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Vista offers a quick way for laptop owners to see the things that most affect their little PC's on-the-go lifestyle. Called the Mobility Center, it's a one-stop shop for tweaking your laptop's main settings. To open the Mobility Center, follow these steps:
1. Choose Start --> Control Panel.
2. Choose Mobile PC and select Windows Mobility Center.
Windows Mobility Center, shown in Figure 1, rises to the screen. In the future, you can jump here quickly by holding down the Windows key and pressing X.
Figure 1: Windows Mobility Center puts a laptop's most common adjustments on one panel.
3. Make your adjustments.
As seen in Figure 1, Mobility Center lets you make quick adjustments to your laptop's main settings, as described in the following list. Don't think something's wrong if you don't spot all these options on your laptop. Manufacturers customize the center's options to match each model's features.
• Brightness: A simple sliding control lets you dim your laptop in low-light situations (or simply to save battery power) or increase the brightness when working outdoors.
• Volume: Tired of your laptop's annoying blast every time you turn it on? Slide down the volume level here. (Or, you can select the Mute check box to turn it off completely, saving batteries and letting you turn it on only when needed.)
• Battery Status: Choose Balanced for everyday work, switch to Power Saver when working away from outlets for several hours, and switch to High Performance when plugged in.
• Wireless Network: If your laptop offers it, here's an easy-to-find On/Off switch for your laptop's wireless network adapter. Leave it turned off to save batteries, and turn it back on when you're ready to connect.
• External Display: Ever plug your laptop into a larger monitor or projector for giving presentations? Head here to set it up.
• Sync Center: Vista lets you keep your laptop or PC in synchronization with a compatible portable music player or cell phone, automatically updating them with each other's information. (Unfortunately, you can't sync your laptop with your desktop PC or with an iPod.) This switch brings you to the Sync Center, where you can set up a partnership with sync-compatible gadgets and click the Sync All button for them to exchange information.
• Presentation Settings: This option lets you control what appears on the projector when you hook up your laptop. With the click of one button, you can turn your desktop's wallpaper into something business-safe, turn off your screen saver, adjust the PC's volume, and squelch any other distractions.
Although some buttons take you to yet more areas full of settings, the Mobility Center works well as a launching pad. It's your first stop to customizing your laptop to match its surroundings.
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