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Windows SideShow (codenamed Auxiliary Display ) was a feature by Microsoft introduced in Windows Vista to supply information such as e-mail , instant messages , and RSS feeds from a personal computer to a local or remote peripheral device or display. SideShow was intended to enhance the Windows experience by enabling new mobility scenarios for the Windows platform and by providing power saving benefits as part of Microsoft's broader efforts regarding a mobile initiative.

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68-435: SideShow was unveiled in 2003 as a feature of Windows Vista ("Longhorn") to provide peripheral awareness of information. Preliminary documentation from Microsoft focused on using it to provide online information in an internal display of a mobile device such as a laptop while supporting desktop computer scenarios; information could also be cached for later use when offline or when in sleep mode . Microsoft planned to include

136-467: A Control Panel applet and configurable battery , calendar , email, wireless network , and Windows Media Player modules for SideShow. SideShow was included with the release of Windows Vista in 2006, which included modules for Windows Mail and Windows Media Player, and would ultimately encompass other aspects of the Windows platform and Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft Office supported SideShow with

204-594: A flat-panel screen on the inside of the upper lid and an alphanumeric keyboard and pointing device on the inside of the lower lid. Most of the computer's internal hardware is fitted inside the lower lid enclosure under the keyboard, although many modern laptops have a built-in webcam at the top of the screen, and some even feature a touchscreen display. In most cases, unlike tablet computers which run on mobile operating systems , laptops tend to run on desktop operating systems, which were originally developed for desktop computers . The word laptop , modeled after

272-447: A hard disk drive (HDD) for storage; since then, solid-state drives (SSD) have gradually come to supplant hard drives in all but some inexpensive consumer models. Solid-state drives are faster and more power-efficient, as well as eliminating the hazard of drive and data corruption caused by a laptop's physical impacts, as they use no mechanical parts such as a rotational platter. In many cases, they are more compact as well. Initially, in

340-417: A separate graphics processor were limited in their utility for gaming and professional applications involving 3D graphics, but the capabilities of CPU-integrated graphics have converged with the low-end of dedicated graphics processors since the mid-2010s. For laptops possessing limited onboard graphics capability but sufficient I/O throughput, an external GPU (eGPU) can provide additional graphics power at

408-414: A broad range of devices, which combined features of several previously separate device types. The hybrids , convertibles , and 2-in-1s emerged as crossover devices, which share traits of both tablets and laptops. All such devices have a touchscreen display designed to allow users to work in a tablet mode, using either multi-touch gestures or a stylus / digital pen . Convertibles are devices with

476-458: A few high-end models intended for gaming do as well. As of 2021, 8 GB RAM is most common, with lower-end models occasionally having 4 GB. Higher-end laptops may come with 16 GB of RAM or more. The earliest laptops most often used floppy disk for storage, although a few used either RAM disk or tape, by the late 1980s hard disk drives had become the standard form of storage. Between 1990 and 2009, almost all laptops typically had

544-405: A full-featured desktop OS like Windows 10 , and have a number of typical laptop I/O ports, such as USB 3 and Mini DisplayPort . 2-in-1s are designed to be used not only as a media consumption device but also as valid desktop or laptop replacements, due to their ability to run desktop applications, such as Adobe Photoshop . It is possible to connect multiple peripheral devices, such as

612-403: A glance and to increase the value of the Windows operating system in new mobile scenarios. Auxiliary display support was included among other mobile features scheduled for the operating system, including Windows Mobility Center , speech recognition , and Windows HotStart , and was listed as part of Microsoft's mobile PC strategy. A prototype auxiliary display device was demonstrated by Intel at

680-592: A laptop and provide display output over one USB-C Cable. Most laptop displays have a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz. The Dell M17x and Samsung 700G7A, both released in 2011, were among the first laptops to feature a 120 Hz refresh rate, and more such laptops have appeared in the years since. A laptop's CPU has advanced power-saving features and produces less heat than one intended purely for desktop use. Mainstream laptop CPUs made after 2018 have at least two processor cores, often four cores, and sometimes more, with 6 and 8 cores becoming more common. For

748-516: A mouse, keyboard, and several external displays to a modern 2-in-1. Microsoft Surface Pro-series devices and Surface Book are examples of modern 2-in-1 detachable, whereas Lenovo Yoga -series computers are a variant of 2-in-1 convertibles. While the older Surface RT and Surface 2 have the same chassis design as the Surface Pro, their use of ARM processors and Windows RT do not classify them as 2-in-1s, but as hybrid tablets. Similarly,

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816-742: A number of hybrid laptops run a mobile operating system , such as Android . These include Asus's Transformer Pad devices, examples of hybrids with a detachable keyboard design, which do not fall in the category of 2-in-1s. A rugged laptop is designed to reliably operate in harsh usage conditions such as strong vibrations, extreme temperatures, and wet or dusty environments. Rugged laptops are bulkier, heavier, and much more expensive than regular laptops, and thus are seldom seen in regular consumer use. The basic components of laptops function identically to their desktop counterparts. Traditionally they were miniaturized and adapted to mobile use, The design restrictions on power, size, and cooling of laptops limit

884-681: A single gadget to operate simultaneously on a user's desktop while supplying data across devices. SideShow uses the Windows Portable Devices infrastructure to communicate with devices; when viewed as a portable device in File Explorer , users can also adjust and interact with the files included as part of auxiliary displays. Auxiliary displays appear in Device Manager and integrate with Windows Vista's Function Discovery technology. A gadget developed for SideShow

952-485: A small niche market , mostly for specialized field applications, such as in the military, for accountants, or travelling sales representatives. As portable computers evolved into modern laptops, they became widely used for a variety of purposes. The history of the laptop follows closely behind the development of the personal computer itself. A "personal, portable information manipulator" was imagined by Alan Kay at Xerox PARC in 1968, and described in his 1972 paper as

1020-496: A standard for memory cards in PCs. The specification for PCMCIA type I cards, later renamed PC Cards, was first released in 1990. Displays reached 640x480 ( VGA ) resolution by 1988 ( Compaq SLT/286 ), and color screens started becoming a common upgrade in 1991, with increases in resolution and screen size occurring frequently until the introduction of 17" screen laptops in 2003. Hard drives started to be used in portables, encouraged by

1088-587: A type of portable computer that was smaller and lighter than mainstream laptops of the time, but has since come to mean the same thing and no longer refers to any specific size. Laptops are used in a variety of settings, such as at work (especially on business trips ), in education , for playing games , web browsing , for personal multimedia , and for general home computer use. They can run on both AC power and rechargable battery packs and can be folded shut for convenient storage and transportation, making them suitable for mobile use . Laptops combine many of

1156-488: A wide range of CPUs designed for laptops available from both Intel , AMD , and other manufacturers. On non- x86 architectures, Motorola and IBM produced the chips for the former PowerPC -based Apple laptops ( iBook and PowerBook ). Between around 2000 to 2014, most full-size laptops had socketed, replaceable CPUs; on thinner models, the CPU was soldered on the motherboard and was not replaceable or upgradable without replacing

1224-398: Is a concept for a laptop that can be easily disassembled. The terms laptop and notebook both trace their origins to the early 1980s, coined to describe portable computers in a size class smaller than the contemporary mainstream units (so-called "luggables" ) but larger than pocket computers . The etymologist William Safire traced the origin of laptop to some time before 1984;

1292-480: Is mounted, although, as of 2021, an increasing number of models use memory soldered to the motherboard, either alongside SO-DIMM slots or without any slots and soldering all memory to the motherboard, but a new form factor, the CAMM module , is slated to fix the size and timing limitation. Before 2000, most laptops used proprietary memory modules if their memory was upgradable. In the early 2010s, high end laptops such as

1360-429: Is no clear dividing line in minimum or maximum size. Machines small enough to be handheld (screens in the 6–8" range) can be marketed either as very small laptops or "handheld PCs", while the distinction between the largest laptops and "All-in-One" desktops is whether they fold for travel. Having a higher resolution display allows more items to fit onscreen at a time, improving the user's ability to multitask, although, at

1428-430: Is not unknown as of 2022, but since around 2010, the practice has been restricted to small-volume gaming models. Laptop CPUs are rarely able to be overclocked ; most use locked processors. Even on gaming models where unlocked processors are available, the cooling system in most laptops is often very close to its limits and there is rarely headroom for an overclocking–related operating temperature increase. On most laptops,

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1496-554: Is written by programming for the Windows SideShow Platform application programming interface —a native code COM -based API introduced in Windows Vista. A managed API for .NET Framework developers was also released by Microsoft, and includes development templates for Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008 . To aid in the development of gadgets, Microsoft released a SideShow simulator that emulates

1564-561: The Intel Developer Forum conference in fall of 2004. In February 2005, Microsoft announced that the first beta version of Windows Vista, then codenamed "Longhorn," would include support for the feature; a preliminary software development kit would also be released concurrently with the operating system. At WinHEC 2005, Microsoft released details about the SideShow development platform and discussed new scenarios enabled by

1632-581: The Socket G2 , but many laptops use processors that are soldered to the motherboard. Many laptops come with RAM and storage that is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be easily replaced. This restriction is one of the major differences between laptops and desktop computers, because the large " tower " cases used in desktop computers are designed so that new motherboards , hard disks , sound cards , RAM , and other components can be added. Memory and storage can often be upgraded with some disassembly, but with

1700-576: The flip form factor appeared in the early 1980s. The Dulmont Magnum was released in Australia in 1981–82, but was not marketed internationally until 1984–85. The US$ 8,150 (equivalent to $ 25,730 in 2023) GRiD Compass 1101 , released in 1982, was used at NASA and by the military , among others. The Sharp PC-5000 , the Ampere WS-1 , and Gavilan SC were released between 1983 and 1985. The Toshiba T1100 won acceptance by PC experts and

1768-496: The input/output components and capabilities of a desktop computer into a single unit, including a display screen (usually 11–17 in or 280–430 mm in diagonal size), small speakers, a keyboard, and a pointing device (namely compact ones such as touchpads or pointing sticks ). Hardware specifications may vary significantly between different types, models, and price points . Design elements, form factors, and construction can also vary significantly between models depending on

1836-589: The " Dynabook ". The IBM Special Computer APL Machine Portable (SCAMP) was demonstrated in 1973. This prototype was based on the IBM PALM processor . The IBM 5100 , the first commercially available portable computer , appeared in September 1975, and was based on the SCAMP prototype. As 8-bit CPU machines became widely accepted, the number of portables increased rapidly. The first "laptop-sized notebook computer"

1904-450: The 1970s introduction of portable computers, their forms have changed significantly, spawning a variety of visually and technologically differing subclasses. Excepting distinct legal trademark around terms (notably Ultrabook ), hard distinctions between these classes were rare, and their usage has varied over time and between sources. Since the late 2010s, more specific terms have become less commonly used, with sizes distinguished largely by

1972-427: The 1980s using red plasma displays could only be used when connected to AC power, and had a built in power supply. The development of memory cards was driven in the 1980s by the need for a floppy-disk-drive alternative, having lower power consumption, less weight, and reduced volume in laptops. The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was an industry association created in 1989 to promote

2040-509: The 2011 Samsung 700G7A have passed the 10 GB RAM barrier, featuring 16 GB of RAM. When upgradeable, memory slots are sometimes accessible from the bottom of the laptop for ease of upgrading; in other cases, accessing them requires significant disassembly. Most laptops have two memory slots, although some will have only one, either for cost savings or because some amount of memory is soldered. Some high-end models have four slots; these are usually mobile engineering workstations, although

2108-609: The Android Market for some time as of September 2011, nor was it available for Windows Mobile. In a blog posting in April 2010, the technical director of Ikanos consulting said that Sideshow was not dead and Threemote was "bubbling along". On February 7, 2012, Chris James released "MS Sideshow Device", an implementation of a Windows Sideshow device for Android . Microsoft discontinued the Sideshow gallery. A duplication of

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2176-558: The GPU is integrated into the CPU to conserve power and space. This was introduced by Intel with the Core i-series of mobile processors in 2010, followed by similar AMD APU processors in January 2011. Before that, lower-end machines tended to use graphics processors integrated into the system chipset , while higher-end machines had a separate graphics processor. In the past, laptops lacking

2244-488: The W5Fe, a laptop with a full-color, 2.8-inch SideShow display on the front cover. In 2006, after being featured at WinHEC , the 7-inch and 10-inch "Momento" digital photo frames were released by their developer, A Living Picture, and provided Sideshow functionality over WiFi. They were subsequently marketed by i-mate along with its Momento Live picture service, before being shut down in 2009. In October 2007, Dell released

2312-688: The XPS 420, which included a Sideshow device on the top front of the machine. It was not widely promoted, found little use and was quietly dropped when the XPS 430 came out a year later. Intoware (formerly Ikanos Consulting) provided AccuWeather , Facebook , Flickr , iTunes , Twitter , and Windows Live Messenger . On February 1, 2010, Ikanos Consulting announced Threemote, a suite of Windows SideShow-compatible products for embedded platforms including Windows Mobile , Google Android , and Kopin Golden-i. Threemote appears unsupported and had been unavailable from

2380-470: The ability to conceal a hardware keyboard. Keyboards on such devices can be flipped, rotated, or slid behind the back of the chassis, thus transforming from a laptop into a tablet. Hybrids have a keyboard detachment mechanism, and due to this feature, all critical components are situated in the part with the display. 2-in-1s can have a hybrid or a convertible form, often dubbed 2-in-1 detachable and 2-in-1 convertibles respectively, but are distinguished by

2448-465: The ability to run a desktop OS , such as Windows 10 . 2-in-1s are often marketed as laptop replacement tablets . 2-in-1s are often very thin, around 10 millimetres (0.39 in), and light devices with a long battery life. 2-in-1s are distinguished from mainstream tablets as they feature an x86 -architecture CPU (typically a low- or ultra-low-voltage model), such as the Intel Core i5 , run

2516-410: The ability to transmit information and notifications received from a computer across televisions and set-top boxes , and the ability to serve as a second screen for PC games and their content (e.g., character statistics or maps) and to enable new multitasking scenarios during gameplay. SideShow features integration with the Windows desktop gadget feature of Windows Vista and Windows 7, which enables

2584-581: The cost of physical space and portability. Higher-end laptops intended for gaming or professional 3D work still come with dedicated (and in some cases even dual) graphics processors on the motherboard or as an internal expansion card . Since 2011, these almost always involve switchable graphics so that when there is no demand for the higher performance dedicated graphics processor, the more power-efficient integrated graphics processor will be used. Nvidia Optimus and AMD Hybrid Graphics are examples of this sort of system of switchable graphics. Traditionally,

2652-668: The device to run larger components on the connected computer. The following list contains typical device display types and technologies. Hardware-specific, native applications that provide rich-media experiences like audio and video playback that can be accessed through the SideShow user interface require the SDK from the specific platform vendor. For example, Nvidia provides the Preface platform that includes abilities like MP3 , AAC , MPEG-4 encode-decode and other digital media formats. Few OEMs accepted SideShow. In 2007, Asus announced

2720-436: The displayed information can be projected to a screen (transmissive or reflective screen). This usually happens with smaller displays at a certain magnification. A different kind of projection display is the class of " laser projection displays ", where the image is built up sequentially either via line by line scanning or by writing one complete column at a time. For that purpose one beam is formed from three lasers operating at

2788-476: The earliest attestation of laptop found by the Oxford English Dictionary dates to 1983. The word is modeled after the term desktop , as in desktop computer . Notebook , meanwhile, emerged earlier in 1982 to describe Epson 's HX-20 portable, whose dimensions roughly correspond to a letter -sized pad of paper . Notebooks emerged as their own separate market from laptops with

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2856-464: The early 2000s, flat-panel displays began to dominate the industry, as cathode-ray tubes (CRT) were phased out, especially for computer applications. Starting in the mid 2010s, curved display panels began to be used in televisions, computer monitors, and smartphones. There are various technologies used for electronic visual displays: An overhead projector can be considered a type of electronic visual display. Additionally, CRTs were widely used in

2924-417: The early 2010s. Optical disc drives became common in full-size laptops around 1997: initially, CD-ROM drives, supplanted by CD-R, then DVD, then Blu-ray drives with writing capability. Starting around 2011, the trend shifted against internal optical drives, and as of 2022, they have largely disappeared, though are still readily available as external peripherals . In 2021, Dell showed Concept Luna, which

2992-442: The functionality of a SideShow-compatible device, thereby allowing developers to test the appearance and functionality of gadgets without requiring physical hardware. Devices for Windows SideShow have different hardware traits than devices such as mobile phones or PDAs . The former have their own processor; they need not rely solely on a connection to a computer for processing tasks. There are online and offline abilities that allow

3060-769: The higher resolutions on smaller screens, the resolution may only serve to display sharper graphics and text rather than increasing the usable area. Since the introduction of the MacBook Pro with Retina display in 2012, there has been an increase in the availability of "HiDPI" (or high Pixel density ) displays; as of 2022, this is generally considered to be anything higher than 1920 pixels wide. This has increasingly converged around 4K (3840-pixel-wide) resolutions. External displays can be connected to most laptops, with most models supporting at least one. The use of technology such as USB4 (section Alternate Mode partner specifications ). DisplayPort Alt Mode has been utilized to charge

3128-650: The intended use. Examples of specialized models of laptops include 2-in-1 laptops , with keyboards that either be detached or pivoted out of view from the display (often marketed having a "laptop mode"); rugged laptops , for use in construction or military applications ; and low-production-cost laptops such as those from the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organization, which incorporate features like solar charging and semi-flexible components not found on most laptop computers. Portable computers , which later developed into modern laptops, were originally considered to be

3196-819: The introduction of tooltip descriptions for gadgets. Windows SideShow displays can be embedded as part of a device itself or as a separate component. Examples include an electronic visual display integrated as part of a keyboard , or digital photo frames that can receive information wirelessly ; wireless devices are connected to a personal computer through wireless network technologies, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ; manufacturers may also produce detachable displays. Sideshow devices display various types of information, such as contacts , calendar appointments , e-mail, maps , RSS feeds, and can serve as indicators for system information such as battery life and wireless network strength. Microsoft has published documentation which suggests additional uses for SideShow devices, such as

3264-469: The introduction of 3.5" drives in the late 1980s, and became common in laptops starting with the introduction of 2.5" and smaller drives around 1990; capacities have typically lagged behind those of physically larger desktop drives. Resolutions of laptop webcams are 720p (HD), or 480p in lower-end laptops. The earliest-known laptops with 1080p (Full HD) webcams, like the Samsung 700G7C, were released in

3332-711: The late 2000s, SSDs were substantially more expensive than HDDs, but as of 2021 prices on smaller capacity (under 1 terabyte ) drives have converged; larger capacity drives remain more expensive than comparable-sized HDDs. Electronic visual display An electronic visual display is a display device that can display images , video , or text that is transmitted electronically. Electronic visual displays include television sets , computer monitors , and digital signage . They are ubiquitous in mobile computing applications like tablet computers , smartphones , and information appliances . Many electronic visual displays are informally referred to as touch screens . Starting in

3400-478: The low price and mainstream performance, there is no longer a significant performance difference between laptop and desktop CPUs, but at the high end, the fastest desktop CPUs still substantially outperform the fastest laptop processors, at the expense of massively higher power consumption and heat generation; the fastest laptop processors top out at 56 watts of heat, while the fastest desktop processors top out at 150 watts (and often need water cooling). There has been

3468-560: The mass market as a way to have PC portability. From 1983 onward, several new input techniques were developed and included in laptops, including the touch pad ( Gavilan SC , 1983), the pointing stick (IBM ThinkPad 700 , 1992), and handwriting recognition (Linus Write-Top, 1987). Some CPUs, such as the 1990 Intel i386SL , were designed to use minimum power to increase the battery life of portable computers and were supported by dynamic power management features such as Intel SpeedStep and AMD PowerNow! in some designs. Some laptops in

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3536-406: The maximum performance of laptop parts compared to that of desktop components, although that difference has increasingly narrowed. In general, laptop components are not intended to be replaceable or upgradable by the end-user, except for components that can be detached; in the past, batteries and optical drives were commonly exchangeable. Some laptops feature socketed processors with sockets such as

3604-479: The most compact laptops, there may be no upgradeable components at all. The following sections summarize the differences and distinguishing features of laptop components in comparison to desktop personal computer parts. The typical laptop has a screen that, when unfolded, is upright to the user. Laptop screens most commonly employ liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology, although use of OLED panels has risen substantially since 2020. The display interfaces with

3672-927: The motherboard using the embedded DisplayPort protocol via the Low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) 30 or 40 pin connector. The panels are mainly manufactured by AU Optronics , BOE Technology , LG Display or Samsung Display . Externally, it can be a glossy or a matte (anti-glare) screen. In the past, there was a broader range of marketing terms (both formal and informal) to distinguish between different sizes of laptops. These included Netbooks , subnotebooks , Ultra-mobile PC , and Desktop replacement computers ; these are sometimes still used informally, although they are essentially dead in terms of manufacturer marketing. As of 2021, mainstream consumer laptops tend to come with 11", 13" or 15"-16" screens; 14" models are more popular among business machines. Larger and smaller models are available, but less common – there

3740-428: The motherboard. Since 2015, Intel has not offered new laptop CPU models with pins to be interchangeable, preferring ball grid array chip packages which have to be soldered; and as of 2021, only a few rare models using desktop parts. In the past, some laptops have used a desktop processor instead of the laptop version and have had high-performance gains at the cost of greater weight, heat, and limited battery life; this

3808-467: The past and microLED displays are under development. Electronic visual displays present visual information according to the electrical input signal (analog or digital) either by emitting light (then they are called active displays ) or, alternatively, by modulating available light during the process of reflection or transmission (light modulators are called passive displays ). Electronic visual displays can be observed directly ( direct view display ) or

3876-514: The primary colors, and this beam is scanned electro-mechanically (galvanometer scanner, micro-mirror array)) or electro-acousto-optically . Depending on the shape and on the arrangement of the picture elements of a display, either fixed information can be displayed (symbols, signs), simple numerals (7-segment layout) or arbitrary shapes can be formed (dot-matrix displays). Colors can be generated by selective emission, by selective absorption, transmission or by selective reflection. Each sub-pixel of

3944-408: The release of Microsoft Office 2007 . Microsoft introduced SideShow support for Windows CE , Windows Mobile 5.0 , and Windows Mobile 6.0 in 2008 and released modules for applications such as Microsoft Office 2003 , Microsoft PowerPoint , Windows Media Center , and Windows Sidebar . SideShow was supported with the release of Windows 7 in 2009. With the release of Windows 8.1 in 2013, SideShow

4012-481: The release of the NEC UltraLite in 1988. Notebooks and laptops continued to occupy distinct market segments into the mid-1990s, but ergonomic considerations and customer preference for larger screens soon led to notebooks converging with laptops in the late 1990s. Today, the terms laptop and notebook are synonymous, with laptop being the more common term in most English-speaking territories. Since

4080-410: The same day as Windows Vista, included an Outlook 2007 calendar gadget for SideShow. With Windows 7 Microsoft introduced multiple user support for gadgets, improved the reliability and resiliency of SideShow APIs for gadgets on multiple devices, improved asynchronous processing throughput , and updated the SideShow control panel experience with changes such as a more prominent link to settings and

4148-431: The sideshow gallery content is available at Windows Sidebar Gadget Gallery. With the introduction of Windows 8.1, Microsoft discontinued the technology and removed support for SideShow devices from the operating system. Laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer , also known as a laptop or notebook , is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a clamshell form factor with

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4216-432: The size of mainstream laptops has gone down and their capabilities have gone up; except for niche models, laptop sizes tend to be distinguished by the size of the screen, and for more powerful models, by any specialized purpose the machine is intended for, such as a " gaming laptop " or a " mobile workstation " for professional use. The latest trend of technological convergence in the portable computer industry spawned

4284-511: The size of the screen. There were in the past a number of marketing categories for smaller and larger laptop computers; these included "notebook" and " subnotebook " models, low cost " netbooks ", and " ultra-mobile PCs " where the size class overlapped with devices like smartphone and handheld tablets , and " Desktop replacement " laptops for machines notably larger and heavier than typical to operate more powerful processors or graphics hardware . All of these terms have fallen out of favor as

4352-418: The system RAM on laptops (as well as on desktop computers) was physically separate from the graphics memory used by the GPU. Apple's M series SoCs feature a unified pool of memory for both the system and the GPU; this approach can produce substantial efficiency gains for some applications but comes at the cost of eGPU support. Since around the year 2000, most laptops have used SO-DIMM slots in which RAM

4420-453: The technology. Prototypes were also produced by several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and displayed at the conference. Microsoft would release details a year later at WinHEC 2006 where additional hardware was also displayed. Windows Vista was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006 and includes two SideShow gadgets, one for Windows Mail and one for Windows Media Player . Microsoft Office 2007 , released to manufacturing on

4488-499: The term desktop (as in desktop computer ), refers to the fact that the computer can be practically placed on the user's lap ; while the word notebook refers to most laptops sharing a form factor with paper notebooks . As of 2024 , in American English , the terms laptop and notebook are used interchangeably; in other dialects of English , one or the other may be preferred. The term notebook originally referred to

4556-628: Was discontinued. Auxiliary displays were listed by Microsoft among other forms of information indicators for personal computers during the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference of 2003. An auxiliary display feature was later presented by Microsoft during the WinHEC 2004 where it was scheduled to be included in Windows Vista, then known by its codename, "Longhorn." It was intended for tablet PCs and other mobile devices to provide users with up-to-date information at

4624-817: Was the Epson HX-20 , invented (patented) by Suwa Seikosha 's Yukio Yokozawa in July 1980, introduced at the COMDEX computer show in Las Vegas by Japanese company Seiko Epson in 1981, and released in July 1982. It had an LCD screen, a rechargeable battery, and a calculator-size printer, in a 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) chassis, the size of an A4 notebook . It was described as a "laptop" and "notebook" computer in its patent. Both Tandy/RadioShack and Hewlett-Packard (HP) also produced portable computers of varying designs during this period. The first laptops using

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