What is a docking station?

A docking station is a bridge to the past for many newer computers, but you might find you need one even if you have the latest on-the-market laptop computer. A docking station is a device into which you can plug your laptop in order to gain extra functionality, such as access to printers, mice, scanners, full-sized monitors and keyboards, and external hard drives. All of these peripherals can be plugged into the docking station. Then, when you connect the laptop to the docking station, you can gain access to all of those peripherals without having to plug each one into the laptop. This can be especially helpful if your laptop has a minimal number of USB or Firewire ports. Actually, most newer laptops have more than enough USB or Firewire ports for casual use. You might find, however, that you want to access your desktop monitor while using your laptop. You might also find that you want to use a larger keyboard than the one that comes standard with your laptop. In each of these cases, ...  more

Asked in Computers & Technology at 8:00 AM on November 26, 2008 Tags: docking, station  more