The PC card version of Dell's wireless LAN technology costs $139, while the desktop PCI version costs $179. The desktop version is essentially a PC card in a PCI converter with a more sensitive antenna. At $139 for the laptop version, we would not buy a laptop without a wireless card. It is just far too convenient and useful to do without.

As we said, we were playing using Dell Inspiron notebooks. These beauties deserve special mention. First, they were powered by the Mobile Pentium III 700MHz. The days of laptops being half the speed of desktops are past, at least for now. The Mobile Pentium III 700MHz should be shipping soon.

Second, they came equipped with a 15" SXGA+ LCD. At 1400x1050, the resolution was absolutely amazing, as were the brightness and contrast. These screens are, in a word, bitchin'. They are truly spectacular. Today's LCD technology is wonderful, and it's just getting better.

The only downside of the Inspiron notebooks was their graphics speed, supplied by the ATI Mobility-P graphics chipset. The Mobility-P is not a bad mobile chip. In fact, the only one better is the ATI Rage Mobility 128. Still, while Unreal Tournament was playable, whenever the action got heavy, the frame rate dropped dramatically. Dell expects to add ATI Rage Mobility 128 graphics chips to their product line sometime in the summer of 2000. We can hardly wait.