Mystery things called ports

Despite their portability, laptop PCs come with just about all the expandability options found in desktop computers. These options are generally referred to as ports. They consist of connectors, holes, and plug-in-type things you use to add features and attach cables to your laptop, increasing its potential while at the same time limiting its mobility.

Each of these ports is configured in a certain pattern — a hole or a connector with a specific shape and whatnot. Each is also labeled with an appropriate hieroglyph, and they’re often color coded. So if you’re colorblind and cannot tell round pegs from square holes, just give up on all this nonsense right now.

Table 5-1 lists the pictures, symbols, colors, and duties of the various ports you may find lurking around your laptop. Try to find each one! Note that some may be hidden behind doors or sliding panels, and also that not every laptop manufacturer uses the color-coding scheme.

If your laptop lacks most of these ports, then consider getting a port replicator or docking station.

A port replicator snaps on to a special expansion slot or connector on your laptop. It adds most or all of the features in Table 5-1, plus perhaps a few more. The port replicator may plug into the wall and supply the laptop with power, or it may just be a “cling-on” that snaps on to the laptop’s rump for added expansion.

A docking station is a more sophisticated (and expensive) version of the port replicator. As with the port replicator, it allows you to add peripherals and expand the power of your laptop, but it’s more of a base station or permanent location than a port replicator is. Some docking stations are even shaped like desktop PCs, but with an open maw into which you slide the laptop.

Yes, the mouse hole and keyboard ports look alike. Use the pictograph next to the ports and the color codes to tell which is which.

The RJ-45/Ethernet port may also have the icon shown in the margin labeling its trapezoidal crack.

By the way, that Ethernet port and the modem port look awfully similar. Happily, one (the Ethernet port) is bigger than the other (the modem port).

The power jack may appear differently from what’s shown in Table 5-1. Be sure you don’t plug the power cable into a microphone port!

The IEEE symbol may be different on some laptops. Apparently the “Y” type of symbol isn’t that universal.

If your laptop has S-video out, note that the S-video connection is video only, not sound.

A place for the old ball and chain

To help prevent theft, your laptop has a special belt loop into which you can attach a security cable. That’s the Universal Security Slot, or USS. The icon is shown in the margin.

Note that the security cable must be attached to something solid and immovable to prevent the laptop from being stolen. Just threading a cable through the security hole doesn’t do the trick.

Refer to Chapter 17 for more information on laptop security.

The thing’s gotta breathe

As you conclude your journey around the perimeter of your laptop, note where the breathing slots are. They may not be obvious, they may not even be there. If they are, note their location and try to keep the vents clear.

This Isn’t Your Daddy’s Keyboard

The full-sized PC keyboard is an aircraft carrier! It’s one huge boat! The thing was designed to be separate from the computer — a novelty back in 1981 — so that you could place the keyboard wherever you felt comfortable, even in your lap. But, golly! That keyboard is way too huge, even for the roomiest of laps.

The PC keyboard is big because it sports a lot of keys, 105 of them to be specific. Pretty much all the keys are used, too, which means they must also be found on a laptop’s keyboard, and therein lies the rub. A laptop cannot have a huge, honking keyboard! So sacrifices and work-arounds were devised.

The following sections mull over the laptop’s keyboard. Follow along with your own laptop as you read each section, noting how to use your laptop’s keyboard and where the important keys dwell.