The Great Business Notebook Hunt
With a bewildering assortment of notebooks on the market, it's little surprise that selecting one out of the masses as a potential business notebook can be a confusing process. Putting aside jargon and moving beyond the marketing muddle, this guide to the business notebook drives right to the heart of things to look for in your next mobile computer. CPU The idea of using a notebook exclusively as a mobile computer is completely antiquated. A significant percentage of notebook users effectively use their notebook as a desktop replacement, and as a result, your average business notebook needs raw processing power, and lots of it. Make sure your notebook sports an Intel or AMD processor running at least 1.7GHz or faster, especially if you're running Vista. Intel's Centrino Duo processors are arguably setting the benchmark for mobile performance, and as such, are highly recommended. Ram If you think of your CPU as a car's engine's displacement, the RAM is effectively the torque. When you're going uphill, you need RAM to maintain computing speed. Notebooks that skimp on the RAM will run fine until you start multitasking, and then your computer runs likes molasses on a cold day. Make sure your notebook has at the very least 512MB of RAM. 1GB is definitely recommended if you're a heavy multitasker.
Connectivity
Even your most basic of notebooks has wireless networking, a 56k modem and a wired network port, so there is little need for worry. Be sure to check the available USB ports though - some models have as few as two, necessitating the purchase. Make sure your optical drive can read and write DVDs -  dedicated CD writers have long since fallen by the wayside, but you cannot be too careful.
Graphics
Business notebooks never used to require much in the way of graphics cards, and integrated graphics are still fine for any notebook running Windows XP, but Windows Vista is more demanding. In order to experience Aero, you may want to look at something a bit fancier than plain old integrated Intel graphics. The Radeon Mobility range is highly recommended.
Security
A Kensington lock port to physically secure your notebook is great, but look for packages that include bundled security software you'd normally have to pay a subscription for. Good, licensed antivirus, antispam and malware prevention software may be resource-intensive, but the peace of mind collectively offered is worth it. Operating System You'd be hard-pressed to find a notebook targeted at business users that comes with Windows XP Home Edition, but stranger things have happened. Make sure it's running Windows XP Professional, or Windows Vista. Warranty If you have the misfortune to have bought a notebook that goes belly-up, having an extended warranty; no-lemon policy ( full refund if the notebook dies a certain number of times); or a collect and deliver warranty might offer some relief. When shopping for notebooks, be sure to check the warranty options offered, and if additional warranty options can be purchased.