Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop is here, and it's here to stay! For a while now notebooks have outstripped their ageing desktop PC siblings, easily winning the gold medal in the computer sales olympics. We will illustrate how the PVP effect has contributed greatly to the increase in popularity of notebook computers.

(P) Portability: Firstly it may be stating the obvious, but people buy laptops because they can take them anywhere. Office workers need no more be confined to their claustrophophic cubicles. Instead those statistic charts and data reports can be compiled on a train, in the comfort of an arm chair, or even on the beach! Portability equals flexibility, but alas this hasn't always been the case. Todays ultra portable laptop computers have a come along way since the bulky, sewing machine sized machines of the late seventies and early eighties. Indeed one of the first portable computers was built by IBM, and this machine (IBM 5100) weighed in at a hefty 50lbs! Today's corridor warriors would have trouble lugging that puppy from meeting to meeting, unless of course they subjected themselves to an intensive dose of steroids :)

(V) Value: In the seventies the aforementioned IBM 5100 would have set you back a staggering 20,000 dollars. Today a top of the range IBM Thinkpad can be bought for around 3000 dollars. Cheaper Thinkpads can often be obtained for well under a thousand dollars, especially if you don't mind purchasing a used or refurbished model.

(P) Performance: Many laptops today come fitted with Centrino processors which offer superb performance and improved battery life. What is Centrino I hear you ask? Well this is Intel's name for their new notebook technology that combines their Pentium M processor, 855 chipset and the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 WiFi 802.11 network interface. Laptops fitted with these processors are usually lighter because of the smaller components used.

Couple this attractive feature with wireless networking technology and you have a powerful technological package. Wi-Fi is short for "Wireless Fidelity" and it's usage is growing quickly amongst home users, office workers, even coffee shops. If you enter Wi-Fi areas with a properly equipped notebook, you can access the Internet at broadband speeds.