If you have always been using a desktop keyboard, a laptop keyboard may be cramping your style. You can easily get an external USB based keyboard and plug that into one of your laptop ports.

 An USB external keyboard to add to your laptop
 

Once you've plugged in the keyboard, you can use BOTH the external keyboard or the laptop keyboard! It's up to you. Some folks also prefer getting just a USB numeric keypad if they need to enter a lot of numbers instead of text.

Now why would you need a second monitor? Well, the truth is, many offices allow their employees to come into the office with their laptop, then connect it to a second monitor.

Linking an extra monitor to your laptop can make sense
 

The advantage of this is that you can show presentations or even play games on a larger, more ample screen. You can also close the lid of your laptop and continue to use the mouse on the second monitor. If you have a good laptop, then it might come with a S-video connector, which is even better - you can then connect to TVs, VCRs or DVD players.

You can also 'flow' your screen across two monitors. In Windows XP, you just need to right-click on the desktop, then go to Display Properties. Click on the second monitor and choose Extend My Windows Desktop onto This Monitor'. Click Apply and you will then be sharing the two monitors!

A video projector is also an interesting addition to your laptop. If you need to show movies or huge multimedia presentations to a large audience, it only makes sense to do it it on a video projector. Find a room or hall with a projector screen, then connect your video projector to the laptop and display away. Most of these video projectors are quite small in size. They don't come cheap though. Some of them might even cost as much as your laptop! So evaluate if you truly need these projectors.

A video projector for your laptop

Conclusion