To make the Compaq notebook easy to use， the company preloads all models with the Tab words， software for launching， organizing and accessing applications and documents. This graphical interface looks like a notebook-diary to encourage intuitive working.
In summary， the trend of notebook computer is as follows：
Faster speed： Processors used are now usually fast CPUs， （for example， Intel Duo Core 2 running at 1.66 GHz）；
Multimedia capabilities： to support microphone， headphones， video-performance， DVD-ROM；
Easier input methods： Pen， Voice， and even speech recognition in future；
Built-in data communication support： Build-in modem， even wireless support；i
Lighter （for example， Sony， 1 kg） although packed with more features.
【Vocabulary】
innovation
n. 改革，创新
performance
n. 履行，执行，表演，演奏
desktop
n. 桌面，桌面型电脑
access
vt. 访问，接近 n. 通路，访问，入门
fancier
n. 空想家，爱好者
executive
n. 执行者 adj. 实行的，执行的
interactive
adj. 交互式的
screen
n. 屏幕，屏风
combination
n. 联合，合并，化合物
intuitive
adj. 直觉的
graphical
adj. 绘成画图似的，绘图的
【参考译文】
笔记本电脑
笔记本电脑是个人计算机（PC）的进一步发展。初步的创新就是要保证新一代的笔记本电脑的性能和速度，这样，习惯于使用功能强大的台式机的使用者在路上（出差，在室外做生意，在公众场合进行采访，甚至在任何地方访问因特网时）转用笔记本式计算机也不会牺牲性能和速度。今天，笔记本计算机不再是经理们的“奢侈玩具”了，因为的价格比以前更低，人们可以轻松买得起它。
性能更高的CPU、多媒体技术以及容量更大的存储器和容量更大的硅芯片使得制造厂家可以把更多奇妙的东西装进笔记本电脑里。例如，有些经理们喜欢把他们的笔记本电脑与他们的台式机合成为一个系统，于是停泊台就出现了。Apple 公司的Duo 系列，210和230 型机有两种停泊台，使使用者既有笔记本式计算机的流动性，又有台式机的优点。Duo 允许使用者把笔记本电脑在家里或在办公室停泊在停泊台上，在把它当作桌面式计算机使用时给电池充电，只要附加硬盘驱动器或DVD-ROM。IBM为它的Thinkpad 750系列提供便携式停泊台。该机种有一个AT总线卡插座和连接5只SCSI（小型计算机系统接口）的设备，全动式图像和扬声器的插口和连接大容量存储器，包括DVD-ROM（插口）。今天，一个独立的笔记本电脑也能够满足用户的需求。
考虑到在旅程中的经理们工作在受到制约的环境中，例如，在飞机里，笔记本电脑支持除了键盘以外的输入方法。Compaq的Concerto笔记本电脑有交互式键盘和光笔。这光笔是智能的触指和输入工具。它是理想的鼠标替代物，因为它在显示屏上一点就可以启动一条命令。用“手势”就可以编辑文件——重新定义符号，做一般的编辑工作，如插入或删除字。这种光笔、键盘的结合会对亚洲语言特别有利。
为了使它的笔记本式计算机容易使用，Compaq公司利用Tab-words预先把所有的模块加载到计算机里；Tab-words 是一种软件，用来启动、组织和访问应用程序和文件。这种图形接口貌似笔记本的日记，有助于直观的工作。
总起来说，笔记本电脑的发展趋势是：
速度更快，使用的处理器是快速的CPU （例如，因特尔的1.66GHz的双核Core 2代处理器））
多媒体能力：用来支持话筒、耳机、图形性能、DVD-ROM；D
简单的输入方法：光笔、声音，甚至语言识别；简
内置的数据通信支持：内置调制解调器，无线上网；内
重量更轻：虽然纳入了更多的特色，例如Sony 仅重1千克。千
【Reading Materials】
Application of Artificial Intelligence
As AI research progressed and techniques for handling larger amount of world knowledge were developed， some progress was made on the tasks just described and new tasks could reasonably be attempted. These include game playing， speech recognition， understanding natural language， computer vision， expert systems， and heuristic classification.
Game Playing
You can buy machines that can play master level chess for a few hundred dollars. There is some AI in them， but they play well against people mainly through brute force computation—looking at hundreds of thousands of positions. To beat a world champion requires brute force being able to look at 200 million positions per second.
Speech Recognition
In the 1990s， computer speech recognition reached a practical level for limited purposes. Thus United Airlines has replaced its keyboard for flight information by a system using speech recognition of flight numbers and city names. It is quite convenient. On the other hand， while it is impossible to instruct some computers using speech， most user have gone back to the keyboard and the mouse as still more convenient.
Understanding Natural Language
Just getting a sequence of words into a computer is not enough. Parsing sentences is not enough either. The computer has to be provided with an understanding of the domain the text is about， and this is presently possible only for very limited domains.
Computer Vision
The world is composed of three-dimensional objects， but the inputs to the human eyes and computers， TV， cameras are two dimensional. Some useful programs can work solely in two dimensions， but full computer vision requires partial three-dimensional information that is not just a set of two-dimensional views. At present there are only limited ways of representing three-dimensional information directly， and they are not as good as what humans evidently use.
Expert Systems
