Introduction 1

Part I: This Laptop Thing 5

Chapter 1: The Portable Computing Quest 7

Chapter 2: A Laptop of Your Own 21

Part II: Say Hello to Your Laptop 31

Chapter 3: The Out-of-the-Box Experience 33

Chapter 4: To Turn On a Laptop 41

Chapter 5: To Turn Off a Laptop 53

Chapter 6: Around Your Laptop in 16 Pages 65

Chapter 7: Your Laptop and Windows 81

Chapter 8: The Tablet PC 99

Part III: You and Your Laptop 115

Chapter 9: Using Your Laptop 117

Chapter 10: Portable Power 129

Chapter 11: The Laptop, the Printer, and the Fax 143

Chapter 12: Expanding Your Laptop’s Universe 155

Part IV: Laptop Communications 167

Chapter 13: Basic Networking 169

Chapter 14: The Wireless Life 183

Chapter 15: Hello, Internet 197

Chapter 16: The Modem Lives 207

Chapter 17: Online Safety 219

Chapter 18: Portable Web Browsingand E-Mail Tips 233

Chapter 19: Between the Desktop and Laptop 241

Part V: The Laptop Goes Elsewhere 253

Chapter 20: O the Places You’ll Go 255

Chapter 21: A More Secure Laptop 271

Chapter 22: A Laptop for Work, a Laptop for Play 289

Part VI: Troubleshooting and Maintenance 303

Chapter 23: Laptop Troubleshooting 305

Chapter 24: Laptop Maintenanceand Upgrading 313

Part VII: The Part of Tens 319

Chapter 25: Ten Battery Tips and Tricks 321

Chapter 26: Ten Handy Laptop Accessories 327

Chapter 27: Ten Things to Throw in Your Laptop Case 333

Index 337