Hi all,
Laptops actually is the original name for portable computers. When they
began to become reduced in size and became small enough to look the size of
a printed notebook they were called notebooks and when they became smaller
than a notebook they were referred to as subnotebooks. A standard notebook
is about the size of a standard sheet of paper 8.5 by 11 inches. They tend
to be the most common right now so laptops would be the more generic name
for a full featured portable computer while notebooks are a specific sized
one with the same features generally. The fact is though the line is not
strictly followed in most people's minds. As for the PDA, the line between
a PDA and a notebook or subnotebook is blurring all the time. A line of
subnotebooks has recently been announced which weighs less than a pound and
has XP, all major features of a notebook, lots of RAM and big hard
drive. Such a unit could undoubtedly be included with a Braille display
and be no bigger than a BN or with one of the newer Braille displays it
could be smaller than the present BN and it certainly would not be a PDA
any longer.
Lisa
