Desknotes are crosses between desktop computers and notebook computers. The main manufacturer of desknotes in 2005 completed a survey some years earlier which found that most people using laptops generally keep them plugged into an electrical socket while they worked, thus minimizing the need for an onboard battery. By removing the battery, more space could be freed up for adding additional options to the laptop by the manufacturer. Thus, the common desknote became simply a laptop with either no battery or with an external battery hookup. Desktop computer with several common peripherals (Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, microphone and a printer) A desktop computer is an independent personal computer that is made especially for use on a desk in an office or home. ... An Acer laptop with touchpad A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook) is a small mobile personal computer, usually weighing from 1 to 3 kilograms, depending on size, materials and other factors. ...

Other forms of desknotes include laptops that use desktop CPU's or other parts. And desknotes that are more like small computers but use a LCD display. Subsequently such computers generally maintain a size similar to a large laptop computer. But are designed to have the performance of a mid-range desktop machine while still being portable. In 2004-2005 desknotes are totally portable like a laptop except the fact they still need the power. These desknotes look exactly as a laptop; another big feature is "off the shelf" components therefore upgrading such computers is very affordable when you compare to a laptop.

Origins

The forerunners of this class of computer were the luggable portable computers that were sold in the early-to-mid 1980s like the Osborne I, the Compaq Portable and the Commodore Executive 64 (SX-64) computers. These computers had the CPU, the display, the floppy disk drive and the power supply in one box, with a keyboard which worked as a lid for the computer. The computing power for these units was similar to a desktop computer of that era and even the Commodore Executive 64 could do what the standard Commodore 64 desktop unit could do. They were set up and packed up in a similar manner to a sewing machine, and could easily be booted wherever a tablespace and a 110 (or 220) volt power outlet were available. Also, they were designed to be easily transported from place to place. However, they had no protection from loss of power due to the complete lack of a portable, rechargeable power source. A Portable computer is a computer that is designed to be moved from one place to another (in other words, it is a computer that is portable). ... The Osborne 1, created by publisher Adam Osborne and released in April 1981, was the first portable all-in-one microcomputer. ... The Compaq Portable, sometimes referred to as the Compaq Portable XT, was the first product in the Compaq portable series to be brought out by Compaq Computer Corporation. ... Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore International, a West Chester, Pennsylvania based electronics company who was a vital player in the home/personal computer field in the 1980s. ... Nineteen inch (48 cm) CRT computer monitor A computer display, monitor or screen is a computer peripheral device capable of showing characters and/or still or moving images generated by a computer and processed by a graphics card. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that comprises a circular piece of thin, flexible (hence floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. ... A power supply unit (sometimes abbreviated power supply or PSU) is a device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads. ... Josephson junction array chip developed by NIST as a standard volt. ...

Advantages and disadvantages

Positive factors include the easier portability and often the choice of running the latest desktop CPUs, without the lag time between new desktop chips and power-reduced notebook versions. Prices may be lower than notebook computers in the market at the same time. Portable communications devices refer to hand-held or wearable devices. ...

Negatives include the limited expansion options, comparable to a desktop replacement notebook, and usually the requirement to use costly and size-restricted laptop hard drives instead of desktop price, performance and capacity 3.5" (90 mm) hard drives. They usually lack the ability to accept standard PCI expansion cards, something which can be a problem for people who want to use their desktop computer as a digital personal video recorder. Video options are usually limited to notebook computer designs of limited performance, though comparable to motherboard-integrated desktop computer offerings. Upgrades are usually very limited compared to desktop computers, not including complete motherboard and CPU replacement to switch to the latest generation and preserve the investment in the chassis and display. Some desknotes do not include battery power as standard, and some do not include PC-Card support. They have the same limitations on serviceability as laptops, through the inability to use low cost, completely generic parts. 32-bit PCI expansion slots on a motherboard 64-bit PCI expansion slots inside a Power Macintosh G4 The Peripheral Component Interconnect standard (in practice almost always shortened to PCI) specifies a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... A digital video recorder (DVR) is a device that records video to a digital storage medium in digital form. ... An old Octek Jaguar V main board with an AMD 386DX-40 processor. ... A chassis (plural: chassis) consists of a framework which supports an inanimate object, analogous to an animals skeleton; for example in the construction of an automobile or of a firearm. ... Portable Computer Cards (PC cards) are interchangeable peripherals designed to be inserted into laptop computers in order to enable extra hardware functions. ...

Common features

Routine built in features on high end notebook computers are usually available on desknotes: modem, LAN, TV-out, USB, WiFi and bluetooth ports. A modem (a portmanteau word constructed from modulator and demodulator) is a device that modulates a carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. ... A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. ... TV-out with S-Video connector TV-out is commonly used to label the connector of equipment offering an analog video signal that is acceptable for a television AV-input. ... Type A USB connector Dual images of the two Type B USB connectors, mini and full size, side and front view, compared with a U.S. 5¢ piece (nickel) in both images for scale. ... Wi-Fi (or Wi-fi, WiFi, Wifi, wifi), short for Wireless Fidelity, is a set of standards for wireless local area networks (WLAN) currently based on the IEEE 802. ... This article is about the Bluetooth wireless specification. ...

Manufacturers

Manufacturers of desknote computers include:

• Apple: iMac G5
• Dell
• ECS
• Hewlett-Packard
• Sony
• Toshiba
• Clevo

The correct title of this article is iMac. ... Dell, Inc. ... ECS can refer to: European Coal and Steel Community, the ECS abbreviation used by The World Factbook The abbreviation for an Engineers degree in computer science(Engineer in Computer Science) Elitegroup Computer Systems, a Taiwan-based electronics firm The Enhanced Chip Set for the Commodore Amiga computer Slang name... The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly known as HP, is a very large, global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the leading manufacturers of video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. ... Toshiba Corporation (東芝, Tōshiba) (TYO: 6502) is a Japanese high technology electrical and electronics manufacturing firm, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. ... // Clevo Group Clevo first was established in October 1983 as a laptop manufacturer in Taiwan, but has diversified into various technology interests, including computer peripherals, information appliances, communications and retail development. ...

See also

• Desktop computer
• Notebook computer

Desktop computer with several common peripherals (Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, microphone and a printer) A desktop computer is an independent personal computer that is made especially for use on a desk in an office or home. ... Laptop with touchpad. ...

External links

• ECS The largest manufacturer of Desknotes
• Desktop notebooks stake their claim — article on C|NET News.com
• Power lifters — article on Australian IT