This will enable you to plug your notebook into most any newer TV or VCR and is a real plus when you're making presentations to small groups. An S-Video port would also allow you to record any computerized presentations you have created onto standard VHS tapes for distribution to prospects, customer and clients who may not be comfortable with receiving floppy disks or CDs.

While most notebooks now come equipped with internal modems, many business models also include internal Ethernet (network) adapters as well. If your office provides a network, or if you think that you might like to network your notebook computer with your desktop unit, then you'll appreciate this convenience.

These newer ports are used for high-speed data transfer through a cable that is commonly known as "FireWire" but technically referenced as IEEE 1394. While the primary use of FireWire has been for Digital Camcorders, more and more peripherals (scanners, CD and DVD burners, for instance) are beginning to take advantage of the speed that FireWire can provide.

What's too hot?

On the other hand, there's one new "feature" that's commonly being used to market notebook computers that is unlikely to benefit you at all, and may very well bring you nothing but trouble.

Whatever you do, do not buy a notebook that includes a "desktop" Central Processing Unit (CPU). This is a cheap marketing trick used by many manufactures to sell notebooks to consumers who are still hooked on "clock speed" as their sole measure of purchasing comparison.

While the marketing pitch sounds tempting "desktop power in a notebook computer" the reality is that notebooks generally cannot dissipate the higher levels of heat that are generated by desktop chips.

What most consumers do not realize is that when your CPU heats up, your computer will typically respond by slowing down, in order to keep the CPU from overheating altogether.

Thus, as temperatures increase, notebooks that run desktop CPUs will generally run slower that their advertised "clock speed" and often even slower than the lower-rated CPUs that were actually designed for mobile computing uses.

In the worst case scenario, your computer may actually shut down unexpectedly in order to avoid damage to the CPU. Toshiba is currently facing a class-action law suit from owners of their Satellite 5005 series notebook who claim to have such problems on a regular basis.

However, Toshiba is by no means alone is this CPU shell game. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway and others all market such machines.

This begs the question: Why would such well known vendors sell units that are unlikely to offer any real gain in performance, and may result in serious and undesirable consequences instead?

Two obvious reasons come to mind:

• CPUs that are designed for use in notebooks cost more money than desktop chips because they include sophisticated power management features that enable them to run on less energy. The benefit is that less power consumption results in less heat generation, and also prolongs the notebook's battery life.
• The marketing ploy of "desktop power in a notebook computer" is appealing and effective, despite being both deceptive and inaccurate in many cases.

As long as consumers are fooled by such tactics, the practice of using cheaper desktop CPUs in notebook computers (while marketing this as a benefit) will likely continue.

While some manufactures may have successfully found methods for dispersing the increased heat that desktop CPUs create, the safe bet is to make sure that your next notebook computer includes an actual notebook (or "mobile") processor.