From the course: Computer Literacy for Windows 10

Special considerations when using a laptop - Windows Tutorial

From the course: Computer Literacy for Windows 10

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Special considerations when using a laptop

- [Narrator] If you've decided to use a laptop or notebook computer, or if you really didn't have any say in the matter and had one issued to you, there are some things unique to the use of laptops that you should be familiar with. First of all, the laptop is an all-in-one device. All the necessary components are built in, and for the most part, you can carry it around and have everything you need to get your work done. Now, because it's a portable device, it runs off an internal battery. Most laptop batteries range anywhere from five to 15 hours of usage time on a single charge, but your results will vary greatly depending on how hard you're taxing the laptop. So you'll always want to make sure to carry the laptop's power supply cable along with you so you can plug it into an outlet to charge the battery, especially if you know you're going to be using it for an extended period of time. A laptop with a depleted battery and no power cable is pretty much useless. Now, when it comes to actually using the laptop, probably the most important thing to get used to is the mouse or more accurately, the lack of a mouse. Here are two examples of a mouse and all computers need these for you to operate them. Now you can usually plug a mouse like this into your laptop or you can purchase wireless versions as well, but laptops generally don't come with them. Instead, they use a variety of different built-in devices to act as the mouse or pointing devices, they're sometimes called. Probably the most common pointing device is the track pad. This is a touch sensitive device which you operate by sliding your finger around on it. The mouse pointer on the screen moves as you move your finger. The track pad usually has one or two buttons adjacent to it for clicking, although you can also often tap on the track pad itself to perform a mouse click. Other laptops have this little nub on the keyboard, which you gently apply pressure to in one direction or another to move the mouse. And these are also accompanied by one or two buttons for clicking, although you generally don't see too much of these these days. So you can plug an external mouse into any laptop's USB ports if you prefer to use a real mouse, but laptops have to have some kind of built-in pointing device so you can just open them up and get to work. Another feature you might have to get used to is your laptop's keyboard. Most laptops these days have keyboards in which the keys are the same size as their desktop counterparts, but the keys might be closer together or they might not press down as far as you're used to, or they may in fact be a little smaller than a standard keyboard, so typing might be a little bit more challenging at first until you get used to the built-in keyboard. Also to save space, certain keys might be combined together. For instance, the F keys, which are used for a variety of purposes. may require you to hold down an F or function button in order to use them. You might find your F keys have been combined with buttons for controlling the volume of your speakers or the brightness of your screen. Basically, the layout of keys can really vary from laptop to laptop, so your best bet is to take some time examining and familiarizing yourself with your particular laptop's keyboard. And as with a mouse, you can usually plug in an external keyboard into your laptop if you prefer, although that's not as common, since most people can't fit a full-size keyboard into their laptop bags. Once you familiarize yourself with your laptop though, you'll probably be able to use it almost, if not as efficiently as you do a desktop computer. I do recommend carrying an external mouse if you have to do a lot of work on your laptop. It's just easier to work with a real mouse than with any other pointing device, at least for me. You might also want to invest in a second power cable for your laptop, so you don't have to constantly plug and unplug your power cable from your main work area. So those are just some things to be aware of and to keep in mind when working with laptops.

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