My First IT Certification! Part 5: CompTIA A+

All About Laptops …

Today I learned about laptops and portable devices, which was a very practical lesson for me since I’ve been a laptop user for a very long time and currently I use one at home and at work. This video covered objectives 2.1 through 2.4 of the CompTIA A+ exam, which are all about … well, laptops and portable devices.

Laptops are pretty amazing. All that technology miniaturized into a small, portable, super-cool device that gives you the freedom and control over where you access information, where you work and learn, and do anything else that you want with a computer.

I was never a fan of the desktop computer, really. I understand its purpose and why in many situations it is better and more practical to have a desktop, but I have no desire to ever own one. To me, laptops are the future …

And the future is apparently closer than we think. Laptops are loaded with ginormous (and yes, this is actually a real word now! Check it out!) amounts of innovative technologies to make them faster, smaller, more powerful than ever, and not to mention really sleek and cool.

There are some important things to keep in mind though, when dealing with laptops. For one thing, since they’re so compact, they have less cooling capacity and their CPUs use less power. The result of this is that they run slower than comparable desktops, because their CPUs can’t generate as much heat as a desktop PC.

Also, the components of most laptops are proprietary so you can’t easily upgrade and add your own graphics card, or replace the motherboard, as you would in a desktop PC. This, in a way, limits what you can do with your laptop and what you can fix. That’s also why preventative maintenance is so important for laptop owners; laptops are more delicate and more expensive to repair.

So let’s get this straight — laptops are more delicate, offer less performance, are less expandable (or less upgradable), more expensive, and you can’t build one to suit your own needs! What’s all the hype then? Well, let me ask you this? Can you take a desktop PC with you anywhere? On vacation? In the car? On a plane? I rest my case. Portability and convenience can’t be beat!

Which do you prefer, a laptop or a desktop? Leave me a comment, I’m interested to see what you think? And if you want to learn more about your laptop or desktop PC check out CompTIA A+ training.

More Related Posts

1. What A+ Certification Can Do for You
2. My First IT Certification! Part 2: ComptTIA A+
3. Microsoft Office Certification – Is it Right for You?
4. Longhorn Terminal Services: Better than Citrix?
5. New Training Release: CompTIA A+ 2006 Training