Why Should You Buy a Computer?

Everyone has a different reason why they want to own a computer. Perhaps you want to work from home and need a computer to send e-mail to your colleagues and create professional-looking documents. Maybe you want to create your own personalized Web site, coordinate your home finances and play computer games. Or perhaps you want to make sure your children can research their school projects using the Web.

Then there’s the chance you bought your computer years ago and think it’s time for a new and improved one.

Or maybe you are buying a second desktop or notebook computer.

Whatever your reasons, it’s important to know what they are from the beginning so you can plan your computer purchase to match your needs for now and the years ahead.

 
A little attention today could save you from buying too little computer — or too much.

Computers Have Changed!

Gone are the days when the computer was used for creating simple documents in an office setting. Now they’re everywhere — and for good reason. They can help us work in ways that were never possible before. They can help us play in new ways too.

You might want to think about these possibilities when creating your list of things you want to do with your computer:

• E-mail

• Internet banking

• Internet shopping

• Research on the Web

• Home financing

• Faxing

• Listen to digital, world-wide radio

• Join a chat group

• Keep your family’s birthdays on an interactive calendar

• Play music CDs and DVDs

• Read e-books

• Play games

• Do homework

And for the truly adventurous:

• Online trading

• Participate in online auctions

• Design Web pages

• Photo and video editing

You should also be aware that computers can help you in your quest to work from home. Most telecommuters today use their computer to keep in touch with clients and colleagues. E-mail ranks up there with voice mail. Web research sure beats lugging books home from the library. Notebook computers give employees, home-based business owners, students, parents and grandparents the ability to work anytime and anywhere.

Think about your local airport. Chances are it offers phones where you can plug in your notebook’s modem to send and receive e-mail and surf the Web while on the run.

But remember: "Work anytime, anywhere" shouldn’t mean "work all the time, everywhere." When you finally do buy your computer, you may be tempted to use it day and night.

Yes, learning to use your computer is a lot of fun, but remember to keep your perspective!

How Much Computer Do You Need?

With all the exciting things you can do with computers, it’s easy to get sidetracked when trying to decide how much computer you’ll actually use. Do you really need that DVD player if you have no intention of watching movies or videos on your PC? Will you really run out and buy a digital camera to take photos of your son’s wedding and then place them on the Web?

We all have grand ideas, but we don’t always have the time to follow them through.

Or perhaps you’re sitting at the opposite side of the spectrum and think you’ll only need a bare-bones computer because you think you’ll just use it to type letters to your mother. Think carefully before buying a very low-end model, however. You could find — very quickly — that you’ll actually want to do a lot more with it.

And don’t forget to consider how many people will be using the computer. More users mean you’ll need a more robust machine.

Use our simple chart to make quick decisions when considering how much computer you want and need.

Doing Your Homework

So now that you know how you want to use your computer, it’s time to look at what exactly a computer is. Knowing that information will make you that much better equipped to choose the right computer for your needs. Look for:

Operating System

Basically your computer’s operating system is the environment the computer uses to perform tasks — think Windows, and you’ve got the right idea.

Buy the latest version of your chosen operating system so it will last you for at least three years. We recommend Windows 98SE or Windows XP.

Microprocessor Speed

We also call microprocessor speed, "clock speed." This term simply refers to how fast your computer can handle an instruction.

Clock speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) — such as 800 MHz and so on. It’s derived from the processor — much like an engine of a vehicle, because of its power and because most other components can’t function without it.

And don’t forget that if you want to use your computer for high-end applications such as playing computer games or video editing you’ll want a fast, powerful processor. It might cost you a little extra, but the added performance it provides may significantly improve the applications you’ll be running.

Hard Drive

This is the storage device inside your computer where information is permanently stored. You can add or attach a new hard drive should you need additional data storage space later. Hard Drive space is measured in gigabytes (GB).

Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) is where the computer temporarily stores the information that it’s working on. When you open a file or launch an application you "bring forward" information from the hard drive, from a disk, or other storage device to RAM (memory). When you complete your task, the information is returned to storage by saving it.

The more RAM you have, the faster you’ll be able to work and the more applications you’ll be able to have running at one time. RAM is measured in megabytes (MB). For example, 128 MB and so on.

Having enough memory for your needs is very important. And trust us, you’ll know when you need more memory! Your computer speed will slow down to a crawl and you might even hear an annoying "hammering" noise. The good news is adding more RAM isn’t difficult or very expensive.

Cache

Your computer’s cache is a little bit of memory that the processor keeps on board to access information very quickly. The cache is used for anything the processor needs to "look" at often. It’s like keeping some money in your wallet instead of going to the bank every time you need $5 for lunch.

Cache starts from 128 kilobytes (KB).

Internet Functionality

Although it has been around since the 70s, in the last few short years, the Internet has taken the world by storm. Did you know half of all Canadians have surfed the Net at least once in the last year? That number is growing all the time.

So what exactly is the Internet? The Internet is nothing more than the world’s largest network of computers — much like the telephone is the world’s largest network of voice communications devices. When you get online, you’re accessing millions upon millions of other computers all around the globe and all the information they contain.

A lot of people mistakenly call the Internet, the "Web." Actually, the two words are not interchangeable. Web sites are only one element of the Internet. There are also other components: e-mail, electronic bulletin board systems and chat groups.

Most people who want to access the Internet need it for e-mail and for surfing the Web.

E-mail. It has never been easier to go online! Simply find an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you either dial up using your telephone line, or via cable. You’ll then have an opportunity to assign yourself an e-mail address - firstname.lastname@ISPname.com. Once you have the address, you can send and receive electronic mail — text, photos, or even music. You’ll be connected to family members, friends and business associates who also have e-mail addresses.

The Web. The Worldwide Web, as it used to be called, is one of the major forces of our time. An incredible amount of information is literally at our fingertips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Want to know the date the first Charlie Brown cartoon strip ran in the newspaper? You can use one of the many search engines out there, such as Yahoo or AltaVista or Excite to look for information on that subject. (By the way, the date was October 2, 1950. How do we know? We searched the Web, of course!)

The Internet is a complex topic — but not necessarily a complicated one. In other words, you can take advantage of the Net without really understanding why or how it works. Trust us on this, you’ll be amazed how quickly you catch on. After all, you probably know a few young children who love to surf the Internet. If they can do it, so can you.

Modem

A modem provides you with the ability to dial into, or access, the Internet and send and receive faxes. In other words it’s a device that allows your computer to connect with phone or cable lines. Some people opt for high-speed access that lets them upload and download material much faster than simply dialing a regular telephone line.

Look for a fast modem. Anything 56 Kbps or higher is a good bet.

The software for a modem lets you receive and send e-mail, surf the Web, fax and phone.

Monitor

If you look closely at a monitor or TV screen, you’ll see that it’s divided into many tiny "dots," called pixels. The quality of the picture depends on dot-pitch or dpi (dots per inch). The closer dots per inch, the higher the resolution. That means a monitor with a 0.26 mm dot pitch is better than a monitor with a dpi of 0.28 mm because the pixels are 0.02 mm closer in the first monitor.

Monitors are usually sold separately and come in many sizes and shapes, but for most needs, a screen size of 17" is fine. Size is measured diagonally, while the VIA refers to the Viewable Image Area.

Larger monitors are ideal for graphics, architectural and engineering applications.

Form Factor

Form factor is the term used to describe the overall design of your PC. Think you’ll be using the computer in one room, such as a home office? Then you’ll probably want a desktop PC.

Or perhaps you think you’ll be racing around the country (or maybe the city) working while on the go. If that’s the case, it’s probably a good idea to look into a notebook computer that you can take with you.

Multimedia

Multimedia gives you the power to unleash your imagination. It is the computer’s ability to combine different forms of media — sound, video, animation, photographs and colour graphics.

Multimedia enables you to see, hear and download still or video pictures, sounds or anything else you can find. Want to build your own city using a computer game? You can. In full colour too. Want to download an MP3 song from the Internet? You can do that too. How about editing a home video? With the right software, ditto.

Expandability

One concern we hear from a lot of customers is that they’re afraid their new computer will be obsolete almost as soon as they set it up. To deter that from happening, it’s smart to look to the future when buying a computer. In other words, look for ways to expand later.

The way to do that is by purchasing a computer with a number of expansion slots and bays that the computer has built into it. Expansion "cards" can be easily plugged or slotted into the expansion slots to enhance graphics, sound quality and other functions. Bays allow you to easily attach additional, internal drives such as hard drives, CD-ROM, CD-RW or DVD-ROM drives if you need more computing power.

Notebooks are slightly different, although those differences are diminishing all the time. Think about notebooks and you’ll probably say their main advantage is mobility, but look closer at what else they offer. Recent notebooks give you power and performance comparable to your desktop. Some play DVDs and offer superb graphic and sound quality. They’ll last you for years.

The Buzzwords

If you worry you won’t remember all the different computer components listed on above page, use our "Cheat Sheet" that will give you the basics quickly. You might want to refer to it when you buy your computer.

Cache: minute amount of memory used for anything the processor needs to "look" at often

Clock speed: how fast your computer can handle an instruction

E-mail: electronic mail sent using the Internet

Expandability: purchase a computer with a number of expansion slots and bays that the computer has built into it to avoid obsolescence

Form Factor: the term used to describe the overall design of your PC

Hard drive: the storage device inside your computer where information is permanently stored

Internet: the network that connects computers around the world

Memory: RAM (Random Access Memory) is where the computer temporarily stores the information that it’s working on

Microprocessor Speed: we also call microprocessor speed, "clock speed." This term simply refers to how fast your computer can handle an instruction

Modem: device used to connect to your ISP or fax machines. Look for 56Kbps or better so it’s fast enough for your needs

Multimedia: the computer’s ability to combine different forms of media – sound, video, animation, photographs and colour graphics

Operating System: your computer’s operating system is the environment the computer uses to perform tasks

Web: the World Wide Web on the Internet