ExperimentGarden

She sat alone at a table for two, by the cafe's front window. In the stream of afternoon brilliance she was a creature made of light, wrapped in golden splendor and woven from the restless memories of endless summer days. In the sun's light, she smiled with casual grace, looking on with interest, relaxed in the comforting assurance of an inner secret that no one else could understand.

She loved to come to places such as this, to watch the passing people like exotic picture postcards, each one a tiny slice of life coming from a different world. What would it be like to look at life through another person's eyes? No one could ever really know, but in this place she felt that she could at least glimpse a piece of the lives that passed by her, in and out, like the sun's rise and fall.

Looking through the cafe window, she could see a young couple walking along the street hand in hand, surrounded by the glow of youth and love. They were a single bubble, floating between the lampposts, past the newspaper stands and shop windows. The girl's hair was highlighted by the summer sun beams as she pointed toward the cafe. The door opened and they were at the threshold, standing close together. At the table by the window a memory surfaced like spring water:

She stood outside again, at the airport, with the wind blowing through her hair and swirling the skirt around her legs. She held on to his arm silently. There was nothing left to say now except “Goodbye.” On her hand was a new ring; in her heart was a silent wish that she knew could not be fulfilled, for sometimes there are more urgent matters in the world than love. A single auburn hair lay curled like a long silk thread on the shoulder of his uniform. Reaching out, she plucked it off the fabric and opened her fingers to let it go in the wind. “Goodbye.” The word slipped away in the warm breeze, like the shimmering hair, curling away into the emptiness all around. They kissed one last time before he walked away, his steps the solid gait of a soldier. The plane took him away that day, but it never brought him back.

The cafe door closed again, the young couple walked away down the street. Somehow the room seemed more empty in the wake of their passing. An old woman sat at a table by the window, her hair white in the sun's warm glow. She took a last sip of tea, set the cup back onto the saucer with a gentle clink, and carefully got up from the table, reaching for her cane.

What would it be like to look at the world through another person's eyes?

Fledgling Dreams

She woke in the night to find herself looking up at the starry night heavens. The walls of her bedroom, the roof over her head, they were familiar things to be taken for granted, but now they were gone, and above her raw, pure night looked down with silent benevolence. The girl sat up in surprise, wondering if perhaps she had slipped into some strange dream more real than life.

She was still in bed, the familiar blankets slightly rumpled over her body, hanging over the edge of the mattress. But the mattress was suspended in thin air, gently rocking, like a boat drifting through clear water. A cool night breeze tickled over the girl's skin and blew through her dark hair. She pulled the blankets closer to her body and peered over the edge of the mattress. Far below her soft, pastel pink clouds hung in the air like drifts of cotton candy lit from underneath. Through a break in the clouds the girl could see city lights, as small and distant as the bright stars above her.

For a few seconds the girl looked downward. The clouds below were so crisp, so clear, each wisp defined against the night darkness, slowly drifting through the air, dispersing like mist, only to come together again in billowing drifts. Always changing, never still, the cloud's restless movement filled the girl with awe at the shear size, the vastness, of each cloud. How many clouds like these drift through the sky unnoticed and unconcerned, while on the ground humans live out their petty lives? Struggles, desires, and passion are meaningless in the expanse above our heads.


The girl stood up on the mattress in her thin cotton nightgown, arms across her chest against the slight chill. Above her in the night sky silver stars shimmered. She knew that the starlight she was seeing had traveled through the cold emptiness of space for millions of years to reach this point in time, the time she could call now. Across the vast unexplored distance, the star that produced tonight's starlight was probably cold and dead, or else it had already expended its last energy in a powerful supernova, the light of which would not reach Earth for untold thousands of years. But right now, at this place, at this time, the sky sparkled with cold starlight like beautiful jewels just out of reach.

The girl opened her arms to the nighttime splendor, as if to embrace the clouds, the stars, the open night around her. She felt like a fledgling bird perched at the edge of its nest, spreading its soft downy wings to the world below. A gentle breeze blew the girl's hair out behind her and made the bottom of her nightgown dance around her legs. The wind called to her, caressing her with its passing touch; free drifting spirits, dancing across the sky to music that only she could hear, as delicate as the shining stars, as vast as the clear night air, as soft as the wispy pink clouds.

She wanted to dance with the wind, to join with it in its aimless but beautiful travel, but she knew she was not ready, like a newly hatched bird with wings not yet strong enough to fly. The night breeze chilled her and she slid back down between the warm blankets, laying her head back on the pillow. A soft lullaby played in the distance, and sleep came the girl like a quiet friend.

She woke the next morning as the first golden rays of sunlight trickled through her bedroom window, pouring across the room with the warmth of life and love. Staring into the glowing sunbeam, blinking in the morning light, she felt that there was something she was forgetting: a dream, something beautiful, something that she should remember. But it was lost in the depths of her mind, just out of reach, and she yawned and sat up, the moment by now passed and gone forever.

Amaryllis

To most people the amaryllis is a nothing more than a pretty flower. Perhaps they have received one during the holiday season, a gift from some distant relative, candy cane crimson, cultivated in a greenhouse so that it would bloom in winter. But the amaryllis outside my window is different; it was given to me on the day of your funeral, not as a blooming plant, but as a shriveled bulb in a cardboard box. I never found out who gave it to me. Sometimes I like to think that perhaps you left it for me yourself, setting it on my porch in its unmarked box, but I know that is impossible.

At first I planned to throw away the bulb, for I had enough of flowers. They spilled over the tables and off the mantle, lined up along the wall in their crystal vases, filling the house with the cloying scent of their blooms. But flowers could never fill the space you left behind, and I knew that they would fade away, for they had been severed at the peak of their bloom, even as you had. How I hated those flowers! But each visitor who came brought more with them and it would have seemed rude to throw them away.

The amaryllis bulb, though, was different. Unlike the other flowers, this bulb was not a blooming facade that would soon fall away. It was real, and it promised potential, a rebirth. If I followed the instructions carefully and buried it in the ground it would eventually send up its curved green leaves, and finally a great red bloom would appear.

I buried the bulb in the soil outside, and as I pushed dirt back into the hole I saw the shovels tossing dirt down onto your coffin. At that moment I felt somehow that if the amaryllis bloomed, then perhaps you too would return to me.

I cared for the amaryllis two years before it bloomed. Long after the cut flowers had died and their vases had been banished to gather dust in a distant cupboard, months after the funeral when other people slowly stopped visiting me, no longer keeping the sadness at bay, the amaryllis was still there. I could see it every day outside my window and I hoped with all my heart that it would survive, like my memories of you.

The amaryllis did survive, and on the second year it sent up a stalk with one great bud, solid and firm. I watched the flower open, and when I saw it reveal its vivid interior I finally understood that a person is not a bulb planted in the ground, and I accepted your death as a change that no amaryllis bloom could ever reverse.

Articale on Psychology

Color and the Age of your Audience

In general, the younger your audience the brighter your website colors need to be. Kids love bright, flashy websites with intense crayon box colors. But use these same colors in a website designed for adults, and they will probably squint, rub their eyes, and leave your website before they get a headache.

On the other hand, if you use gray, saturated colors in a website for kids, they will probably only stay on the site for a few seconds before bouncing off to view something more interesting. Most kids have less attention span than adults, so they need more color to grab the attention of their minds and direct it toward your website's content.

Color and the Class of your Audience

Marketing research seems to indicate that working class people approve of clearly defined colors that you can easily name. Think about the logos and brand colors of major businesses that are aimed at the working class. These are businesses such as McDonalds, Walmart, and other chains. The colors of their logos are bright and clear cut: red, yellow, and other primary colors.

In contrast, the same marketing research would indicate that wealthy and highly educated people sometimes prefer mixed colors like azure, cobalt, mauve, and other shades that aren't easily named at first glance.

Color and the Gender of your Audience

In most cultures, Western and Eastern, men tend to prefer cooler colors such as green and blue, while women like warmer shades such as red and orange. Another major thing to consider is that according to one recent statistic 15% of Western men are at least partially colorblind. As a result they may find it difficult or impossible to distinguish between purple and blue or brown and green. Using these colors in key areas could have an unintended effect for these visitors.

Basic Color Concepts: The Color Wheel

The color wheel is a round disk with twelve segments corresponding to twelve of the major hues, or colors, that make up our sight spectrum.


These colors are divided into three subsets:

• The Primary Colors are red, yellow, and blue. They can not be mixed from any combination of any of the other colors, but mixed together they can create any other color on the color wheel. Their location on the color wheel forms a triangle.
• The three Secondary Colors: green, orange, and violet are created by mixing equal parts of two of the Primary Colors. They lie midway between the primary colors on the color wheel.
• The Tertiary Colors are created by mixing a secondary color and a primary color. They are intermediate hues that lie between a secondary color and a primary color on the color wheel.

The location of colors on a color wheel can help you to pick the colors that will work well in a website.

When you choose colors hues that lie side by side on the color wheel you are using Harmonizing Colors. If too many of these colors are used on a website it may make the page appear washed out or dull.

Complementary Colors are hues that are separated by another color on the color wheel. These colors can work well together, but they need to be separated by visual space or they will both lose visual meaning.

Contrasting Colors are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create a vivid contrast that works well to draw attention to important elements or to create a strong division. This may sound bad, but contrasting colors, if used carefully, can be one of the best color combination possible. They create memorable logos and strong brands that stand out as different.

The Meaning of Colors

Each color has a specific meaning that may be associated with it. This can be important if you are trying to create a mood or strong impression for your web page. Also, cultural background could have an effect on how color is associated with events, holidays, or emotions.

The Meaning of Blue

Blue can convey a sense of importance or universal appeal. Blue is the color of the sky, and therefore it is something that everyone can connect with in some way. In addition, blue is often associated with spirituality. Again this is because the sky is blue.

In Western culture blue may be associated with depression or sadness, but at the same time it is tied in with professional corporations and the "something blue" bride tradition.

The Meaning of Purple

Purple is halfway between the exciting hue of red and the calming shade of blue. It creates a sense of mystery and rich appeal. Purple is also said to stimulate the imagination and creativity, and so it is often associated with innovation.

In Western lands purple may be associated with nobility, or spirituality, whereas in some Eastern lands purple is the color of mourning.

The Meaning of Red

Red is a color of mixed feelings. On the one hand it is closely tied to the color of blood, and the feelings of anger, war, violence, flames, and the devil. On the other hand, red is linked with love and the heart. Medical studies have proven that the color red is a stimulant. Red is also associated with power and prestige. (For example: Rolling out the red carpet.)

In Eastern lands red is the color of celebration, happiness, and prosperity. Red is a lucky color that keeps away evil spirits, or it could be associated with communism. In the West red is the color of love, danger, or the stop sign.

The Meaning of Orange

Orange is midway between the powerful excitement of red and the cheerful, warm feeling of yellow. Orange is the color of the setting sun and of fall leaves so it may be associated with feelings of change. Orange also stimulates emotions and appetite, according to some studies.

Western culture may associate orange with Halloween, autumn, or with creativity.

The Meaning of Yellow

Yellow is a cheerful, happy color, the color of the warming light of our Sun. Yellow is highly visible, and is most often used for contrast against a dark color such as black.

In the West yellow may be linked to danger, or cowardice. But in some Eastern lands yellow is the color of courage and nourishment.

The Meaning of Green

Green is the color of vegetation and so it is often linked to freshness and the environment. Businesses may use the color green to stress that their company has a low carbon footprint, or that they recycle. Green may also be thought off in the negative light of jealousy or inexperience.

In the West green is associated with spring, moving forward, and rebirth. In the East green is the color of Islam.

The Meaning of Black

Black is not a color, but rather the absence of color. As such it usually goes well with just about any other color. But there are many varied connotations to the color black. Black is most often linked with mourning, death, or rebellion. But black can also be thought of as mysterious, alluring, sexy, or professionally sophisticated.

In the West culture mostly links black to death and punk rebellion, but in the East black can be the color of youth.

Conclusion

Color is one thing that a website designer should never neglect. Use color well and a site will stand out. Misuse it and the page may appear revolting, depressing, or irritating.

I have tried several different things with my two web blogs. Inkweaver Review, my book review blog for young adults, has a very bright theme. I use the colors blue, green, and orange in bright hues that capture the attention of youngsters. The Inkweaver Review logo is contrasting green and orange, making it seem both fresh and cheerfully creative.

For this blog, however, I have used the colors of black, green, and orange. I had originally planned to use black, orange, and powder blue, but I decided that it was more important to create a green and orange theme across my two blogs. In addition the very name of this site: "Experiment Garden" means that the word "garden" is better tied to the color green. Somehow "garden" and the color powder blue don't go as well together. The black color of "Experiment Garden" reflects the older age group that it is aimed at, as well as its more professional and sophisticated content.

That is how I arrived at my current website color schemes.

What do you think about the use of color? Are there any colors that you associate with specific emotions or feelings?

The Psychology of Color in Webpages

One of the most important steps in designing a website is that of deciding what color scheme you are going to use. Websites have a major advantage over many other forms of media in that color is cheap and easy to create. The publisher of a magazine or newspaper may have to spend extra money to print their journals and periodicals in color but a web designer can throw color on a website with the click of a button. As a result, there is an unfortunate tendency to abuse color, or at the very least underestimate its power and scope.


The effect of color on an individual depends greatly on their age, sex, and cultural background, so when choosing colors for a website one of the first things you need to do is figure out what your primary audience is. Is your site or blog aimed at young readers? Older working class readers? Do you want to attract women or men? Or do you want to attract everyone?

2008 MacBook Air

In 2008 the MacBook Air made history as the thinnest laptop to date. The laptop is only .76 inches in height and has a 13.3 inch glossy screen that displays at 1280x800 resolution.

The MacBook Air comes with a 1.8Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, an 80gb solid-state hard drive, and 2gb of memory. Its trackpad supports multi-touch gestures like those of the MacBook Pro or iPhone.

Unfortunately, the $1799 laptop does not please everyone. It tends to heat up, causing core shutdown. In addition, the extremely thin dimensions of the laptop make the screen hinges and other critical parts much more fragile than one would desire. Another major downside to the MacBook Air is that it lacks an internal CD or DVD drive.

2007 ASUS EeePC 4G

The ASUS EeePC introduced a new wave of small, less powerful, portable computers called "netbooks." These small laptops are designed to offer basic internet and email connectivity, but they aren't powerful enough to play modern games, and they are so small that they are not ergonomically suited for use as a primary computing device.

The EeePC 4G came with a seven inch screen, a 4gb solid state drive, 512mb of memory, and a 900MHz processor, all packaged in a 2 lb device that runs on batteries for 3.5 hours and costs a mere $399.

2007 OLPC XO Laptop

The XO Laptop was created by the One Laptop per Child organization. The goal of the XO Laptop is to provide rugged, portable computing to the world's poorest children. This means that the XO has to be cheap, efficient, and sturdy.

The 433 MHz processor powering this laptop sips power, which is very important in places where electricity may be scarce, or not available at all. With 256mb of RAM, a 1200 x 900 resolution screen that is visible in bright sunlight, powerful mesh wireless network functionality even when the CPU is powered down, a color webcam, and a microphone, it is amazing that this laptop is being made available for only $150.

The XO Laptop is definitely a historic laptop both for its grand visionary effort to provide computers to children around the world, and for its amazing price and specifications.

2005 IBM Lenovo Tablet PC

The Lenovo X41 introduced an exciting new laptop/tablet conversion feature that made it truly unique. Add to this the 1.5 GHz processor, 512mb of RAM, and a 40gb hard drive, all packaged in a tiny tablet that weighed only 3.5 pounds.

Also included in this fascinating design was a fingerprint reader to keep this portable computer completely secure.

The Lenovo X41 was the wave of the future. Unfortunately, the advanced handwriting analysis software needed to make the tablet functionality operate was power hungry, and using the default batter the Lenovo X41 couldn't be run any major applications for more than about two hours without needing to be recharged.

The Lenovo X41 had a base price of $2299.

1994 Macintosh PowerBook 500

Apple's PowerBook 500 was the first portable computer to include a touchpad, or trackpad, for mouse input. This innovation soon replaced trackballs on all Apple computers. This portable computer was also the first to incorporate 16 bit stereo sound.

The PowerBook 500 had a Motorola 68LC040 CPU that could be upgraded to a PowerPC procesor, up to 500mb of hard drive storage, a 1.44mb floppy drive, and up to 40mb of RAM. The PowerBook 500 weighed 7.3 pounds.

2001 Apple iBook G3 Dual USB

The 12 inch iBook released in 2001 did away with the bright colors and round curves of its predecessor. Instead, the no nonsense white coloring and solid edges gave the laptop a sturdy, professional feel.

In addition, this iBook weighed in at only 4.9 pounds. The battery powered this 500 mhz computer for five hours. The 12 inch white iBook also enjoyed 64 or 128mb of RAM, and a 10gb hard drive.

1999 Apple iBook G3

The Apple iBook was greatly influenced by the colorful, transparent plastic styling of the iMac. It's rounded shape also mirrors the lines of the iMac.

A key feature of the Apple iBook is that it was the first computer to include integrated wireless technology, with a wireless antenna built into the display bezel.

The iBook came equipped with a 300 MHz PowerPC processor, 32 or 64mb of memory, a 3.2 or 6 gb hard drive, and a CDROM. It weighed 6.7 lbs and had a six hour battery life. Original models cost $1599

1998 IBM ThinkPad 770E

The IBM ThinkPad 770E weighed 7.7lbs, and packed a 266 MHz processor, 32mb of RAM, and a 5gb hard drive with Windows 95 installed.

The battery life was about 3.5 hours.

1992 IBM ThinkPad 700

The IBM ThinkPad was the first portable computer to boast a 10.4 inch color TFT display. It also had a 25 MHz processor, a 120mb hard drive, and the Windows 3.1 operating system. It's 6.5lb weight was slightly heavier than the Macintosh PowerBook.

The ThinkPad also introduced the TrackPoint, a small red pointing stick embedded in the keyboard and used to navigate the mouse around the screen.

The ThinkPad 700 cost $4350

1991 Macintosh PowerBook

The Macintosh PowerBook featured 4mb of RAM, a 16 MHz processor, and up to 80mb of hard drive space. This PowerBook created a new style of "notebook" portable computers. Unlike its predecessors, the PowerBook's lid covered the entire top of the computer, rather than just the front half.

The Macintosh PowerBook also moved the built-in trackball to a central location in front of the keyboard, and this innovation quickly became standard in portable computing devices.

With a 2-4 hour battery life, the PowerBook wasn't quite as long-lived as the Macintosh Portable, but the small size and light weight of 5lbs made up for it.

The first PowerBook retailed for $2500. This time Apple had succeeded in creating a portable computer that still has fans among vintage Apple collectors.

1989 Zenith Minisport

The Zenith Minisport was the first, and only, computer to use the 2 inch floppy, which was designed specifically for this miniature-sized portable computer. Unfortunately, these specialized floppies were much more expensive than their traditionally sized counterparts, and this is one reason why the Zenith Minisport was not a great success.

The Zenith Minisport ran MSDOS off of an early RAM drive. To save cost and weight it contained no hard drive. Instead the OS was stored in RAM, and a special battery kept the RAM powered so that the information wasn't lost. If the battery ever died, the RAM had to be reloaded using a special external 3.5 inch floppy.

The processor inside this portable computer was an 80C88 that ran at either 4.77 MHz or 8 MHz.

1989 IBM Poquet PC

The Poquet PC was a surprisingly powerful minicomputer that ran DOS. It ran off two AA batteries for weeks or months because of advanced power management features such as shutting off the CPU when it wasn't in use.

In a way the Poquet PC may look like nothing more than an advanced calculator, but it ran WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and other old DOS programs.

The Poquet PC weighed 1.2 pounds and had a 7Mhz processor and 640kb of memory. Storage space was added by the use of special PCMCIA cards that were purchased separately. It retailed for $2000.

1989 Macintosh Portable

The Macintosh Portable was never a very popular portable computer. It had a 640x480 black and white display, and a 16 MHz processor at a time when most portable computers were running at 10-12 MHz. It also had an amazing ten hour battery lifetime.

However, the Macintosh Portable weighed about 17 pounds, making it considerably heavier than most people liked to carry.

Unfortunately, the $6500 price tag also made it far more expensive than its lighter competition.

1988 Compaq SLT/286

The powerful Compaq SLT/286 was the first portable computer to feature 640x480 VGA. The higher resolution graphics were handled by the 12 MHz 80C286 processor. A 20mb hard drive offered plenty of internal storage space for this early computer.

This early laptop was 14 pounds, and it was fully eight inches thick with the lid down. The Compaq SLT/286 started at $5399.

1986 The IBM PC Convertible

The IBM PC Convertible introduced power management, including a "sleep mode" designed to help its users avoid the long floppy boot process.

The bright LCD screen offered an amazing 640x200 resolution that was fine for text, but squashed pictures terribly. The 4.77 MHz processor was the weak point of this portable computer, and the reason why it failed to perform well on the market.

But the amazing power management features, such as not clocking the processor when it was not in use, helped this 13 pound, $2000 computer become a model for future portable computers designed to run off of batteries.

1983 TRS Model 100

The Tandy Radio Shack Model 100 was one of the first portable computers that was remotely affordable. At the time it cost $599, and came with a 2.4MHz processor, 8-32K of RAM and a 40x8 character LCD display. It ran off of 4 AA batteries, and lasted up to sixteen hours on batteries.

The computer was powered by Microsoft BASIC stored in ROM. The TRS Model 100 had ports for an optional 300 baud modem, and a bar code reader. Data was stored on an audio cassette.

1982 The Grid Compass

The Grid Compass' claim to fame lies in the fact that it was the first portable computer to enjoy the "clamshell" design, in which the screen folds down flat over the keyboard.

It's Intel 8086 processor pumped out about 8 MHz of computing power for working with its 256kb of RAM. The bright 320x200 pixel screen was considered high resolution, and allowed 80 by 24 text. Unfortunately there were no internal floppy or hard drives, though these could be attached externally via a special bus.

At 11 pounds, the Grid Compass could finally be considered truly portable. In fact, in 1985 NASA took the Grid Compass on board it's "Discovery" mission.

All these amazing innovations came at a price, though. The Grid Compass cost a whopping $8150

1982 The Compaq Portable

Compaq Computer Corporation got their first portable computer on the market in late 1982.

The Compaq Portable sold for $3950, twice the price of its predecessors. However this was a small price to pay, for the privileged owner of a Compaq Portable was able to enjoy a blazing 4.77 MHz processor and 128 to 640 kb of memory.

The Compaq Portable was compatible with the IBM PC and MSDOS, making it more flexible than other similar offerings. Unfortunately it was even heavier than the Osbourne or the Kaypro. At 28 pounds many users likened it to a "suitcase."

1981 The Osborne 1

The Osborne 1 was the first popular portable computer. It's design was created by Adam Osbourne, and the most important specification requirement at that time was that the Osbourne 1 had to fit under an airplane seat. Never mind the fact that this left the Osbourne 1 with a five inch screen that could only display 24 lines of text with 52 characters in each line.

This $1795 dollar state-of-the-art portable computer also came with an amazing 4 MHz processor; 64kb of ram; and not one, but two 92kb floppy drives. The optional battery had a life of one hour. A 300 baud modem could be added, ensuring that the Osbourne stayed connected wherever a phone line was available.

But that wasn't all. Every Osbourne 1 was guaranteed to help the devoted businessman or programmer to loose weight and get in better shape. The computer weighed 24 pounds, making it quite a workout to carry around daily.

1974 The MCM/70

The MCM/70 was one of the first microcomputers released. It was also the first portable computer on the market.

It had an 800Khz processor, between 2 and 8kb of RAM, 32kb of ROM, and a tiny one-line plasma display for output. Not every model had a battery for portable use, but according to some sources custom models could be ordered with an expensive battery option that enabled it to be run without an available electric socket. It is not known how long the MCM/70 could operate on battery power.

Unfortunately, time and obscurity have made it very difficult to find original specs and information about this first portable computer. It appears that the MCM/70 retailed for between $5000 and $9000 depending on which options were requested.

The Glamorous History of Portable Laptop Computers

Welcome to "The Glamorous History of Portable Computers." This is a constantly expanding timeline that aims to capture the greatest moments in mobile computing. Currently it is a work in process, and I have many more computer models that I plan to add, so stay posted for future developments.

Amazing History Of Laptop Batteries

Whenever you power up your laptop you may not think about the history that has gone on to help us get to where we are today. Our laptops have come a long way to become as powerful as they are, but what we do not think about is how far the laptop batteries have come. The history of laptop batteries is an amazing one. They have come along way, and in the end they still have a long way to go before they are perfect. However, we can be happy that we have learned from our mistakes and come up with a battery that is lighter and longer lasting than older ones.

The laptop is a great thing. It allows you to use your computer without having to be plugged up to a wall. However, back in the day you could not run your laptop off the batteries alone for too long. Thanks to people always looking to improve what we already have, we have made great jumps in the history of the batteries. When we think of laptop batteries many of us think about the rechargeable ones that we use today. However, did you know that they used to make laptops that ran off AA batteries? Not only did it take a lot of AA batteries to run a laptop, but they could not run it for long. Many people today remember the laptops running off the very heavy lead acid based batteries. Not only did these batteries not last long, but it made your laptop very heavy. You might as well been carrying around a desktop. Since then the history of laptop batteries have kept improving. In fact, after we turned in the old lead acid batteries we moved on to the nickel cadmium batteries.

If you do not remember ever hearing of nickel cadmium batteries, that is because some people called them NiCD. However, these batteries were not around too long because we soon left those for nickel metal hydribe batteries (also called NiMH). As you can guess both of these batteries lasted a lot longer than the old acid ones, however, we were not done making great batteries just yet. After that we moved on to the lithium ion batteries as well as the lithium polymer. These are the batteries that most laptops use today. However, we are not done making great batteries, and you can bet that the history of laptop batteries is going to move on from here. As more and more people get laptops every year the demand for a longer lasting batter is ever growing. Until we can make a battery that never dies, we are always going to see more improvements in the life of batteries.

People use there laptops for many different things. Some use it for school, and others use it for work. However, no matter what you use your laptop for, you know that you need a long last battery. You have to know that you are going to be able to count on the battery when you need your laptop the most. Because of that, we should be happy that batteries keep improving. The history of laptop batteries is a long one, and it’s going to just keep getting longer. All that means is that we are going to end up with some great batteries over the course of a few years. As companies jump at the chance to improve their laptops you are going to see some of the worlds best batteries come to be. What that means for us is the fact that we can have great running computers that do not die after a few hours.