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Microsoft encourages software developers to take advantage of a feature they call digital ink, which allows applications to accept pen strokes as input without first converting the pen strokes into text or mouse-clicks. In Microsoft Journal, which comes with Windows-based tablet PCs, you can write on the screen just as though you were writing on a paper legal pad (see Figure 21-11). Many other applications, including Microsoft Office, allow you to add ink annotations. Imagine sitting on an airplane reviewing a Microsoft Word document and simply scribbling your comments on the screen (Figure 21-12). No more printing out hard copy and breaking out the red pen for me! Imagine running a PowerPoint presentation and being able to annotate your presentation as you go. In the future, look for more applications to support Microsoft’s digital ink.

Many useful third-party applications are designed specifically to take advantage of the tablet PC form-factor. In fields such as law and medicine, where tablet PCs have been especially popular, the choices are endless. One handy free utility that anyone who spends time in front of an audience (teachers, salespeople, cult leaders, and so on) will appreciate is InkyBoard (www.cfcassidy.com/Inkyboard). InkyBoard provides a virtual dry-erase board, eliminating the need to find a flip chart or dry-erase board when holding meetings. Ever wished you could have a record of everything that was written on the chalkboard in a class (or business meeting)? If the professor had used InkyBoard, creating and distributing a copy would be a snap.

Figure 21-11 Microsoft Journal preserves pen strokes as digital ink.

Figure 21-12 Microsoft Office supports digital ink.

Portable Computer Device Types

Sorting through all the variations of portable computing devices out there would take entirely too much ink (and go well beyond CompTIA A+). Table 21-2 lists the seven most common styles of portable computing devices, some of their key features, and the intended use or audience for the product. This table is in no way conclusive, but lists the highlights.

Table 21-2 Portable Computing Devices

Portables come in such a dizzying variety of sizes, styles, features, and shapes that a simple table in a book cannot do justice to the ingenuity and engineering of the manufacturers of these devices. If you want to wander into the realm of extremes, check out www.dynamism.com. This company specializes in bringing Japanese-only products to the English-speaking market. You’ll find the hottest desktop replacement laptops and the sleekest subnotebooks at the site, with all the details beautifully converted from native Japanese to English.

Practical Application

Enhancing and Upgrading Portable Computers

In the dark ages of mobile computing, you had to shell out top dollar for any device that would unplug, and what you purchased was what you got. Upgrade a laptop? Add functions to your desktop replacement? You had few if any options, so you simply paid for a device that would be way behind the technology curve within a year and functionally obsolete within two.

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EXAM TIP With fully 1 in 5 questions covering laptops and portables, pay attention to this chapter when studying for the CompTIA A+ certification!

Portable PCs today offer many ways to enhance their capabilities. Internal and external expansion buses enable you to add completely new functions to portables, such as attaching a scanner or mobile printer or both. You can take advantage of the latest wireless technology breakthrough simply by slipping a card into the appropriate slot on the laptop. Further, modern portables offer a modular interior. You can add or change RAM, for example—the first upgrade that almost every laptop owner wants to make. You can increase the hard drive storage space and, at least with some models, swap out the CPU, video card, sound card, and more. Gone forever are the days of buying guaranteed obsolescence! Let’s look at four specific areas of technology that laptops use to enhance