Getting to the Bottom of the Box
24
On a laptop, though, function keys are often assigned all sorts of special
functions that exist outside the operating system and applications running
under it. In Table 2-1, you can see the special assignments (called Hot
Keys by Toshiba) given nine of the function keys on the Toshiba Satellite
P205 laptop.
Table 2-1 Toshiba Hot Keys
Key Function
Activates the Security Lock. The screen
clears and the user login screen appears.
You must log back in to use the computer.
Displays available power options.
Pressing the key cycles through
options.
Puts the laptop in Sleep or Standby mode.
Puts the laptop in Hibernation mode.
Toggles among sending video output to
the built-in LCD, an external monitor, or both.
Decreases the LCD screen brightness each
time you touch it. You can see the brightness
level as a number or as a position on a
slider onscreen.
Increases the LCD brightness each time
you touch it. You can see the brightness
level as a number or as a position on a
slider onscreen.
Enables or disables installed wireless
facilities, including WiFi a Bluetooth.
Enables or disables the touchpad or other
built-in pointing device.

to place by a pointing device; a set of buttons that you can click to indicate
a selection or initiate an action. On a desktop computer, the most common
type of pointing device is a mouse which is moved around on a mouse pad
or on the desk itself to cause a similar movement on the screen. The second
most common desktop pointing device is a trackball which remains station-
ary but translates the manipulation of its large ball into movement on the
screen.
With a laptop, of course, the emphasis is placed on squeezing everything
into a very small space, and that doesn’t allow room for a standard mouse
and mouse pad. Instead, the common designs for pointing devices on a
laptop include the following:
✦ Pointing stick. This little pencil-eraser-sized nub is embedded into the
keyboard (often in the triangle in the midst of the G, H, and B keys). It
functions something like a joystick: Pushing it up moves the onscreen
cursor toward the top of the screen. A bit of intelligence in the computer
can tell the difference between a small push and a determined shove,
translating that into small or large movements.
On IBM and Lenovo laptops, the pointing stick is often called a
TrackPoint; on some Dell machines a similar mechanism is called a
TrackStick. The pointing stick works in conjunction with a pair of
mouse-click buttons in front of the spacebar.
✦ Touchpad. This common replacement for a mouse on a laptop is an
electrically sensitive rectangle of several square inches usually mounted
just below the spacebar. These devices work by sensing changes in the
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Getting to the Bottom of the Box
26
very low power electrical charge on the pad caused by a finger move-
ment. Moving the finger to the right causes the onscreen cursor to move
in that direction; as with a pointing stick, the computer senses the differ-

On most modern laptops, the on/off button is located somewhere on the
top side; proper design puts it in an upper corner where you are unlikely to
accidentally hit it while typing or making other adjustments. The switch is
thus also protected against accidental pushes when you close the clamshell.
A generally bad design: putting the on/off switch on the side of the laptop
where it could accidentally be touched.
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Book I
Chapter 2
Touring a Modern
Laptop
Getting to the Bottom of the Box
27
A common design for the on/off switch is a circle partly split by a vertical
line. (See the left of Figure 2-3.) Another version uses an off-center arrow
within a circle. (See the right of Figure 2-3.) One possible explanation for the
less-than-obvious symbolisms: they combine the ancient computer markings
of 0 for off and 1 for on, an extension of binary mathematics.
Other designers may be more obvious: a switch clearly marked with an On
label. On one of my fancy new laptops, the button glows neon blue when the
machine is powered up and changes to a mellow green or strident yellow,
respectively, when the computer is in Standby or Hibernation mode.
Courtesy of Toshiba America, Inc.
One more thing: Modern laptops make multiple use of their on/off switch.
For example, pressing and holding it for a second while the machine is off
may turn on the power; pressing and releasing it quickly while the machine
is running may put the system into hibernation. And you may also be able
to initiate an automated orderly shutdown of a running machine by pressing
and holding the button down until it changes color. When all else fails,
consult your instruction manual for details.

✦ An instant mute button or a function key that serves the same instant-off
purpose. On the P205 model and some other machines, the Function-Esc
key combination turns off the sound; depending on your machine’s
design, the mute may turn off only the sound system’s output to the
laptop’s built-in speakers, or may also disable headphones or external
speakers attached to the computer. See Figure 2-4.
Courtesy of Toshiba America, Inc.
The next level of multimedia controls is your basic CD player; the controls
are sometimes alongside the keyboard, while other machines place a set of
tiny buttons along the very front edge of the bottom box — more or less
below where your wrists rest while typing.
On some laptops, including Toshiba models, you may find a button that
truly blurs the line between sophisticated laptop computer and basic CD
music player: a Music CD button that activates a simple media player in the
computer, allowing you to play music CDs without turning on the rest of
the machine. So if you’re cruising at 29,000 feet and too tired to do any more
work on your spreadsheet, you can play the latest Dixie Chicks CD for hours
while your computer gently sleeps.
Other multimedia CD buttons include your basic play, pause, next track,
previous track, and stop. Most of the icons came from DVD players, which
adapted them from VCRs, which took them from tape recorders.
ESC
Figure 2-4:
A
multipurpose
Escape key
with audio
mute
functions.
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Designers often use a small pictogram of an electrical plug to indicate
that the laptop is receiving power from an AC wall outlet — through an
adapter that converts the current to DC, to be precise. (See Figure 2-6.)
Figure 2-5:
A typical
icon
representing
a laptop’s
hard disk
drive.
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Getting to the Bottom of the Box
30
Courtesy of Toshiba America, Inc.
Some machines include a bit of extra information, like changing colors
on a lamp that tells you whether the battery is fully charged, half
depleted, or in dire need of a few hours plugged into an AC outlet. On my
most modern Toshiba machine, the respective colors for these three
conditions are soothing green, anxious amber, and urgent flashing red.
(You can see an example of a battery icon in Figure 2-7.)
Courtesy of Toshiba America, Inc.
Bottom of the bottom box
The underside of the laptop is a place that you can’t access while you’re
using the machine — unless you’re in zero gravity. For that reason, it houses
compartments and access hatches meant to be accessed on rare occasions
and not while the machine is powered up.
Figure 2-7:
A version of
the symbol
for a battery

machine. The large bay in the bottom of Figure 2-8 is for this particular
system’s WiFi adapter; it has room for other electronics in future designs.
The bay to the left holds this model’s tiny 200GB hard disk drive.
Courtesy of Toshiba America, Inc.
These common ports of entry are on the bottom of a laptop:
✦ Access to RAM modules. Most modern laptops offer two tiny sockets to
hold memory, usually provided on a tiny SODIMM module not much
larger than a postage stamp.
Unlock rechargeable
battery pocket here
Rechargeable
battery pocket
Release rechargeable
battery pocket here
Cover for two user-accessible
RAM module slots
WiFi adapter bay
Hard disk
drive bay
Figure 2-8:
Access to
compart-
ments
on the
underside of
modern
laptop.
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Getting to the Bottom of the Box
32

handwritten notes in the laptop case. If the laptop stops working or goes
missing, the picture or the notes won’t help you at all.
While you’re looking at the bottom of the bottom box, note the little rubber
feet or nubs that hold the laptop a fraction of an inch above the desk. I tend
to lose at least one of these every six months or so. To replace a small nub,
try carefully gluing on a pencil eraser; to replace a larger rubber standoff,
you may have to carve your own standoff from a larger eraser or other soft
but sturdy object.
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Chapter 2
Touring a Modern
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Sides of the bottom box
On one side of the laptop computer you usually find the access to the built-
in CD or DVD player or recorder. Some laptops also have a bay designed to
hold an ultra-miniaturized hard disk drive; you can easily replace or upgrade
these drives, although you have to use a drive that includes matching con-
nectors and guide rails. (The connectors bring together the laptop’s and
drive’s data and power lines; the guide rails allow the drive to slide into
place securely.)
Upgrade parts for laptops are sometimes particular to a manufacturer. For
example, the rails and connector location for a slide-in hard disk drive for a
Toshiba machine may be similar to but incompatible with those intended for
a Lenovo laptop. A number of third-party resellers offer upgrade and
replacement parts. The more popular your laptop brand, the more likely a
reseller offers a line of parts for it.
On the other side of the bottom box you may find as many as a dozen small