Queries on RAM, Screen, Web Cam... Help!

RAM
Most HP laptops allow a max of 2GB RAM. If I’m using the laptop for schooling for 3-5 years, what’s the likelihood of exceeding 2GB? (assuming I run Vista Ultimate) Do I need more than 2GB RAM? I'm not gaming.

And, will having more RAM heat up the laptop?

Screen
I realized that the fonts on 12.1”’s START Menu are too small and eye-straining. Is this the same with 13.3”?

I want the font size on the START Menu to be the same as that on 14.1".

What screen resolution allows this?

Can laptop screen can be viewed under sunlight? Which laptop brands’ screens do?

And, does using privacy filters such as those from 3M helps reduces glare and reflection from the screen significantly?

Web Cam
If I’m using the built-in web cam to record videos, will the viewer observe any significant differences in clarity when I’m using a 2meg, 1.3meg, 0.3meg or 640x480 pixels web cam? The 640x480 pixels is from SONY.

 

2gb is a pretty good sweet spot, for basic usage, it's pretty much all you need.

Laptop screens suck outside. Matte screens are dull and almost unreadable. Glossy screens have massive glare and almost unreadable. Some companies offer outdoor screens but come with a $400+ premium for the screen alone. Not too sure of the privacy screens though.

If a webcam is advertised as 1.3mp, then when it takes pictures, it's usually 1.3mp - However, if its making a video, it's usually much less. The standard rule is the higher the mega pixels, the more resolution and the better the picture.

 

There are very few times that more than 2gb is needed, even with vista.

When I had my 12 inch laptop, I started to get headaches from the eyestrain. Now that I use a 13.3 inch, I have had no problems (for a year now).

 

Which laptop brands' screens has such a 'massive glare' problem?

Does HP/Compaq, SONY, DELL, LG, Fujitsu, Toshiba and Asus has this problem?

 

They all do, you can't avoid it. That's how a glossy screen is, you get brighter colours, vivid images and better contrast but it has glare(if under the right conditions).

 

Just to clear up a misnomer, picture quality is determined by the lens of the camera, not the megapixels. The more megapixels you have, the bigger the picture. Don't mean to be a pain, but that kind of stuff irks at me.

 

So, there's not much difference between a 0.3meg and a 2.0meg web cam if I do not enlarge the video?

 

there was one a time bill gates said 64 mb of ram was all you really needed.
Obviously he lying to us... but thats okay i personaly think 1 gig of ram will do anyone justice. But if you have a couple more dollars to shoot out its not a bad investment at all. Depending on what you need your notebook for downgrading to XP pro and using 1 gig of ram will save you some trouble =)

for as your font issue here is the following info

windows vista has a technology that makes fonts more readable by focusing the DPI of your fonts this can be adjusted as follows =)

To tune ClearType
You can use the online tuner to further adjust the legibility of on-screen items.

Go to the http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/Step1.aspx, and then follow the instructions for tuning ClearType.

To turn on ClearType
Click to open Appearance Settings.

Click Effects.

In the Effects dialog box, select Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts.

Select ClearType in the list, and then click OK.

Note
Whether you select Standard or ClearType from the list, you must have a video card and monitor that support a color setting of at least 256 colors. You'll get the best results with High color (24-bit) or Highest color (32-bit) support. You can change color quality in Display Settings in Control Panel.