Advice on buying a PC

If I had a dime for every time someone has asked me “What should I look for when buying computer. . . I’d be retired and living on the 14th fairway somewhere. There are two basic rules to computer shopping:

1. Faster isn’t always better. Most of us don’t need the fastest available microprocessor for our day-to-day computing tasks. We’d be better off with something in the middle, and then investing in more memory (RAM), higher performance hard drives and a better video card.
2. Size matters. Stay away from those all-in-ones -- Apple’s excellent iMac is the only exception -- or small form factor designs... They limit expandability. Look for a minitower case. When it comes to monitors, don’t skimp on size or quality. Invest in the largest, highest quality monitor you can afford. Read more...

Computer Viruses

Several years ago I heard an industry pundit refer to computer viruses as the electronic equivalent of graffiti. This was annoying but not particularly damaging. I wonder what he thinks now? Last year (1999), encounters with malicious software, computer viruses, worms, & Trojan horse programs resulted in approximately $12.1 billion in damages. Certainly not the electronic equivalent of graffiti, this is better described as the cyber equivalent of a car bomb--destructive, indiscriminate, and costly. Read more...

Computer User Groups

I’ve been actively involved in the computer user group community for a more than 14 years now. I joined the DACS the Danbury Area Computer Society in 1993 and I’ve served as a SIG leader, vice president and president of one most amazing organizations I’ve ever seen. Read more...

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