Howdy,
It has been awhile since my last post. Real life got in the way. I had a nice vacation down to the Carolinas for some Syracuse Football. But I am now back in CNY and it is quite chilly. But enough about how my vacation went, I came here to describe an experience I had with a client about picking out their perfect computer.
I was approached back in June by a professional that wanted to have a home office set up. During our initial meeting, I was asked the dreaded question people in IT hate to hear. "What type of computer would be best suited for me?" I actually had to sit back and think of a response to that question. I thought about the endless possibilities of hardware and software that would be 'best' for him. In my thought process, it occurred to me that this client is honest with this question. He was unsure of what computer would be best suited for him.
When you are choosing a computer for yourself, you want the basics. When I say basics, I mean 4 GB of RAM, at least a 500 GB hard drive and one of the latest processor chips, (i3 or i5 would be fine). But as far as features go, that is in your court. Are you looking to have the best features available? Do you want flashy set up with a back-lit keyboard or maybe something with a large screen and a full keyboard? Of course these are all features for a laptop. A desktop computer would actually cost less than a laptop for the same features. (With a home office, I am assuming that the client wants portability.)
As with any big purchase, you want to make sure you do some research on the computer before you buy. If you are purchasing the computer from an online vendor, (I do not recommend doing this), make sure you read the reviews on the machine. The reason I do not recommend getting anything online is because you do not know exactly what you are purchasing. If you can, get to a store to have a hands on experience with the machine that you choose.
The client I was working with wanted me to pick out a laptop for them. I came to the meeting with 3 different types of laptops. Two of the machines were Windows 7. The operating system in Windows 7 is the most user friendly of any operating system currently on the market, in my opinion. Without any hands on experience with the actual laptops, the client went with one of the Windows 7 machines based solely on the picture of the machine. Again, this approach to a new machine is not recommended.
Also, something to take into consideration, what type of devices will be connecting to your new machine? I will create a different post for picking out the devices and what are the ups and downs for each. But to touch quickly on this, you will want hardware that is compatible with your new machine. Nothing like taking home a brand new machine and realizing that your printer is so out of date that it will not work. Then you have to make another trip to the store to get a printer. In today's society, no one wants to run out of the house if they do not have to.
As always, I am open to constructive criticism and also willing to help with steering you in the right direction. Feel free to contact me.
Thanks,
Dan Stinson
d.e.stinson1@gmail.com
C.E.O. of Stinson Technology
