eNew Egypt
PC Buyer's Guide

Time and time again, my friends, family, associates and clients ask me the golden question "What computer should I buy?" While this may seem to be a simple question, the answer is not that easy. After all, there are many different kinds of computers to choose from and finding the one that is right for you can be difficult at best.

Before we can answer this question, we need to develop an understanding of the fundamental issues surrounding the purchase of your new computer. While there are many issues, features and costs, I'll limit our discussion to the more prevalent issues, highlighting their benefits and pitfalls so that you'll be better able to make an educated decision on your next purchase.

The single most important criteria driving the purchase of your computer system should be your needs or requirements. In other words, How will the system be used? You wouldn't buy a high end multi-media power house outfitted with today's cutting edge 3D graphics rendering system to process your company's payroll.

I recommend that you create a list and prioritize your computing requirements. Think in terms of real needs versus wish list items. Once armed with your list, you can then start to identify applications or software capable of meeting your requirements and tasks. To facilitate your research, I encourage you to pick up a few of the PC Technology magazines. In them you will find advertisements, features, reviews for software capable of meeting your need and requirements.

Remember there are no magic bullet solutions and you will probably make tradeoffs with the features and the cost of these systems. Some of the tradeoffs will undoubtedly include the hardware and operating systems. Also, you may have conflicting hardware and software requirements among the potential solutions. The idea is to find the lowest common denominator that can meet and fill your needs and your budget.

After you have developed the requirements for software and hardware, the next big question is what brand? Which may also dictate where you buy your new system. Generally computers are available from a variety of sources. Nothing beats the convenience of the big retailers, such as Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA to name a few. These guys offer a variety of different computer choices and can be easy to shop at. The best part is that you'll actually be able to see the system that you want and get to test drive it-- not to mention that it's "cash and carry." That is you pick the computer you want, pay for it, and walk out the door.

Another way to buy a computer is through a mail order company or directly from the manufacturer. With a mail order company you may have to wait a little longer to get you computer.. Not to long ago I ordered an e-machine from Micro Warehouse (mail order computer supply house) at 11:00 P.M. That system arrived on my doorstep the next morning by 10:30A.M. That's not that bad. Typically mail order is more cost effective because you get to order the exact computer that you are looking for.

Yet another alternative is to by a no name clone. There are many people out there who are building computers to sell locally. If the company is reputable, then you might find higher levels of customer service and, like mail order, you can order exactly what you want. You will usually end up getting better components through these small computer retailers.

My last few words of wisdom is buy new and buy enough memory and disk space to get you through the next 2 operating system upgrades. That is, don't get caught in the mentality of buying yesterdays technology. You know, buy it with the bugs worked out, avoid the depreciation hit, and use up the rest of the good miles. While this makes sense in the car industry, it doesn't make much sense in computer industry because technology changes too fast and you'll be in a dead end solution faster than you bargained for. On that note, take care and God Bless.

Vince Lotito is President & Founder of Internet eBusiness Solutions Center, a business and technology firm based in New Egypt. Have any questions you want answered but were afraid to ask? Drop me an email at eNewEgypt@mainstreetsusa.com or call 758-8858