PC Hardware A Beginner’s Guide

(^456) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
which can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer or even from model to model, is
normally nonstandard. This is especially true of the cursor control and number pad keys.
Most notebook PCs also include a special function (FN) key that is used to control display,
sound, and other I/O actions of the PC.
Figure 18-15 shows the keyboard of a very recent notebook design. With portable
PCs, the bigger the display, the more room there is for a better keyboard arrangement. A
notebook PC with a 12-inch display has a fairly limited space for a keyboard dictated by
the PC’s overall size. However, a notebook with a 15-inch display has more overall size to
accommodate the keyboard and a better arrangement of the keys. Notice the mouse
control (called a Glidepoint mouse) in the center of the keyboard in Figure 18-15.
Notebook PCs also provide PS/2 and USB ports that can be used for an external stan-
dard keyboard and mouse. An external number pad can also be added to compensate for
the lack of a dedicated number pad on virtually all portable PCs.
Miscellaneous Keyboard Styles
There are several special version keyboards on the market that have other keys and
buttons that, depending on the keyboards specialty, perform a variety of functions.
Internet keyboards include buttons to connect to the Internet, open a browser, or check
e-mail. Multimedia keyboards include audio controls such as sound volume and CD
controls (play, stop, pause, previous, next, and others). Figure 18-16 shows a multimedia
keyboard with its extra buttons. Several new designs have buttons that duplicate the
actions of the mouse buttons and some now even have a mouse, trackball, or touch pad
built into the keyboard. Some keyboards have all of the above.
Figure 18-14. A natural, ergonomic style keyboard. Photo courtesy of Belkin Components