Laptop

Misconceptions about laptops

Ironically, despite their name, using a laptop on one's lap can be both unpleasant (due to heat from the computer, particularly from its CPU) and possibly even dangerous to the laptop (it may overheat). It is best to always use a laptop on a desk. (See also: "Health concerns")

Related Topics:
Lap - Heat - CPU - Desk

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The word laptop is often incorrectly spelled labtop, lab top, lap top, etc. (See Internet slang.) It is uncertain whether most users of the "labtop" spelling realize that this is incorrect.

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Anecdotal evidence suggests that many computer illiterates and novice computer users do not realize that a "laptop" is, in fact, a type of "computer". It is possible to hear people making statements such as "That file isn't on the laptop, it's on the computer" (i.e. "it's on the desktop"). (This ties in with a larger trend of novices misunderstanding or misusing common computer terms, such as the common use of "hard drive" to refer to a computer "box".)

Related Topics:
Computer illiterates - Novice - Computer

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Additionally, one Wikipedia editor reports having experienced numerous instances in which computer illiterates falsely assumed that laptops are constantly connected to the Internet, even (for example) while located on moving vehicles. This, of course, is possible via Wi-Fi or related technologies, but most laptops do not maintain a persistent connection to the Internet. Nevertheless, the perception that laptops are designed to "go anywhere", combined with the growing inseparability of computing and the Internet, have combined to generate confusion as to laptops' networking capabilities. It is unknown how widespread this confusion has spread, though the growth of Metropolitan Area Networks may render this point moot in the future.

Related Topics:
Internet - Wi-Fi - Metropolitan Area Network

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