Earlier this week I asked for your help in answering the question ‘what are the top questions to ask when buying a laptop?’ Here’s what I ended up with. Thanks to everybody who contributed.
How Much Does It Weigh?
You may not think weight is the most important issue on Day 1 of ownership,
but on Day 243, after hauling that 8-pound brick around airports and parking
lots, you’ll understand its significance. For first time laptop buyers
especially, you can’t know how you’ll use your new toy. Lighter is better and
try before you buy.
What’s the Form Factor?
Form factor goes along with weight. How does the laptop? How big is the screen?
If you’re planning on collaborating with others (or watching a lot of DVDs in
your hotel room), you’ll want a bigger screen. Of course, a 17" laptop
doesn’t fit on an airplane seat-back tray very well.
Should I buy Windows or Apple?
The days of OS lock-in are largely over. I have an Apple laptop and a PC desktop
and they rarely cause compatibility issues. I prefer the Apple PowerBooks because
they’re durable, sexy and commodified. By commodified, I mean that there’s
a limited number of choices to be made, so you don’t waste your time considering
a hundred permutations.
Is it Wifi-Enabled?
Increasingly, wireless internet cards come standard on laptops. Still, make
sure yours has one and that it uses current technology. Even if you don’t
see yourself as a work-in-a-cafe kind of person, people change and wifi-cards
are incredibly cheap. Also, if you need to connect to the Web using your mobile
phone, ensure your laptop is Bluetooth-enabled.
How Long Does the Battery Last?
Battery life is influenced by many factors, but the longer the battery, the
better. Consider buying an extra battery, particularly if you’re going with
a smaller, lightweight laptop with a small battery. Additionally, spend some
time learning how to optimize your battery usage.
Which Drives Does It Have?
DVD drives are now pretty much standard on all laptops, but make sure yours
has one. As for a hard drive, bigger is always better. Hard drives also have
a revolutions per minute rating (RPM). Faster is better here, and business users
will notice the difference.
How Much RAM Does It Have?
Buy as much RAM as you can reasonably afford. It’s more important than processor
speed, particularly if you like to have multiple applications open at the same
time (and who doesn’t?).
How Many Ports Does It Have?
By ports, I mean all those little slots and berths along the side and back of
the computer. In particular, you want to count the USB ports. You might, for
example, want to plug in a mouse, keyboard and external printer simultaneously,
which would require three USB ports.
Darren Barefoot is a technologist and writer from Vancouver, BC. His company,
Capulet Communications (www.capulet.com)
provides professional writing, marketing and public relations services designed
specifically for high-tech companies. This list was compiled with the generous
help of his readers at DarrenBarefoot.com
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I would debate a few of these points, and add one of my own:
NOISE: does the laptop require a fan, and how often/loud/long does this run? Rule of thumb: if you can hear it at all in the store, it is much too loud. The absolute silence of my iBook is one of the things I cherish most about it.
RPM: faster is also much noisier. Yes, it’s a tradeoff, but see above. IMHO speed is less important than capacity – unless you intend to edit feature-length movies while riding the Greyhound bus?
DVD: is good but not essential, CD burner is absolutely essential.
RAM: absolutely true, buy either (a) as much as the machine can physically hold, or (b) twice as much as you think it needs.
Weight: don’t forget the weight of the battery charger! This is cleverly never mentioned in the ads. Just BTW the iBook charger weighs 192 grammes = 6.7 ounces.
This internet website is often a walk-through rather than the details you wanted about it and didn’t know who ought to. Glimpse here, and you will surely discover it.