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Buying a New Computer
Paul Leverenz wrote that he needs a new computer and asked about differences between Windows PCs and the Macintosh. Well, most businesses lean toward PCs because more business-oriented software has been created for Windows. Likewise for gamers – more games exist for Windows machines. The Mac has long been favored by media artists and video editors, since it had graphics capabilities long before Windows 95+ came along with Microsoft's first attempt to imitate the Mac's GUI. For the average home computer user there is little significant difference between Macs and PCs.
Regarding price, the Mac has historically been more expensive than Windows, but the gap has narrowed in recent years. "Netbook." Computers – Another Price Consideration Netbooks are smaller than laptop/notebook computers, with screen sizes averaging nine or ten inches. Currently, they come with Windows XP, since Vista is too bloated to fit comfortably on the smaller hard drives. They come with built-in wireless Internet connectivity and are designed to take advantage of all the "cloud computing" technology available nowadays. However, they do NOT come with removable media disc drives. Nonetheless, portable disc drives can be attached via a USB port. Most Netbooks are designed to access the Web via cell phone connectivity, meaning they don't necessarily have to be within reach of a Wi-Fi signal. Ultra-Lightweight Portability Netbooks are advertised as being ideal for students who have Web connectivity at their schools. They are very lightweight and fit easily into a backpack or a large purse. Be aware, however, that their screens display text that can be difficult for some of us to read. Try before you buy. Cloud Computing – Google Docs An example of "cloud computing" is Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations, which are compatible with MSWord, Excel, and Powerpoint, respectively. They are totally free, but can only be accessed when your PC is Internet-connected. However, you can save anything created with these programs to your own drives. These Google apps are great for jobs that have multiple people working on a project. Users can collaborate on a project without having to email data back and forth to one another. Web-based MSOffice 2110 to Be Free Even Microsoft is getting into cloud computing with a free web-based version of its upcoming Office 2010. OpenOffice has offered free MSOffice compatibility for quite a while, but it needs to be installed on your own PC – and might be too large to fit comfortably on a Netbook. Either way, however, I would advise against buying Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 – they are way more complicated than they need to be. If you must buy Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) look for Office 2003 or earlier. If you just need a good word processing program that is MSWord-compatible, AbiWord is free and can be downloaded from www.abisource.com. Buyers of a new computer should also consider which operating system they want. Windows 7 is supposed to be available around the middle of October and is claimed by prominent reviewers to be much more user-friendly than Vista. (I sure hope so.) And it is less bloated. If you can wait, this should be better than upgrading from Vista, although it's claimed that upgrading will be relatively easy. Also, the major PC manufacturers are now supplying a free Windows 7 upgrade with all Vista machines they sell. Newsletter Updates In a recent newsletter I posted the URL of a free Microsoft Registry Scan & Repair service. http://onecare.live.com. Well, when I first mentioned this about a year ago, that's exactly what it was: Registry repair only. Now, however, the same site offers a free malware (virus/spyware, etc.) scan and repair, and includes the Registry fix as well. Sadly, however, this free service is only available to Vista users. I run the scan about every two weeks, and have been satisfied with Microsoft's service, despite their periodic "nag" ads that urge me to buy their whole "OneCare" package, which will run full-time in the background on one's computer. I just ignore the ads and continue using the free scan and repair service. They are all I need. © Donald Ray Edrington – All Rights Reserved
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