Laptops come in so many shapes and sizes it's hard to know where to begin without the help of expert ratings. The manufacturer websites are dense with Warm&Fuzzy(tm) pictures of smiling yuppies and they have very little to offer in the way of specifications and practical real world testing. That's where many magazine writers and technical bloggers come in very handy. For the major testing shops like PC World and Consumer reports the technicians take standard out of the box computers and peripherals and pass them through a grueling series of benchmark and durability tests. These proofing platforms are in most cases far beyond the demands of every day use, and with that in mind, they don't really test for every day uses. Most of the high-tech experts push the limits of the laptop computer hardware to test obscure electronic specifications, and I have yet to see a test that measure how well a notebook stands up to repeatedly dribbling globs of peanut butter and jelly on the keyboard. Laptops are amazing since they have so many uses and encounter so many challenges. It's hard to get any sense of how a notebook will hold up in many conditions based on most expert reviews.

The great thing about the Internet and the World Wide Web is that practically everyone has a voice and a means to share their experiences with everyone else who cares. Other than the big commercial laptop computer reviewers there are countless individuals out there who are conduct their own field tests on all the computer hardware on the market. Nothing is more pertinent and meaningful than critiques from real "out-of-the-box" experiences with real people. A few simple words from other buyers can amount to all the expert reviewing that you need for a computer system. Perhaps the greatest feature of the open discussion forums is that you can ask your own questions and get feedback on matters that really matter to you about the hardware, compatibility, and features. There are always some details that professional reviewers don't think of or can't fit within their publishing space, but discussion forums are really unlimited. Computer critiques are fun to get into, and some small voices can say some big things.