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BUSINESS BASICS CHANNELS 
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Buying a Computer, Part Two What can I afford? As with all business decisions, always ask "How much does it cost?" Keep in mind, though, that those "cheap cheap" prices you see on TV are unlikely to be a usable system for most businesses. Why? Because a business usually needs a bit more than the minimum system. A reasonable business system can be had for around $1500 (printer included), while a real hot business system will run $3500 to $4500. Top of the line engineering systems can cost tens to hundreds of thousands, while top of the line database servers can easily cost tens of thousands. Now add in the price of the software that you need (usually anything from $500 to tens of thousands for databases and engineering software). On the whole, you should budget at least $2000 for a bare minimum system, and you may need much more for an advanced system with top-end software. Is this just too much? It may be, but get that computer consultant to talk it over with you. He or she may have some really incredible ideas that can make it palatable. Some computer companies also offer lease rates for their computers. A lease can give your company far more computer than you thought you could afford, and may offer your business certain tax advantages. As with all purchase options, be sure you understand the terms of the agreement, and have your lawyer and accountant go over the agreement before you sign. One final thing to think about. This computer will become a partner with you in your business. Whether you are thinking about putting your books on it, or memos, or the design for that next really cool widget, a part of your business is now centered on that box humming on someone's desk. What is it worth to you to have the best partner you can have? Terms and Guidelines Okay, now the salesman wants to know the particulars. Let's go over a few terms so you have a clue what he's talking about, and some guidelines about buying. CD Drive (or CD-ROM drive or CD-RW drive): A Compact Disc drive, used to read data CDs (also called CD-ROMs). A CD can store up to 650 Megabytes (millions of characters). These days, new programs and data are often distributed on CD-ROM, so a CD-Drive is almost mandatory. A CD-RW drive is able to write to special CD media (either CD-Recordable or CD-ReWritable). CD-Recordable media can be written only once, but can be read as often as you wish. CD-ReWritable media can be written multiple times (a minimum of 1000 times). Both types of media are available from office supply stores as well as computer stores. CD-R media is currently costing about $1.25 - $2.50 each, while CD-RW costs about $10 - $20 each. CD-RW drives are used both to backup data from your computer and to make data copies for transport to other computers. Be careful with CD-RW media - very few older CD-ROM drives can read these discs. Hard Disk (or Hard Drive): The "file cabinet" of the machine. This is the memory that your computer will use to store the results from the programs (and to store those programs). Hard Disk is currently specified in Gigabytes (billions of characters). Single disk drives are currently from 6 Gigabytes to 40 Gigabytes, and you can usually have more than one disk drive in your computer (but, if this is your first computer, stick with just one drive). Laptop Computer: A computer designed specifically to operate without being plugged into a wall for power. These are commonly used by business people who are an the road a lot. Expect a laptop computer to cost 50% - 200% more than an equivalent desktop computer. See also Palmtop Computer. Memory: See RAM Modem: A device used to connect your computer to other computers by using telephone lines. Modems are rated at their transfer rate (rated in Kilobytes per second (KBPS)). Current designs are 28.8 KBPS, 33.6 KBPS, and 56 KBPS. While faster may seem better, the higher speed is only available when a very good connection is made between your computer and the one you are calling. Most modems sold today are 56 KBPS, and automatically slow down for poor phone connections. Monitor: See Video Monitor Mouse: A small pod-shaped device used to move the "pointer" or cursor on your screen. A variation of this device is a "rollerball", which has a small ball inset on the top of the device; the user moves the cursor by moving the ball around, usually with one's thumb. Operating System (also OS): The environment your programs will use to accomplish their work. Currently, there are 3 popular operating systems: Windows, Macintosh, and Unix. Windows comes in two "flavors", NT and 95 (or its more recent incarnation, Windows 98). Unix has several variants, of which the most popular are currently Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris. Your computer must have an operating system. Palmtop Computer: A computer designed to be exceptionally small and extremely stingy with power. Palmtops are usually very special purpose machines designed to be "accessories" to a more standard desktop computer. A common use for a palmtop is to be a salesman's reference (with latest information about the company's product line, customer information and so on) and allow limited information entry. Printer: A device for printing results from your computer on paper or other "hard" media. While there are many kinds of printers, most these days fall into two groups. Inkjet printers use a technique to "spray" the ink onto your paper. Practically all inkjet printers these days can print in color, and can print from 2 to 12 pages per minute. Laser printers use a combination of copier technology tied with a laser to essentially "copy" the image onto the paper. While color laser printers are available, they are expensive. Laser printers can print from 15 to 50 pages per minute. Some printers (usually laser printers) are capable of being tied directly to a network. Processor: The "engine" of your computer. If you're getting a Mac, you generally don't get a choice - you'll get a PowerPC (these days identified with a letter/number pair, like G3). If you're buying a Windows machine, you can choose from Intel, AMD, Cyrix, or other processors. I've named the current top 3 vendors - Cyrix processors (MxII) are usually in "low-end" (inexpensive) machines, while Intel (Celeron, Pentium-II and Pentium-III) and AMD (K6-2, K6-III, and Athlon) cover the map. Unless you have a strong preference, allow your consultant to help you choose the processor. Processor Speed: How fast the "engine" runs. While faster is usually better, keep in mind that you will pay more for faster processors. Speed is specified in Megahertz (millions of cycles per second), and current processors are running in the 300 to 600 Megahertz range. Unless you desperately need it, avoid the very fastest processors; they are expensive and sometimes unstable. Also avoid the very slowest processors, unless you know that your computer can be upgraded to a faster processor if you should so desire. RAM: (Random Access Memory) The "conscious memory" of the machine. This is the memory the computer uses while it is running any program. This is specified in Megabytes (millions of characters), and 32 Megabytes should be considered a minimum for any computer. High-end computers intended for serious engineering problems (mechanical design, custom integrated circuit design) or large database handlers may need thousands of megabytes (Gigabytes) to meet performance goals. RAM is also measured in speed, usually either in Megahertz or Nanoseconds; let your consultant choose the appropriate speed of RAM for your computer. Tape Drive: A device to read and write data on magnetic tape. Currently there are several types of tape drives that can store from 10 Gigabytes (billions of characters) to 3.2 Terabytes (trillions of characters). Tape drives are commonly used to backup the hard disk and for transporting data to other computers. Video Card: A device for the digital signals your computer "thinks" in to signals compatible with your monitor (see Video Monitor). Currently, bigger better faster video cards are dedicated to three dimensional (3D) pictures. If you are buying a computer for normal business use, buy the lowest end video card you can - the 3D stuff won't help you a bit. The exception to this might be if you are buying the computer for mechanical drawing or video processing (for TV, for example). In these cases, check the software you are going to buy to see if a particular video card can help. Quite often, a video card can be an inexpensive way to make vast improvements to certain programs' performance. Video Monitor: A fancy name for the TV-like screen that you use to view your programs. The Apple iMac comes with the monitor built in. Most computers, though, require a separate monitor. Monitors are measured across the diagonal of the screen, and the most commons sizes are 13, 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 inch monitors. As you might expect, the larger the screen, the more it costs. Avoid the 13 and 14 inch monitors unless you are extremely strapped for space. 15 inch monitors are common, but I find that I get headaches if I use one for too often. 17 inch monitors are a good size for most uses. 19 inch and 21 inch monitors are better for engineering use where lots of small details on the screen are important. Video Processor: See Video Card [Note: These terms and more can be found in our glossary. 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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