Notebook

:For the style of computer, see laptop. For the personal wiki software, see Notebook (software).

Related Topics:
Laptop - Wiki - Notebook (software)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A notebook (also notepad, writing pad, etc.) is a book of paper on which notes may be written. The paper may be blank or include horizontal and/or vertical lines to assist the writer in keeping the text straight. While many people use notepads in their daily lives, they are most commonly associated with students, who often carry individual notebooks in order to take notes for different courses they may be taking in school.

Related Topics:
Book - Paper - Notes - Written - Student - School

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Artists often use large notebooks which include wide spaces of blank paper appropriate for drawing. Lawyers are also known for using rather large notebooks frequently known as legal pads that contain lined paper (often yellow in color) and are appropriate for use on tables and desks. In contrast, journalists prefer small, hand-held notebooks for portability (often called reporters' notebooks), and sometimes use shorthand when taking notes. Scientists and other researchers use lab notebooks to document their experiments. The pages in lab notebooks are sometimes graph paper to make it easier to plot data.

Related Topics:
Artist - Drawing - Lawyer - Yellow - Table - Desk - Journalist - Reporters' notebook - Shorthand - Scientist - Lab notebook - Graph paper - Data

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is frequently least expensive to purchase notebooks that are spiral-bound, meaning that a spiral of wire is looped through large perforations at the top or side of the page. Other bound notebooks are also available that typically use glue to hold pages together, and today it is common for pages in such notebooks to include a thin line of perforations that make it easier to tear out the page. Spiral-bound pages can be torn out, but frequently leave thin scraggly strips from the small amount of paper that is within the spiral. A moleskine notebook includes a sewn spine that allows it to lay flat.

Related Topics:
Spiral - Wire - Perforation - Bound - Glue - Moleskine - Sewn

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since the late 20th century, many attempts have been made to integrate the simplicity of a notebook with the editing and searching abilities of a computer. Laptop computers began to be called notebooks when they reached a relatively small size in the 1990s, but they did not have any special note-taking ability. Personal digital assistants (PDAs) came next, integrating small liquid crystal displays with a touch-sensitive layer to input graphics and written text. Tablet PCs are considerably larger and provide more writing and navigation space. The PADD of Star Trek is frequently seen as inspiration for PDAs and tablet PCs, but the first PADD was seen in "Encounter at Farpoint" in 1987, while the first flat calculator-like PDA was made in 1978.

Related Topics:
20th century - Computer - Laptop - 1990s - Personal digital assistant - Liquid crystal display - Touch-sensitive - Tablet PC - PADD - Star Trek - Encounter at Farpoint - 1987 - 1978

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~