[Leica] Re: New PC

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Dec 12, 2006, at 5:12 PM, Monte wrote:

> Need some IT help here...my 7 year old Compaq Presario 1200
> is dying a slow and hideous death!  When I bought it, I knew a little
> about the technology but I have not kept up and now, after looking
> for a new one, I have no idea what they are talking about.Dual this...
> Core that...Ram x 2 (bluetooth is wireless, right)?
>
> Anyway...I'm not too big on all the muti-media stuff so I'm not
> looking for anything super teched out.  I also don't store hundreds
> of photos on my hard drive...I want CD writng/reading capability
> so I can store edited pics on CDs?  Enough memory to safely run
> CS...is XP home edition cool?  I'm still running ME and recently
> got a note from Microsoft stating that ME is no longer a supported
> OS ;-(
>
> Help the analog man!  Suggestions greatly appreciated!  Thanks
> in advance!
>
> Montie

You are fortunate in that you can buy an entirely new computer system  
without trying to salvage the bits and pieces of your old stuff. A 7  
year old Compaq is worth about $15 on the used market. You might even  
have to pay to get someone to cart it away. Right now a low end to  
moderate computer system would have a 2 GHz processor, at least 512  
Mb of Ram, an 80 Gb disc, and a DVD burning capable optical drive.  
Note that it will have no floppy drive or Zip drive. It will also  
have a Wi-Fi 802.11g capability and probably will also have  
Bluetooth, a short range relatively low speed RF system for  
communicating with keyboards, printers, etc. With a 15" or 17" flat  
panel display it will probably cost about $1000 at Staples or Office  
Max. You might be able to buy one for less at WalMart or Best Buy. If  
you opt for a laptop with the same capabilities, you will probably  
spend a few hundred more. Stay away from the lowest price offerings  
advertised heavily by Dell or Gateway. Not that they are bad  
computers. In fact they are very good for use at the high school  
level. Its just that you will want to upgrade them soon after you buy  
them and the total price will be greater than if you bought what you  
wanted at the beginning.

But if you are going to start afresh, why not switch to a Mac? Most  
Luggers who own them swear by them.

Since Apple adopted the Intel processor in its new computers Mac and  
PC systems have been converging. Using Apple's free Boot Camp  
software or the modest priced Parallel software, any new Mac can run  
Microsoft XP and all the PC programs just as with a dedicated PC.  
Since the same processor is used, the running speeds are comparable.  
But most Mac owners regard this capability just as a backup since Mac  
software is available to perform just about any computer task. In  
addition, the Mac comes with a suite of software (iLife) which makes  
photographic work particularly easy. The sole software exception  
seems to be gaming. PC games still seem to be in the lead.

I use both Macs and PCs at work. There is no comparison between the  
Apple operating system and current Microsoft offerings. Apple's OS  
10.4.8 on my current computers makes anything on the PC seem clunky.  
We have been using a beta test version of Vista for a number of  
months and unless considerable changes are made before the consumer  
release next year, Microsoft has a long way to go before it catches up.

As far as hardware goes, Apple computers cost about the same as PCs  
with similar capabilities. The "premium" price for Mac computers no  
longer exists but the quality remains high. Thank God for marketplace  
competition. The Mac integrates Wi-Fi into the operating system  
better than the PC through its Airport software. All Macs come with  
built in ethernet for high speed plug in connection to the web.

Finally I like the Mac because it connects seamlessly with my iPod  
and it is so cool.

Larry Z