What? A New Computer? Again?

Posted by JD on November 30, 2009

LINKSYS WireLess Network USB Desktop PC G Adapter Card

$19.97

1 HP DC7100 P4 3.0 GHZ DESKTOP COMPUTER PC XPP 17″ LCD

$169.99

My parents have a problem. They don’t understand the breakneck pace of tech innovation. Years and years ago, they bought an Apple IIe computer. They had decided it was time to buy a computer, so they bought one. Sometime after that, when I suggested they needed to upgrade to something newer, I got this reaction from them like “we already bought a computer and it still works.” Anyway, they finally upgraded to a desktop PC (Apple fans, I’m not saying anything by using the word “upgrade”).

So now their second computer is seriously in the dust when it comes to computing. Old everything, not enough memory, not enough disk space (who thought we’d need more than 500 megabytes?). We start talking upgrade, and again I get this “What!?! Are we going to have to buy one of these every few years?”

Well….yes. Never think of your computer as an asset. A computer in today’s world is designed to be used for a while, then trashed and replaced with the next level up. It just doesn’t sound right to people grounded in tradition, but there’s no real tradition for technological change that happens as fast as it does today.

So how do you decide which computer to buy next? Start by figuring out if you want a desktop, laptop or netbook. Desktops give you the most “bang for the buck” performance-wise. You can get faster processing, more storage and more memory for less money than any other configuration. But it has to stay at home. And plugged in.

A laptop is the middle ground in this scenario. Medium price, medium performance. You can take it with you, but it still might be heavy. The battery will last for a couple of hours, but you’ll need to plug in eventually.

Netbooks are the new thing, smaller than laptops. So-so performance in most cases. No drives for CDs or DVDs. But their tiny size makes them ultra-portable. Their ability to access the web means you can download most of the content you need. Of course, they’re great for updating Facebook and Twitter. And netbook batteries last from six to eight hours.

To be sure, there are other decisions involved in buying a new computer, but this is the most basic. Once you decide on size and portability, many of the following decisions will get easier. But don’t get too attached to whatever you buy, because…that’s right, in a few years you’ll be doing it again.