Buying a computer

Walt Mossberg, a very good writer for the Wall Street Journal, has come out with the fall version of his personal computer buyer's guide. If you're in the market for a computer (Windows or Mac), then his guide is a good place to start for recommendations about what to buy.

Below I'll comment on some of his recommendations:

Windows or Mac

I own Macintosh, Linux, and Windows computers (in order of preference). I have used PCs (DOS, then Windows) since 1984 and worked for IBM in the early-to-mid 1980s. I have used Macintosh computers since 1989 and Linux computers since about 2001. I love Macs but had to teach so much Windows-specific software (in the late 1990s) that I had to switch to Windows at work. I've switched to Linux at home and will probably be making the switch to a Mac here at work soon.

Security

I'll write more on this in a later column.

Memory

A hugely important factor in how fast you perceive your computer to be. I recently upgraded my computer here at work from 512MB to 1.25 GB. It's made a huge difference in my day. I have so much memory because I tend to work with a lot of applications at once and keep a lot of windows open at once. (I currently have 10 windows open and that's not very many for me; sometimes when I'm programming I have over 30 windows open.)

Processor

I have AMD processors for my machines at home. They're generally much cheaper than their equivalent (and, yes, I mean equivalent) Intel processors. And, yes, the slowest processor on the shelves is more than enough for your computing needs unless you're a gamer or work with a lot or graphics or video manipulations.

Digital connectors

Having USB 2.0 connectors on the front of your computer is really a great convenience. However, if you don't, buy a 5-foot USB cable and a USB 2.0 1->4 cable connector (so that you'll have 4 USB connections to work with), connect it up to the back of your computer, and lay the 4 connections next to your monitor so that it's easily accessible.

Hard disk

Since I don't do much video processing (I'm learning but haven't had the need to do a lot yet) I don't need more than the 80GB I have in my machine. If you do any video processing, then get the fastest and largest hard disk you can find because this will affect how fast you perceive your computer to be.

Memory card slots

I don't worry about this because both my video camera connects via IEEE 1394 and my digital camera connects via USB.

Ethernet connection

Gotta have it if you're going to have cable.

Video system

He hints that you should get a separate video card with its own memory and processor. Do it. It doesn't really matter which one (again, unless you're some kind of video or gaming wizard) or how cheap it is --- just do it.

Audio system

Yep, spend the extra money for good speakers. I have a nice set of Yamahas at home. Here at work I have some fairly nice Sennheiser HD 570 headphones.

Monitor

Along with memory, this is where I spend my money. Here at work I have a 19" flat panel. I just traded in my old 20" CRT monitor for this one so that I could have the extra real estate on my desktop. At home I have a beautiful 21" CRT monitor. It's huge but it has a beautiful screen.

Mass storage

I just got an HP DVD-RW drive that works just great. Took out my CD-RW when I put it in because I didn't have the need for both.

Where to buy

I've bought every way possible --- big stores, small local shop, Web. They all work for me --- and you can get good computers from each --- but I prefer the last two because they allow you to get exactly what you want.

A side note: I recently installed Windows 2000 SP2 at home. After doing so I could, effectively, no longer access the Internet. I did every possible thing I could think of for about 2 weeks. Nothing. Finally, I realized I needed to do a complete backup of my computer. For backups I normally copy the files I need to my Linux machine at work --- but since I didn't have Internet access I couldn't do that. So I decided to install a DVD-RW and back up my files that way. I installed a $99 HP drive so that I could make the backups and...I now had Internet access. Why? I have no idea. So, I fixed my Internet access problem by installing a DVD-RW drive. Make sense? No. Am I glad it's fixed? Yes.

No one really understands computers, no matter what anyone says.