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You're at your desk with your notebook PC, but you can't print a document you desperately need for a meeting that starts in 10 minutes. What do you do? You call the help desk and plead your case. But the IS staffer doesn't come to your desk. Instead, working through your company's network, he adjusts your notebook's settings, and--minutes later--you can print again.

Despite its clunky moniker, this new feature--Desktop Management Interface 2.0--helps IS departments in businesses that deploy many notebooks check system configurations, change settings, and take inventory through a network. All of the notebooks on this month's chart, except for Dell's Inspiron 7000 D300GT and WinBook's XL 233 DSTN, support DMI.

Of the nine new notebooks we tested this month, three hit the chart. On the power side, a new WinBook presentation model, the XL2, has a very large screen, a DVD-ROM drive, and an LS-120 SuperDisk drive--three features that help it capture the number four spot. Debuting on the budget list, meanwhile, are Gateway's lightweight traveler, the Solo 3100SE, and the amazingly inexpensive AMS Tech Roadster 15CTA.