Avoid the lure of shiny if you can

I tell people that are casual acquaintances or I am introduced to that I am an accountant because if I tell them I work with computers everyone thinks you can debug their issue with their XBox 360 connection via broadband or some other obscure issue and are not reticent at coming and asking. For some reason nobody seems to want to tell you their financial situation and ask your views on how they are doing.

However, a lot of people do know what I do for a living and I often get asked by people to help them with their issues. Some I can help and some I can’t. The one that is most common though is ‘What is the best computer to buy?’ They have for some reason decided to enter the digital age or have had a computer before but think it’s about time for a new one.

My first retort to this is ‘What do you want to use it for?’ That usually stops them in their tracks. They usually throw out a few uses such as letters, browsing the internet and maybe games. That makes me ask ‘What sort of games?’ If it’s Freecell or Solitaire then we don’t have any issues but if it’s the latest FPS or strategy game with an online component we have an issue. If you already have a computer that browses the internet, has a word processor and has these games then there is actually no reason to update to the latest version because you are going to get little benefit from it. Sure it will be faster, look nicer and have the latest add ons but it will cost you about 1K on average and the bloatware you will be adding by upgrading to Vista and Office 2007 will bring the speed right back down. Best add a new HDA (Hard Disk) and extra memory to your existing system. A very cost effective upgrade. But never upgrade the OS. If you do that you really should be buying a new system completely.

However, if you want the latest games then be prepared to pay for a good solid piece of kit. Lots of memory, large HDA and large screen. Of course you won’t be able to transfer the applications you’ve bought, you will need to upgrade even though you won’t actually use more than one or two of the hundreds of new ‘features’.

Most home users who buy new actually don’t need the latest kit though and should actually consider buying a second hand one or one of the lower spec new models. At this time that is fraught with issues as even the lower spec new ones don’t come with XP any more. It’s all Vista. Of course buying second hand has its own issues for entry into the digital age unless you have a very good friend in computers or it’s a family member or close friend upgrading that has the spare system that they would ordinarily be throwing away. You could buy Apple but they are still really expensive but worth considering if you have the money as there are several benefits and Linux is still too complex for uninitiated users.

It wasn’t that long ago that computers were not considered so readily for disposal but with the big corporations rapid upgrade path, Microsoft’s software upgrade policy and legislation on second hand kit it’s more common to just throw away the old one now than to attempt to reuse it. Doing someone else a favour can come back and haunt you if you make even a simple mistake.

Personally I am interested in one of these cheap computers intended for third world countries with a wind up power supply. That coupled with several DVDs of PDFs and web snapshots stored correctly would be of use in a survival situation when ordinary PCs would be useless. Not seen any for sale anywhere.

Of course, it’s not just computers that are shiny. New DVD recorders, Plasma TVs and other electronic kit. Although they don’t have the same software issues as PCs just consider if you really need the new bit of kit in the current economic climate.

Bear in mind I’m not saying don’t upgrade. I’m saying don’t upgrade to keep the corporations profits up. Let them innovate and give us something worth the money before you part with your hard earned cash.

On the positive side if you are considering upgrading then you clearly are one of the better off and the computer industry will be grateful for your contribution. Things are getting a bit tight out there. Maybe Microsoft should consider giving us something useful.