* Id: ComputerBuying * Revision: 2 * State: approved * * Log: * Revision 1 1997/02/08 Matt Baier * Initial submitted version. * * Checked-out 1997/05/21 Aaron Rice * * Checked-in with * Revision 2 1998/01/26 Aaron Rice * Edited and author-approved. * * Checked-out 1998/12/29 Mark Seaborn * * Withdrawn 1999/04/14 * This was rejected by the review session. Alex and Roel had various * criticisms. It could be improved with a rewrite. %t Computers, A Beginner's Guide To Buying * Formatted by WinPGG v1.5 Beta 5 (1998/01/25) %n 9R %s What To Do If You Are Forced To Buy One %a Matt Baier (Geiiga42@cjnetworks.com) %d 19970208 %x Avoiding Computer Obsolescence %x Computers, Earth %x Computer Malfunctions %x Computer Jargon Made Easy %i Beginner's Guide To Buying Computers %i Buying Computers, A Beginner's Guide %i Guide To Buying Computers %k Computers %k Buying %k Guide %z Rcd 19980126 %e Computers are an interesting paradox. If you are confronted with an inexplicable urge to buy one, remember one thing: it will pass. Any obsolete computer will remain obsolete, and any new computer will be obsolete by the end of the week anyway, so why bother? Usually when someone buys a new computer they: a) are insane and should be locked in a padded room; b) got a really good deal on it; or c) are extremely rich. Computers available to the average, run-of-the-mill person [1] are in two categories: desktop and notebook. The notebook computers are more frequently referred to as laptops. Each has its advantages. The desktop computer tends to be better in most respects [2], but notebooks are easier to carry around. If you are not fluent in the "techie" dialogue that pervades most descriptions of a computer, RAM is another word for the thing can pull onto the screen. If you are buying a new computer, remember that more is better. Another term is disk space. This is how much stuff you can hold onto a disk. This is different from RAM in that it has nothing whatsoever to do with your screen. There are several measurements of memory, which apply for both RAM and disk space. The byte represents one character of space, a letter, number, symbol, or space. A kilobyte (k) is a thousand bytes, a megabyte is a thousand k, and a gigabyte is a thousand megabytes. I don't recommend buying a new computer until 2005 or so, when the market settles down. This instability is caused by the inability of any real operating system. The current best is MacOS, but the Apple market is rather small, and they are about to release a new version anyway. The others are rather vicious and prone to hard drive crashes, which cause the disk space to become empty for no adequately explainable reason. This is a most rare occurrence with Apple's products, because they are built for reliability, as opposed to most other computers, which are built to give insane people something to waste their money on. Apple, however, only have a seven percent market share. The logical conclusion, then, is that the world is insane. If you are forced to buy a computer, make sure it's the one you want. If it has a low number on anything, you're probably getting an inferior good. If you need to travel with the computer, get a notebook, for it's rather inconvenient to carry a television around wherever you go. Also, avoid cheap computers; they tend to be evil little machines that like to crash, and break down more quickly than their hard drive fills up. If you're into games, modern technology has made pirating a very common (though illegal) means of distribution. Some companies have tried numerous ways to combat the situation, but the high ratio of copies to originals [3] is evidence that they have failed. Another good way of getting games is to "download" them. This means that you get onto some internet site, and find something there that you want to waste disk space on. If you're very lucky, you may find something there worth having. Altogether, a computer is a neat thing to have, but not to buy. Any differences between anything in this article and anything that is true are merely the reactions of an insane man with a new computer. [1] Not to say anyone is truly run of the mill, if you aren't insane, you're sane, and if you're not either of these, you're still insane, and each one provides its unique difficulties which won't go well in an article about computers. [2] You can get the same stuff on a laptop as a desktop, it just costs a lot more. [3] I'm sure I knew the official stats once, but no longer. %e *EOA*