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Dec. 1, 2000
Shopping Games
By Bill Bateman
Being Technology Guy, the one question I am asked more often than any other is: "Did you eat my last donut?" The second most asked is a bit more relevant to this month's topic: "How do I choose the right computer?" The answer to that is simply: it depends on what you plan to do with it.
To offer some suggestions, I shall take you through how I chose a new system. First, I asked myself, "What am I going to do with it? Will it be used at home to write? Will I take it to conferences to drive presentations?" Next, I considered what software I use most frequently--word processing, Internet, and PowerPoint. Be honest with yourself. Do not think of what you'd like to do, but consider your actual routine when you turn on the machine. I knew I wanted my three key programs plus Internet access and multi-tasking, decent screen size and, most of all, affordability. I required a good-sized hard drive for storage (20 gigabytes at least), decent processing speed, and enough memory to support the continual demands set by new programs. Sound about right? Now I needed to look at what I could obtain with my budget.
Laptop or desktop model is the first option. I just visited a high school that bought laptops for all of its teachers. The idea was to allow teachers to take the computers between work and home. I have a desktop model both at school and at home. Yet I like laptops, and use them at conferences, but they are still pretty darn easy to break, steal, or lose. (TIP: I never take a laptop when I fly. I take a Zipı drive, backed up by a second set of the same material on floppies. Then, after confirming what equipment will be available, I can carry my presentations in my pocket. This beats seeing someone run down the hall with your laptop as you remain at security.)
Laptops are also more expensive, but the poor quality of batteries and screens - the two biggest complaints in years past, have greatly improved. Modems now come built in and CD players and expansion ports are available as well.
Desktop models have also become better, with bigger hard drives and huge screens--even ultra thin monitors for those cramped areas are available. Built-in DVD players, CD-R/W capability, and pre-packaged software make it a lot easier to buy a system. Shopping for prices is almost fun. Basic units have cracked the $1,000 mark, and can be downright cheap if you are willing to sell your soul to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) for two years. I want to discuss that particular idea in another column.
I decided on a desktop with a budget limit of $2,000, which included a monitor and shipping. You too must to have a solid figure in mind. Got it? Fair enough, let's figure out what to buy.
With that important decision made I guess we're off to the stores, right? Wrong. Just as we tell our students, you must do your homework. When you go to a computer store, especially around the holidays, you'll find the highly skilled staff of high school kids or 20-somethings pushing whatever some genius at corporate over-ordered. Wasn't it I who said I had students who know more than I do? It was and I did. But these are not the kids I was talking about. I spent a lot of time shopping for my computer and it was not pretty out there.
We all would like to think we are educated buyers. So let's become educated. I suggest you talk to the power users on campus. I know I did. I asked instructors what they picked for the computer lab, for themselves, and why? You should sound like a two-year-old. You simply ask "Why?" a lot.
- What brand did you buy? Why did you choose that particular one? (The lower the rate of failure per 100 machines, the better. For example, a rate of two per 100 is excellent (2%). One of the big "we build it for you" companies is reported to have hit a failure rate of 50 out of 100 (50%). That is downright awful. Ask. If the sales staff does not know, find out why they don't know. If they cannot or will not tell you, leave.)
- Why did you choose 128MB of RAM instead of the 64MB it comes with? (Planning to work with Win2K. More is always better in my opinion. I buy double basic amount.)
- Was it worth the extra $700 to buy the ultra-thin monitor? (Not to me--I would rather have more MB on either my hard drive or RAM, and a bigger monitor screen. Personal choice.)
- What does it mean when the monitor has a pitch of .28? (The lower the number, the sharper the picture--.28 is considered to be the minimum. I bought a 17" with .26.)
- Why did you choose a Pentium 733 when you could have gotten the 1000? (First-run chips have bugs. The 700+ mark is fast enough for what I do and fit better in my price range.)
Why? Why? Why?
Aside from sounding like a bad country western song (an admitted redundancy), you'll begin to get a picture somewhere between what is being used in real life and what is being advertised. If you plan on in-depth questioning, I'd suggest doing it over a lunch--preferably one you've provided.
Once you've worn out your welcome at the IT department, the next stop is the Internet. Go to the Web sites for the brands you are considering. Cruise the sales literature of course, but the true test is in the service area. Drivers need to be updated. Memory increased. You really don't expect that thing to work forever, do you?
I look for a service phone number first. Then I call it. If a phone tree answers it, the company loses point. If there is no phone number (and I found quite a few), mega points off. Obtain warranty information firsthand. Is service next day, next business day, or the next day they find time for you? Is there on-line help, and does it make sense to you? I have been to a number of sites that tell you everything about those update drivers you need to know, except where to find them.
Another warranty issue (at least for me) was the cost of an extended warranty and who pays the shipping? I had a salesperson at a well-known brand name store tell me that the shipping is no big deal. I told him the same thing I tell the car salesman who tells me $200 more is not all that much a month: "Then you pay it." A bill of $116.50 from UPS--what it cost to have my new computer and monitor shipped to me--adds to that repair charge.
Extended warranties present a problem for me. All of my common sense tells me that a unit will fail in the first month if it's going to fault. I know I have a year to get full service. But I also know I have a pile of pieces in my garage that used to be a G.E. washing machine, there for almost 8 weeks. It self-destructed two months after the warranty expired and we're having "a little parts problem". I also know that the transmission on my 1996 Mercury Sable was one of many that literally ate itself up with just over 30,000 miles on it. Yes, it was two months after that warranty expired, too.
What is worse, I know that by buying the extended warranty, I am encouraging the planned obsolescence trend in products. The days of the computer, the car, and the washing machine that last forever last are over. And by voting with our wallets, we are allowing it to happen. I'll stop the potential rant here by admitting it--I bought the extended warranty and they come to me.
Now you are ready to shop. So it's off to the store, right? Maybe. I bought my machine online. Many of the big stores were insistent that I sign up with one of the super ISPs to buy a unit. No, thank you. That's next month's topic. One sales rep insisted I get the new AMD chip instead of a P3. He was unable to tell me why, but it was better. They knew what I needed, and what I needed was whatever they had piles of. I went to a number of Web sites and, being a teacher, looked for educational discounts. Then something interesting happened--I found out about reconditioned machines.
I went to Dell's site and was looking over the educational pricing when I noticed a reconditioned machine link. I took my list of what I wanted in a machine and checked out the selection. I got everything I wanted plus a Zipı drive for $1,800.00 delivered--yes, including the extended warranty. To buy the same unit from Gateway, CompUSA, or any of the other so-called superstores would have cost me at least $600 more. That's a new printer and digital camera at our house.
This is not an ad for Dell. If I had found the best deal at Costco or even Billy Bob's Fill Dirt and Computers, I would have reported it. What works for me is not necessarily what will work for you. But it is a recommendation to be an informed shopper. I urge you to shop around. Do your homework and DO NOT allow salespeople to talk down to you. I didn't settle for something. I got what I wanted and saved money in the process.
Yes, it is a lot of work. But so is anything worthwhile. Besides, with the money I saved, I can bring the donuts once in a while. Next month--a look at some resolutions I've made for the start of the year, including those changes I'm seeing in your once friendly ISPs.
Email: Bill Bateman
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