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BUSINESS BASICS CHANNELS 
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Buying a Computer, Part One Of all the questions I ever hear, "What computer should I buy?" is by far the most common. Whether from family or friends or from small business owners, the question is always asked with just a little panic in their eyes. My response is always, "What do you want to do with it?" Then the real panic sets in! This article will help you choose that computer. We're not going to give exact brands or types of computers, but you will get some good guidelines about what to look for and how to look for it. (Disappointed? Don't be - within six months of the writing of this article, specific technical specs will be out of date. The computer industry is moving incredibly fast. As a good friend of mine would say, "Today's high-tech is tomorrow's scrap parts.") So, let's walk through the decision process. What will I do with it? Unfortunately, many people don't know what they can do with a computer. To answer that question, let's break the problem down into smaller chunks. First, who will be the primary user? "Anybody" is a bad answer. You must have some idea about who is going to be using the computer on a regular basis. If you are running a one-person show, the answer is obvious. If you have several employees, get specific. While a computer may be used by everyone at the shop, it usually is "owned" by just one person. Second, what is that person's primary job for the computer? Again, if you're a one-person shop, be specific about what jobs you will be doing on the computer. Keep focussed on the immediate job you have in mind (we'll talk about expanding functions on a computer later; for now keep your focus). Is the job administrative (letters, memos, and so on)? Will it keep your books, inventory, or sales information? Will a salesman use it for doing demonstrations or sales while on the road? Will an engineer use it to create the mechanical drawings for your new widgets? Each of these uses requires a different kind of computer. Third, what software will you need? You should be able to answer this from your answer to the previous question. Your engineer, for example, may already be familiar with a certain set of software that does mechanical drawings. If so, it might make sense to purchase a computer that can run that software. Be careful with this logic, though; you should not make a $5,000 computer purchase based solely on the desire of your engineer to use a $150 piece of software! Software is changing even more quickly than computer prices, so be careful about making a decision on an outdated piece of software. There are all sorts of websites that review software; be sure you get some good information on each potential package before deciding. Keep in mind that the most popular software is not always the best for your particular business. Fourth, will this person need to send or receive data from this computer to someone else's computer? If so, is it important that the data is compatible with the receiver's software? It is often true that we make choices based not on what is best for us, but what is best for our customers. For most people, this is not an issue, but be careful. If you do work primarily for a large corporation, they may insist, for instance, that all documents use a particular word processor. While there are converters (programs that convert a document from one word processor to a form palatable to another), they rarely do a complete conversion. Another aspect of sending or receiving data is how that data will be sent. Will the computer be tied to the Internet? If you have a standard modem connection, you may find that sending a large file is painful. Sending a floppy (or, even better, a Zip or Jaz disk (from IoMega) or a recordable CD) through the mail may be a much better solution. Find out how you customer prefers to send or receive the data, as it may force a decision on you. Who do I buy it from? If this is your first purchase, whom you buy a computer from is just as important as what you buy. As a business purchase (and likely a capital expense at that), you need to consider the long-term cost of the computer). What will happen when the computer dies - who will you call? You will need a local expert who can diagnose problems you might have with your computer. It's at this point that I've had some people say, "well, Joe (or Jane) is good with computers, he (she) can deal with it." Be wary of an in-house expert. Sure, they can do front-line diagnosis, but rarely do they have all of the tools and parts around to correct problems. Moreover, you will lose their time while they figure out what's going on, so instead of losing just one person's time, you lose two. The final problem is that the in-house expert becomes the problem solver for everyone; this means that more of their time will be spent solving computer problems, and less of their time will be spent on what you hired them to do. If you are a small business, cultivate a relationship with someone who can help you through the purchase decision and, more important, service your computer after you've bought it. Consider working through a consultant or a local computer store. Make sure that they've been around for a while and that they seem stable enough to be around for a while. A consultant I know quotes and assembles systems, but quotes his service through a large national service bureau. This can work to your advantage. Avoid the temptation to "build it yourself". While it is possible to get it cheaper this way, you will run into incompatibility problems. Even "experts" like myself can be stymied for days or even weeks on the nastier problems. Remember: you have a business to run. Avoid the large chain stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, Comp USA, Sears, Target, etc.) unless you know the service manager personally and trust him. Their employees turn over at a tremendous rate, and sometimes know less about computers than you do! (Isn't that a frightening thought!) You can consider some of the mail order system houses, but only if you feel computer-literate enough to load whatever extra software you may need. For most people reading this article, this will not be an option. There is a variation on this theme, however - Gateway has recently opened a set of local stores. If they are successful, they may become a good source of inexpensive computers with a national service support system. -Stuart A. Bell Stuart A. Bell is an electrical engineer and software designer with 28 years of experience in both hardware and software development. From general ledgers to operating system code, Mr. Bell has written all kinds of software on all kinds of computers.
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