Project 1 – Buying a computer?

It so happens that my mother recently asked that I help her purchase a desktop computer for her personal use, as her current computer is extremely out of date.

My mother is by no stretch of the imagination, a techno savvy computer user. While she is capable of performing simple tasks on a machine, much of her knowledge is of specific programs that she uses to do her job, and not much else.

Since my mother could not really tell me the details of the type of machine she was looking for, I decided to get some basic criteria to help with my selection:

1. Inexpensive: not looking to spend more than $400-$500 on a system (preferably less).
   
2. Basic: Capable of running your commonly used Microsoft programs (ie Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
   
3. Operating System: Capable of running the Windows 7 operating system.
   
4. Capable of running MS Office Professional Plus (which she got through my job for only $10).

So, based on this long list of specifications, here is what I came up with:

My mother, as I mentioned earlier, plans to use her computer for basic word processing and surfing the internet. For this reason, I decided that it would not be worth it to have a friend custom build a system, as the time and cost would most likely not be worth it. I decided to surf BestBuy.com for deals on budget towers.

My mother does not maintain any files that reside on floppy disks (which is a good thing), so I have no need to try and find a computer that has a floppy drive. Considering the fact that magnetic media is rather out of date and unreliable, I would hope that nobody would be using floppy disks or floppy drives unless it were to move information from a floppy disk to a more reliable storage medium such as a CD, DVD or flash drive.

When it came to RAM, I didn't want to skimp, as my mother has been interested in learning more programs, such as QuickBooks. Your average program can pull anywhere from 256MB – 512MB, along with whatever software is running in the background (such as Antivirus software and firewalls), which can really start to add up quickly, if you are one to try and multi-task. I also have found that running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 tends to run much smoother on a machine that is running a minimum of 4GB of RAM.

Selecting an input device was simpler than anything else. In purchasing anything for my mother, I have to consider how much time I want to spend setting it up and maintaining it. For that reason, I like to avoid things that require a lot of configuration, or parts that have to be replaced. Wireless keyboards require batteries (which she won't replace), and macro enabled keyboards are complete overkill for the simplicity that is her computer use. A simple usb keyboard would be preferable; while I would not be against a ps2 (since some computers still have that connection).

To my surprise, I did come across a refurbished All-in-one computer that was selling for only $549.99. It contained better video and audio qualities than the computer that I initially selected; however, it had less Hard Drive space and skimped on a few small features (such as the number of USB ports, and Recordable DVD drive speed). This would have been perfect for my mother, especially due to the fact that it would not require me to come over and set it up.

This, however, proved too good to be true, as the system comes with Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit; which I would not wish on anyone. If money were less of an issue, I would have gotten it, and just purchased Windows 7, but a budget is there for a reason.

After doing a bit of shopping, I ended up going with my initial choice that happened to be available in a package deal. I was able to find an eMachines EL1352-01e Desktop, that came in a package along with an 18.5" LCD Monitor for $469.98. It comes with an emachines ps2 keyboard and optical mouse. It is not really designed to be super fancy, but it is perfect for my mother. Trust me though. Had it not been for Windows Vista, my mother would have an all-in-one computer, and I would get to save myself a Saturday morning. Oh well.