Irreplaceable laptop computer

Whereas we definitely need several elements to satisfy our technology needs and to communicate with the world, one item remains the essential one “to have and to hold” — a good laptop computer.

From a fast fibre optic Internet subscription, to additional devices like a tablet, a smartphone, external hard disks and cloud storage subscription, everything matters and would contribute to a more pleasant experience. Your laptop, however, is the cornerstone of the whole system and every other element revolves around it.

Laptops are irreplaceable for they have proved how versatile, how dependable and how efficient they have become. A good model will run any piece of software at good speed. Through the years the size of the keyboard and the screen have confirmed that they are the most ergonomic and the most adapted to the human body: even the best tablets or smartphones just cannot compete.

With the new batteries and the SSD drives that now are integrated in any laptop made this year, laptops truly make fantastic hardware, with a value for money that is higher than any other equipment. This is true especially when you compare the price of high smartphones with that of an equivalent laptop. Everybody agrees that, all things considered, laptop are less expensive than tablets and smartphones.

“Future compatibility”, one important characteristic of laptops, remains hard if not impossible to control and to secure in advance. It is the certainty that your laptop will be compatible with the next version of the operation you are using — Windows in most cases. Indeed, a computer and the operating system that runs it are two closely linked elements.

When in 2016 and 2017 the majority of users decided to move up to Windows 10, the current world standard, many were disappointed to discover that their laptop was not fully compatible with Windows 10 functionality. This, despite the fact that the said laptop was not old, even by IT standards. Therefore they had to stick to their existing laptop and the older Windows 7, or buy a brand new laptop that could run Windows 10.

So the question is “is there a way to buy a laptop that will guarantee you full compatibility with the successor of Windows 10, whenever such a version would be released?”

Unfortunately there is not. On one hand the IT industry is very unpredictable and on the other Microsoft is hinting at the fact that Windows 10 may well be the last operating system as such. What does this mean in plain English? That there will not be any Windows to use in a while?

It actually means that the distribution and the installation of Windows may evolve to become “a service” (an online service, understand), not anymore a software product you would buy and install, as it has been the case till now. Everything indicates that this is probably what will happen in the near future. If and when this happens the whole notion of “future compatibility” will have a new meaning and consumers — most likely — will not have to worry about it.

This won’t change the essential, central role that laptops play in any working environment, be it at home or in the office. Regardless of future changes or “compatibility uncertainties”, common sense still applies when acquiring a laptop. Pick one of the best top brands: Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, Apple, Fujitsu-Siemens, Samsung, Asus – you cannot go wrong this way. Get a lot of memory, 8GB at least and preferably 16GB. Make sure it has the very latest in terms of communication and ports. There is not much more you can do to protect and to optimise your investment in a laptop.