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With a laptop, you can't really open it up (exposing its guts) to make changes or add parts. Everything has to be done from the outside. Because of this limitation, manufacturers have created a huge selection of external enhancements, including attachments.
Attachments hook up to connectors and ports, or make electronic communion with wireless points of access, including WiFi and infrared circuitry. Most must be disconnected and put in your carrying case or suitcase (or left behind) when you set out to travel. (Compare these with plug-ins, another type of external enhancement, which can stay connected to the laptop.)
 | The Swiss Army knife of the modern laptop is the USB port, and you may find one or as many as six ports. For many users, the USB and the wired Ethernet or wireless ports are all you need to work with just about any external device or network. |
Most — but not all — external devices require a separate power source and are generally used when the laptop is at a desk with an AC power supply.
You can attach the following devices to a laptop (the ones that usually require independent power are marked with an asterisk):
- Network: A wired or wireless network (attached to an Ethernet interface or in communication with the WiFi circuitry) allows you to exchange information with other computers or share devices, including a broadband modem for use of the Internet, or a printer attached to any other computer that's a member of the workgroup on the network.
- Printer*: A printer can be directly connected to a laptop, using the USB port or a parallel port (or a special device that changes the serial data of the USB into an old-fashioned parallel port).
| You shouldn't have to carry your own printer around with you; you can attach almost any USB printer to your laptop, and if your laptop is running Windows, it should recognize that printer. |
- Broadband modem*: You can directly connect to a high-speed cable or DSL modem to use the Internet. Most of these devices work with a USB port.
- Scanner*: This useful device can import digital images of pictures or text; that information can be kept as graphics, or the text can be put through an optical character recognition (OCR) software program to convert it to editable data for use in a word processor. Scanners require a broad pipe to convey a great deal of information; most current models use (you guessed it, right?) a USB port. Some older scanners require a SCSI port, which isn't commonly offered on laptops, although some converters stand between the scanner and the USB port.
- External hard drives*: You can easily add more storage with a plug-in drive; external USB-connected drives can be as small and light as a videotape.
- External optical drive*: Plugging in an attached CD reader or burner, or a DVD player or burner, is easier than installing a new one in your laptop.
- Digital still or video camera: Film? We don't use no film around here no more. Digital cameras have almost completely replaced film; in almost every situation, they're used in conjunction with a computer for storage, editing, printing, and transmission of the pictures. Almost all current cameras can output their files to a laptop by using a cable to either the USB or the iLINK/FireWire port.
- Memory card reader: Instead of directly downloading by using a cable from a digital camera, you can use a card reader that plugs into a USB port on the laptop.
 | Some readers are specific to a particular type of memory media, such as CompactFlash or SmartMedia, and some offer four to six slots intended to work with most of the common designs. |
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