Laptops Get More Entertaining
Most laptops have long been able to play CDs and DVDs, and a few have even been able to double as TV sets. Those capabilities have turned the laptop into a portable entertainment device, useful for watching movies on boring flights or keeping the kids entertained in the back seat during long drives.
But starting up a computer just to watch a DVD has two major downsides. First, it takes a while to get going. Second, it exposes all your personal files to anyone watching a movie or listening to music on the laptop.
Think about it: Do you really want to hand the contents of your entire hard drive over to the bored, tech-savvy children riding behind you in the minivan? Sure, keeping the kids busy with a movie will probably nix the hideous car sing-along, but a few curious clicks from Junior might leave you wishing you were more selfish with your toys.
So, computer makers have come up with an interesting innovation: laptops that can play DVDs and CDs, or even act as a television, without booting up into your Windows operating system. These new machines have a separate entertainment-only mode that doesn't require Windows or provide users with access to your programs and files.
This week, my assistant Katie Boehret and I reviewed two of the first laptops to offer this technology, with special buttons that, when pressed, start up your DVD and CD players without ever opening Windows. One of the two even has a built-in TV tuner that enables you to watch television on your computer in this same boot-free manner.
H-P Pavilion dv1000 Entertainment Notebook PC (left) and Toshiba's QosimE15-AV101 (right)
Our two test machines were the $1,299 Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv1000 Entertainment Notebook PC and Toshiba's $2,599 Qosmio (pronounced KOS-me-oh) E15-AV101. Averatec Inc., a smaller computer company, also makes a laptop that offers this technology, but the company was unable to get a unit to us in time for testing.
Hewlett-Packard calls its instant-play feature QuickPlay, while Toshiba calls its version the QosmioPlayer. Although both share this feature, the two laptops couldn't be more different. They are meant for somewhat different functions and audiences. But, overall, we liked the H-P much better for most users. It is more portable, more attractive and more cleverly designed, with a higher-resolution screen and much better battery life. Plus, it is half the price of the Toshiba.
The Toshiba is a hulking, 8.2-pound box with a 15-inch screen that is designed to replace a desktop computer. It runs Microsoft's special Media Center version of Windows XP, which features an optional large-type interface designed to be operated with a remote control from across the room. A Media Center PC is meant to combine your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer into one device, so the Qosmio has a built-in TV tuner. The Qosmio is really meant to stay in one place and replace a home-entertainment center.
The H-P dv1000's small remote slips into a slot on the laptop's side
The H-P dv1000 is a sleek, 5.3-pound box with attractive, angled edges that's meant to be mobile. Its screen is brilliant and it features a clever, thin remote control that tucks into a slot on the side. While it lacks a TV tuner and has a slightly smaller screen than the Toshiba, we preferred the H-P for playing CDs and DVDs.
We also found the H-P's battery life to be vastly better than that of the Toshiba. We subjected each to our harsh battery test, where we turn off all power-saving features, crank up the screen brightness all the way, and play an endless loop of music. The H-P lasted for just longer than three hours, while the Toshiba pooped out after an hour and 10 minutes. In a more typical usage pattern, with power-saving on, the H-P would likely last nearly four hours using Windows, and could handle even the longest DVD in instant-play mode. The Toshiba would probably squeeze out two hours in Windows, and would have trouble getting through a Harry Potter movie in instant mode, unless it was plugged in.
Plus, the Qosmio's remote-control function is really clumsy. It requires two separate remotes -- one for its Media Center PC and another for its QosmioPlayer -- and both of these were the size of remotes that work with regular TVs. Not only that, but we had to attach a clunky remote sensor to our Qosmio so it would work with the Media Center PC remote. Toshiba recently released two new Qosmios that the company says need only one remote, but they still require the cumbersome add-on sensor for Media Center functions.
The instant-play functions of both laptops worked well. We simply pressed special buttons at the top of each unit's keyboard to start playing DVDs and CDs without ever touching a power button. The H-P dv1000 has two such buttons, one for DVD and one for music QuickPlay. The Qosmio has similar buttons, one for the TV and another for immediate DVD or CD playing, depending on what's in your drive.
The Toshiba Qosmio's remote is the size of a regular TV remote.
DVDs started up seconds after we pressed each button. If you don't have a disc in the drive, a notice appears on the screen -- still without booting up Windows. CDs play on bare-bones software players that got the job done. The Toshiba can't access MP3s or other data on your hard drive while you're using the QosmioPlayer, but in the H-P's QuickPlay mode, you can access MP3s if they are first placed in your "Shared Music" folder in Windows. Watching TV using the Qosmio was simple, thanks to an adapter that hooks into the back of the laptop and attaches to your TV cable in one simple step.
The display quality on each computer was impressive, but we thought the H-P had a slight edge, even though its screen was an inch smaller than the Toshiba -- 14 versus 15 inches diagonal. Technically, its resolution is slightly better, and from a glance the H-P's colors just seemed more vibrant than those on the Qosmio.
Each laptop comes with loads of extras -- the Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba models we tested have three and four USB ports, respectively, and each has one FireWire port, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. The H-P has a 6-in-1 media-card reader, while the Toshiba's card reader works with only three types of media cards: SD, xD and Memory Stick. Both laptops have built-in Harmon Kardon speakers; we thought the sound was slightly better on the Toshiba Qosmio, but not by much.
If you're in the market for a new Windows laptop and you play DVDs or CDs often, you should strongly consider the H-P dv1000. It works well on a desk or on the move. The Toshiba is worth considering only if you don't intend to move the laptop much, can keep it plugged in to an electrical socket, want the TV function, and have a big budget.
无需启动就可播放DVD的笔记本电脑
多数笔记本电脑都可以播放CD和DVD，有些甚至可以当电视看。这些功能使笔记本电脑变成一种移动娱乐设备，你可以在长途飞行中看看电影，或是当开车到很远的地方时，让坐在后座上的孩子们乐呵乐呵。
不过，只是为了看DVD就启动电脑并不是一件好事。首先，启动电脑需要一会儿时间。此外，用你的笔记本电脑听音乐或是看DVD的人可以看到你的所有个人文件。
仔细想一想：你真的希望汽车后座上对科技玩意儿鬼精灵的孩子在百无聊赖时看到你硬盘上的东西吗？当然，让孩子沉迷于一部电影可能会阻止他们在车上喧闹，但是小孩子们几下好奇的点击就可能会让你后悔给他们电脑。
因此，电脑制造商进行了一项有趣的革新：无需启动进入Windows操作系统就能够播放DVD和CD，甚至可以当作电视使用的笔记本电脑。这些新式电脑有一个单独的娱乐模式，该模式不需要运行Windows，在此模式下使用者无法运行你电脑里面的程序和访问里面的文件。
本周，我的助理卡蒂?波莱特(Katie Boehret)和我对首批配备这种技术的两台笔记本电脑进行了测试，这两台电脑上有特殊按键，通过此键你可以在不运行Windows的情况下开启DVD和CD播放器。其中一台电脑甚至具有内置电视调谐器，你同样无需启动就可以在电脑上观看电视节目。
我们测试的两台电脑室分别是售价1,299美元的惠普(Hewlett-Packard)Pavilion dv1000 Entertainment笔记本电脑和售价为2,599美元的东芝(Toshiba)Qosmio E15-AV101笔记本电脑。小型电脑公司Averatec Inc.也制造了一款提供这种技术的电脑，但是该公司未能及时提供机器让我们测试。
惠普将这种直接播放功能称之为QuickPlay，东芝则将其版本称之为QosmioPlayer。尽管两台电脑都有这一功能，但是它们实际上是两款截然不同的电脑。它们的一些功能完全不同，面向不同的客户群。但是总体上，我们认为惠普更适合多数用户使用。它更易携带，更漂亮，设计更巧妙，显示屏分辨率更高，并且电池使用寿命更长。此外，它的价格是东芝的一半。
东芝体积庞大，重8.2镑，显示屏为15英寸，其设计目的是替代台式电脑。它运行微软Windows XP的一个特殊Media Center版本，该版本有一个可选的大号字体界面，它能够让你在房间内的任何一个地方遥控电脑。Media Center电脑能将你的电视机、DVD播放器、音响和电脑合为一体，所以Qosmio有一个内置电视调谐器。Qosmio的目的是将各式电器整合在一起，替代家庭娱乐中心。
惠普dv1000机体光滑、重5.3镑，外观漂亮有形，适宜携带。其显示屏色彩亮丽，在一侧的凹槽内有一个智能小巧的遥控装置。尽管它没有电视调谐器并且显示屏尺寸略小于东芝，但是在播放CD和DVD方面，我们还是偏向于使用惠普的这款电脑。
我们还发现，惠普的电池使用时间大大长于东芝。我们对两款电脑都进行了最严格的电池测验－－关掉所有节电功能，将屏幕亮度调到最高，一直播放音乐。惠普的电池使用时间超过了3个小时，而东芝只坚持了1个小时10分钟。在通常使用情况下，如果开启节电功能，运行著Windows的惠普能够使用将近4个小时，在直接播放模式下能够播放任何长度的DVD。东芝在Windows状态下勉强运行了2个小时，而在直接播放模式下不能播完一部《哈利?波特》(Harry Potter)，以致于不得不借助于电源。
另外，Qosmio的遥控功能非常笨拙。它需要两个不同的遥控器－－一个用于Media Center电脑，另外一个用于QosmioPlayer，两个遥控器的大小与普通电视遥控器大小一致。不仅仅如此，我们还必须将一个笨重的遥控传感器连接到Qosmio上，以配合Media Center电脑遥控器使用。东芝最近公布了两款新的只需要一个遥控器的Qosmio电脑，但是仍然需要笨重的传感器才能使用Media Center的各项功能。
两款笔记本电脑的直接播放功能表现都不错。无需按开机键，我们只要按下电脑键盘上方的特殊按键就可以播放DVD和CD了。惠普dv1000有两个这样的按键，一个播放DVD，另外一个播放音乐。Qosmio也有类似的按键，一个是电视，另外一个是直接播放DVD或CD。
在按下按键数秒之后，DVD开始播放。如果驱动器里没有光盘，屏幕上会出现提示－－此时仍然没有启动Windows。CD在软件播放器上播放。如果你使用QosmioPlayer，你不能访问硬盘上的MP3文件以及其他数据，但是在惠普的QuickPlay模式下，你可以访问MP3文件，只要这些文件在Windows系统“共享音乐”目录下面。使用Qosmio看电视非常简单，电脑背面有一个适配器，它可以直接与有线电视线相连。
两款电脑的显示屏质量都给人留下了深刻印象，但是我们认为惠普略胜一筹，即使它的显示屏比东芝小1寸－－分别为14寸和15寸。从技术上讲，惠普的分辨率略强，粗看起来，惠普的色彩似乎比Qosmio更生动。
每一款笔记本电脑有许多外接配置－－我们测试的惠普和东芝分别有3个和4个USB接口，它们都有一个FireWire接口，并具有Wi-Fi和蓝牙(Bluetooth)技术功能。惠普有一个6合1的多媒体读卡器，而东芝的读卡器只能读三种类型的多媒体卡：SD、xD和记忆棒(Memory Stick)。两款笔记本电脑都有内置Harmon Kardon扬声器；我们认为东芝Qosmio的声音略好一些，但是差别不是非常明显。
如果你在市场寻找一款新Windows笔记本电脑而且你常常播放DVD和CD，你应该著重考虑惠普dv1000。它在桌面上和在携带过程中表现都非常出色。如果你不经常搬动笔记本电脑、能够一直使用电源、想要电视功能，并且预算较为宽裕，东芝的那款则值得考虑。
