7. Case And Connectors, Continued

Although the Express Card slot on the right-hand side of the case is filled with a cheap-looking dummy card to protect again dust and dirt, you'll find a working remote control in the PC Card slot on the left-hand side. This device lets you manage the dv8000z's audio and video functions (described in detail below) remotelyeven from your couch.

A small remote control lurks inside the Mini PCI slot in the Pavilion dv8000z, which (among other things) turns this notebook into a DVD player.

You can access AV capabilities with Windows and some versions of Linux. Those who wish to use this latter capability must run HP QuickPlay to access audio and video content.

Both stereo speakers are located behind the metallic front side of the case where there is also a status indicator on the left edge.

Behind the outer edge on the left front of the case is where you'll find the status indicators for drive activity, operational status of the notebook and battery status. In our opinion these LEDs are a bit too bright, because they make the symbols difficult to see. This does not apply to the blue LEDs for the user programmable fast boot and the AV control buttons above the keyboard or the Capslock and Numlock status indicators, which are easy to see and read.

The card reader supports these memory card formats: xD, SD, Smart Media, MS/MS Pro and MMC.