublesome. There is also the biometric lock or a biometric device where signals can be sent to the electronic lock for the laptop to be unlocked and re-locked. Even if what you have is among the free laptops, it is really important to have it get the proper protection from outside threats. Aside from the locks, whether electronic or manual, one notebook user, even of free laptop for students, the computer can be installed with a firewall. It is a security measure that minimizes and even prevents electronic access to files, documents and data without being authorized. Another reliable step or measure, too, for safeguarding the data in your laptop, is of course, keeping your documents safe through password protects. Most software and applications allowed password protection. By doing this, you have taken that first step into personally giving as much protection as possible. You can keep the access to documents to yourself, even from other possible users of the same free laptops or notebook computer. The challenge is only to make certain that you remember all of the passwords you have set at all times.