Laptop/Notebook/Desktop....Labtop???
Some historical facts...
Laptop/Notebook Computer:
A laptop or a notebook is a portable personal computer with a clamshell form factor, suitable for mobile use.
Historically, a "laptop" denoted a "laptop-sized" portable computer.
The first of such a laptop-sized computer was the Epson HX-20, which was released in 1981.
The first laptop-sized flip form factor (clamshell) computer was the Dulmont Magnum, which was also released in 1981.
The first computer to be marketed as a "laptop" was the Gavilan SC which was released in 1983.
The term "laptop" was coined in the early 1980s to describe a mobile computer which can be used on one's lap, and to distinguish these devices from earlier, much heavier, portable computers. Several years later, manufacturers started producing even smaller portable devices, further reducing their weight and size and incorporating a display roughly the size of A4 paper; these were marketed as notebooks to distinguish them from bulkier laptops. There was a difference between laptops and notebooks in the past, but nowadays it has gradually died away. Today the term "laptop" is used in most parts of the world and "notebook" in some other parts, e.g., in Russia, to describe a portable computer in general.
Desktop Computer:
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location desk/table due to its size and power requirements, as opposed to a laptop whose rechargeable battery and compact dimensions allow it to be regularly carried and used in different locations. The most common configuration is a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse, and a case that houses the main components of the PC, namely the power supply, motherboard, hard drive, optical drive, and previously the floppy drive. The form factor of the case is typically an upright tower or (horizontal) desktop.
All-in-one computers, that integrate the monitor and main PC components in one unit, are often categorized under the desktop computer umbrella, particularly if they require an external power source and separate keyboard/mouse. The desktop category has also encompassed home personal computers and workstations.
Prior to the widespread use of microprocessors, a computer that could fit on a desk was considered remarkably small; the type of computers most commonly used were minicomputers, which were themselves desk-sized. Early computers took up the space of a whole room. Minicomputers generally fit into one or a few refrigerator-sized racks.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, desktop computers became the predominant type, the most popular being the IBM PC and its clones, followed by the Apple Macintosh, with the third-placed Commodore Amiga having some success in the mid-1980s but declining by the early 1990s.
Early personal computers, like the original IBM Personal Computer, were enclosed in a "desktop case", horizontally oriented to have the display screen placed on top, thus saving space on the user's actual desk, although these cases had to be sturdy enough to support the weight of CRT displays that were widespread at the time. Over the course of the 1990s, desktop cases gradually became less common than the more-accessible tower cases that may be located on the floor under or beside a desk rather than on a desk. Not only these tower cases had more room for expansion, but also they have freed up desk space for monitors which were becoming larger every year. Desktop cases, particularly the compact form factors, remain popular for corporate computing environments and kiosks. Some computer cases can be interchangeably positioned either horizontally (desktop) or upright (mini-tower).
Influential games such as Doom and Quake during the 1990s had pushed gamers and enthusiasts to frequently upgrade to the latest CPU's and graphics cards (3dfx, ATI, and Nvidia) for their desktops (usually a tower case) in order to run these applications, though this has slowed since the late 2000s as the growing popularity of Intel integrated graphics forced game developers to scale back. Creative Technology's Sound Blaster series were a de facto standard for sound cards in desktop PC's during the 1990s until the early 2000s, when they were reduced to a niche product, as OEM desktop PC's came with sound boards integrated directly onto the motherboard.
Changing of the guard...
While desktops have long been the most common configuration for PC's, by the mid-2000s the growth shifted from desktops to laptops. Notably, while desktops were mainly produced in the United States, laptops had long been produced by contract manufacturers based in Asia, such as Foxconn. This shift led to the closure of the many desktop assembly plants in the United States by 2010. Another trend around this time was the increasing proportion of inexpensive base-configuration desktops being sold, hurting PC manufacturers such as Dell whose build-to-order customization of desktops relied on upselling added features to buyers.
Battery-powered portable computers had just 2% worldwide market share in 1986. However, laptops have become increasingly popular, both for business and personal use. The third quarter of 2008 was the first time when worldwide laptop/notebook PC shipments began to exceed desktops, with 38.6 million units versus 38.5 million units.
Apple Mac...
The sales breakdown of the Apple Macintosh have seen sales of desktop Macs staying mostly constant while being surpassed by that of Mac notebooks whose sales rate has grown considerably; seven out of ten Macs sold were laptops in 2009, a ratio projected to rise to three out of four by 2010. The change in sales of form factors is due to the desktop iMac moving from affordable (iMac G3) to upscale (iMac G4) and subsequent releases are considered premium all-in-ones. By contrast, the MSRP of the MacBook laptop lines have dropped through successive generations such that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro constitute the lowest price of entry to a Mac, with the exception of the even more inexpensive Mac Mini (albeit without a monitor and keyboard), not surprisingly the MacBooks are the top-selling form factors of the Macintosh platform today.
Windows - Ringing the death knell...
The decades of development means that most people already own desktop computers that meet their needs and have no need of buying a new one merely to keep pace with advancing technology. Notably the successive release of new versions of Windows (Windows 95, 98, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and so on) had been drivers for the replacement of PCs in the 1990s, but this slowed down in the 2000s due to the poor reception of Windows Vista over Windows XP. Recently, some analysts have suggested that Windows 8 has actually hurt sales of PCs in 2012, as businesses have decided to stick with Windows 7 rather than upgrade. Some suggested that Microsoft has acknowledged "implicitly ringing the desktop PC death knell" as Windows 8 offers little upgrade in desktop PC functionality over Windows 7; instead, Windows 8's innovations are mostly on the mobile side.
Today's World...
The post-PC trend has seen a decline in the sales of desktop and laptop PCs. The decline has been attributed to increased power and applications of alternative computing devices, namely smartphones and tablet computers. Although most people exclusively use their smartphones and tablets for more basic tasks such as social media and casual gaming, these devices have in many instances replaced a second or third PC in the household that would have performed these tasks, though most families still retain a powerful PC (typically a desktop) for serious work.
Among PC form factors, desktops remain a staple in the enterprise market but have lost popularity among home buyers. PC makers and electronics retailers have responded by investing their engineering and marketing resources towards laptops (initially Netbooks in the late 2000s, and then the higher-performance Ultrabooks from 2011 onwards), which manufacturers believe have more potential to revive the PC market than desktops.
On Trend - Laplets...
The most recent laptop device category is a laplet. It is a portmanteau of the words laptop and tablet and it is a crossover of these device types. Although being typically considered as a tablet (by such agencies as FAA and TSA), laplets share certain similarities to laptops, and may be considered as its alternative form. Laplets are often marketed as a laptop replacement tablet.
Its specification is most closely resembles one of an Ultrabook, but laplet is made of two distinct parts, offering a touchscreen display which can be separated from the keyboard. Laplets are often very thin (around 10 mm) and light devices with a long battery life. Compared to mainstream tablets, laplets can be distinguished from them as they feature an x86-architecture CPU (typically low- or ultra-low-voltage model), such as Intel Core i5, run a full-featured OS like Windows 8.1, and have a number of typical laptop I/O ports, such as USB and Mini DisplayPort.
Laplets are designed to be used not only as a media consumption device, but also as a valid desktop or laptop replacement due to their ability to run desktop applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, connect multiple peripheral devices, such as a mouse, keyboard and a number of external displays.
Labtop...
Urban Dictionary...
Labtop. A word that inexperienced college freshmen (most often girls) call their new laptops. College Freshman: "I just got my new labtop, it's awesome!"
G.
