People use laptops for many of the same tasks that they use desktops — and more. Sales and marketing representatives in business use laptops to gather inventory and ordering information, to transmit orders and reports to headquarters, and to show customers new products and services. Executives use them for a variety of tasks while traveling. Tom Temple, a resident of Seattle, Washington, uses his laptop to aid him in competition sailing with his boat, the Argonaut. On a race from Victoria, British Columbia, to Maui, Hawaii, he used his Toshiba laptop to navigate and track the other boats he was competing with. "I wouldn't go offshore without the computer," says Tom. "I can't imagine not using it. To be competitive, you have to use methods other than the old pencil and paper."
The laptop is just one more step forward in the computer industry's drive to create better, smaller computers. Laptops have made working with computers much easier for businesspeople. Before departing on a business trip, it is possible to transfer the data stored in your desktop to a laptop. And when you return, all the data you created on the laptop can be transferred back to the desktop machine. It may not be long before we see the desktop computer replaced altogether by the desktop "dock" that connects the laptop to a standard monitor and keyboard.
