Frequently Asked Questions - Buying Guide

1.

What kind of laptops (brands) do you recommend?
For laptops we recommend Dell, IBM/Lenovo (Thinkpad), Sony and Gateway. Some HP laptops are okay and some are not. Many people like Toshiba but we do not. We recommend against purchasing laptops from lesser manufacturers such as Averatec, Acer, Winbook, Fujitsu etc. One reason is that the more laptops of a particular kind there are in the world, the greater the availability of support, parts, accessories, etc.

Back To Top

2.

What kind of desktop computers (brands) do you recommend?
For desktops, we recommend Dell and Gateway. Sony makes decent desktops, but their computers are very entertainment-oriented and tend to have a lot of software clutter. HP desktops have greatly improved in the last year, so they are a good option, although we generally recommend against HP/Compaq hardware as a rule. We recommend against buying clones or store brands such as Enpower, PowerSpec, PC Club,

Back To Top

3.

Why is so important to buy name brand computers? Aren’t clones just as good?
In many cases clones use much the same components as major brands use in their computers, so there may not be much difference physically between a clone and a name brand. The main reason we recommend name brands is very simple: bigger companies have the resources to maintain a website where you can easily obtain drivers and support. If you buy a clone, and later have to rebuild it or want to upgrade to a newer operating system, it can be a real challenge to find drivers for the computer’s components. Once you’ve found the exact driver you need for a component in about 3 minutes of searching on a name brand website, you’ll wonder why anyone would buy a clone.

Back To Top

4.

My child is going away to college. What kind of computer should I buy them?
We recommend a very portable laptop, to make it easy for them to take their computer with them to the library or to class. A big, heavy multi-media notebook will just stay on the desk, limiting its usefulness. For brands, we recommend Dell, Gateway or Sony. IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads are very good machines, but a little more expensive. Also, you should strongly consider buying an Apple MacBook – many colleges today are operating-system agnostic, and since most of the software your student will need is available in both Mac and Windows versions, and the files are compatible, a Mac may be a very good choice. In general, they are more reliable and less virus-prone than PCs.

Back To Top

5.

What kind of processor should I look for in a new computer?
The main thing you need to do is to avoid buying any computer which has a Celeron processor by Intel. Celerons are deliberately de-tuned to create a marketing distinction between them and Intel’s Pentium processors. Computers with Celeron’s are very slow and sluggish – avoid them at all costs. Beyond avoiding Celerons, most of the processors offered by Intel such as Pentium IV, Pentium M, Pentium D, Pentium Core Duo, etc., are all fine. From AMD, their Athlon chips are very good also.

Back To Top

6.

The new flat panel monitors are really attractive. Do they offer any real advantages over the old tube monitors?
Yes, there are many advantages. First, all conventional monitors have a Cathode Ray Tube, or CRT, which scans the screen with a very fast beam to light up the pixels. If not set properly, this scan can cause the screen to flicker at a very high rate of speed. You might not notice it, but your eyes and your brain will definitely grow more fatigued staring at a flickering monitor. Flat panel displays do not have any analogous beam and do not flicker at all. In addition, flat panel displays: use less electricity, last longer, put out less heat, take up less space, don’t contain hazardous materials, weigh less and don’t fade or blur over time. With all that flat panels have to offer, it is only a matter of time before CRT monitors will no longer be available.

Back To Top

7.

What is difference between a flat screen monitor and a flat panel monitor?
Some CRT monitors have a front glass that is perfectly flat, like a window, instead of gently curved. Some vendors refer to this as a flat screen monitor. But it almost seems as if they are using this nomenclature to fool you into thinking you are getting a flat panel monitor, which has an LCD screen and is truly flat. Beware of anyone trying to sell you a flat screen monitor and be sure you see a picture of it from the side so that you know what you are getting.

Back To Top

8.

How do I decide whether to buy a desktop or a laptop computer?
The decision comes down to one simple question: how likely are you to take a laptop to another location to use it? If the answer is “not very likely”, then you are better off to buy a desktop. Desktop computers are less expensive, more reliable, easier to work on and more durable. In addition, if a component fails in a desktop, in many cases the failed component can be replaced or worked around in various ways. In a laptop, many of the components are part of the main circuit board, so if any mission critical component fails, it can mean having to replace the main board, a very expensive repair. Unless you really plan to take the computer with you and use it in other places, stick with a desktop.

Back To Top

9.

Should I buy a cordless mouse and keyboard?
When in doubt, do what your computer guy does. I don’t use a cordless keyboard or mouse, never have and probably never will. Any convenience in not being tethered with a cable is more than overwhelmed by failure to connect, battery failure, poor tracking, etc. Also, when you run certain low-level diagnostic programs that boot from a CD or a floppy, a cordless keyboard may not work at all, forcing you to hook up a corded keyboard just for that occasion. If you really want a cordless keyboard, buy a good one (in our opinion, Microsoft is better than Logitech), and keep a wired mouse and wired keyboard plugged in and tucked away under your desk. Cordless mice and keyboards are more reliable than they used to be, but they are a frequent point of failure.

Back To Top

10.

What should I look for in a digital camera?
A lot of people buy cameras based purely on the size and the number of megapixels. But megapixels alone do not deliver a satisfactory result. The main things that will likely affect your satisfaction with a digital camera are things that will be very hard for you to detect in the store. Some of the important factors are: battery life, brightness of the LCD viewscreen in daylight and the user interface of the camera’s menus and options. Look for models that have a high degree of optical zoom – digital zoom is worthless. Look for rechargeable batteries. An optical viewfinder in addition to the LCD screen is a real plus in case you just can’t see the display.

Back To Top

11.

What kind of computer will be required to run Vista?
The final specifications have not been released, but we expect that it will take a Pentium or Athlon dual-core processor, a minimum of 1GB of RAM (2GB preferred) and a video card with at least 256MB of video memory. It is estimated that 95% of the personal computers in the world in 2006 do not have enough “horsepower” to run Windows Vista.

Back To Top

12.

CD drives, burners, DVDs – it’s all alphabet soup. What kind of CD drive do I need?
Today there are five kinds of optical drives. Here is a chart that will allow you to understand the capabilities of these drives:

These days, DVD±RW drives are only about $40 more expensive than combo drives, so we recommend them for all new computers.

Back To Top

13.

What is the difference between a CD-R disk and a CD-RW disk, and which should I use?
A CD-R disk is a write-once disk. Once you have burned information onto a CD-R disk, that information cannot be removed or replaced. You can sometimes add more information to the disk if there is space and if the disk has not been “finalized”. CD-RW disks use a different technology where the information written to the disk can be erased and rewritten. So, some people use CD-RW disks for backup so that they can use the disks over and over again. However, CD-RW disks are a little more troublesome than CD-Rs, and cannot be played in some drives, especially audio CD drives. We recommend using CD-Rs for everything, and throwing them away or destroying them when not needed anymore.

Back To Top

14.

I need to buy a new printer. What should I look for?
First, think about what kind of printing you do most. Many people are attracted to color printers, but they look past the fact that 95% of the documents they print are black ink.. If you print mostly black ink documents, you really need a laser printer. Compared to inkjet printers, laser printers are: faster, quieter, cheaper to operate per page, and produce more durable output. The hardware typically costs a little more than an inkjet, and the toner cartridge may cost as much as all the ink cartridges in an inkjet put together. But it is not uncommon to get 6000 pages out of a laser cartridge – ink jets would do well to give you hundreds of pages per cartridge.

For most people, the best solution is two printers: a workhorse black laser printer and a color printer that is used only when color output is needed. Color laser printers have come down in price but they are still a lot more expensive than inkjet printers, and it can cost literally hundreds of dollars to replace all four of the toner cartridges in a color laser printer. On the other hand, the color output is to die for. What do we use? We have an HP laser printer and an Epson color inkjet printer and we are happy with both of them.

One final thing: the output from most inkjet printers is not waterproof, so printouts are not suitable for direct mail or any other application where the sheet might get wet. All laser prints, both black and color, are waterproof. Epson inkjet printers with DuraBrite ink are also waterproof; the vast majority of other inkjet printers are not. That’s why we have an Epson.

Back To Top

15.

Should I buy a PC or a Mac?
That depends mostly on the software you want to use, and the need to collaborate with other computers. Macs are superb machines, easy to learn, easy to use, reliable and secure. They are more expensive than PCs. They network marginally well with PCs, but won’t easily print to printers hooked up to PCs. If you don’t care about sharing files and printers with PCs, and if the software you use is available for the Mac, I give them high marks. I’ve never heard of anyone buying a Mac, regretting it and going back to a PC.

Back To Top

16.

What brands of computers do you recommend?
For desktops, I recommend Dell, Gateway and then HP/Compaq. Avoid homemade clones and store brands like PowerSpec, E-Power, and lesser name brands like Acer. For laptops, I recommend Dell, IBM/Lenovo, Sony, Gateway and then HP. I don’t recommend Toshiba because they can be difficult to work on. Don’t buy Acer, Averatec or any store brands. All other things being equal, Dell computers are the easiest to work on, their online support is superb and the tools and CDs they provide with the computer are better than everyone else’s. Whatever you think of Dell, they are still the best thing out there. I don’t buy anything else.

Back To Top

17.

Should I buy a desktop or a laptop?
his answer can be surprisingly simple. What is the likelihood that you will actually take the computer out of its normal location and use it somewhere else? If you consider this realistically and conclude that you probably won’t use it anywhere else, you should buy a desktop. All other things being equal, desktops are less expensive, more reliable, easier and less expensive to work on and more versatile.

Back To Top