Microsoft's Windows profits have also fallen because of rising interest in the cheap, compact laptops known as netbooks, which rely on the lower-priced Windows XP instead of Vista.
After all, they forgo the number pad for a more compact laptop-ish layout.
So I salted it all away, first in hand-copied notebooks, and later in a not-very-compact laptop, where it stayed for twenty years.
Last month, Palm introduced the Foleo, which is basically a super-compact laptop computer that relies on lightweight flash memory, rather than a bulky hard drive.
My favorite Alienware sub-compact laptop (the M11x) comes out on sale just when my wife expects me to spend money on gifts for the family.
Other hoped-for developments, including zippier iPhones, ultra-compact laptops and touch-screen tablets, have been whispered about in years past but have extra significance this year, because of changes in existing products and unconfirmed hints from parts suppliers.
The third is a compact external laptop Lithium-Ion battery giving an extra 2-4 hofrs of portability for travelers.
The "compact gaming laptop" is a new thing, as evidenced by everyone's surprise at the competency of the M11x.
