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When Your Friends Ask What Computer to Buy

It's bound to happen sooner or later. You are peacefully going about your day, either at work or at home, and someone comes up to you with the infamous question. "Hey! I'm looking to buy a computer. What kind should I get?"
 
I already hear your groans.
 
It's like clockwork. The first question you want to ask is "Why?" But, you're polite. The next question you want to ask is "How much do you want to spend?" And if you do ask this question, you'll hear "I'm not sure." So, the question that you, a computer person, are bound to ask is this:
 
"Sounds great. What do you want to use the computer for?"
 
Besides the grammatical error in ending this question in a preposition, all kinds of other problems can result. You'll hear answers such as "I don't know; my friend has one" and "I want to get on that Internet thing."
 
I feel sorry for you because with so many choices in the market, it is almost impossible to help someone pick the 'perfect' computer, especially when the recipient a) doesn't know a thing about computers and/or b) doesn't know what they want to do with the machine.
 
And no, I'm not going to answer that question (sorry, but by the time you read this the computer I may suggest could be obsolete!) However, I will list a few common tasks that people may want to perform with computers. This is definitely not an all-inclusive list, but if you can get someone to read these tasks and tell you which ones they wish to perform, you may be able to better help them choose the right machine.
 
That's a BIG if, but I'm hopeful.
 
-=-=
 
So, what do you want to do with your computer?
 
- Surf the web
- Send e-mail to family/friends
- Print book reports/status reports/recipes
- Digitize the family album
- Do taxes
- Play games
- Help little Johnny with his homework
- Read the news
- Chat with family/friends (this may be different from just e-mailing them - perhaps they want to use Internet telephony or videoconferencing capabilities).
- Help with a job/the family business
 
-=-=


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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >