Faster is never enough in computer industry
Terry Kruger
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 06/00) - When it comes to computers, you really do get what you pay for.
For many years, computers were toys of the rich -- fancy constructions of wire, microchips and silicon. Today, they're everywhere. E-mail is fast becoming more popular than writing a note on paper, sealing it in an envelope and sending it to a friend or relative. If you're not on the Net you're nowhere.
It's a world where faster is never enough.
So, how do you know what's good enough to last beyond the next technological leap?
You don't. All you can do is get as much as you can afford and be prepared for the sobering fact that what's good today, will no longer be cutting edge in six months or a year.
"If you buy a computer, a $799 special, it's going to perform as such," says Ryan Walker, sales manager for SSI Micro, a computer company that serves NWT clients.
That will probably get you a five or six gigabyte (gb) hard drive and 32 megabytes (mb) of RAM, and a fairly fast processor.
Today, however, that's not quite good enough.
According to Walker, you can "still get away with" 128 mb of RAM. Ideal, he says, is 256 mb.
Hard drives have come a long way as well, with 20, 30 and even 40 gb available and recommended by industry experts.
"The big thing is, the more memory you have the less chance the computer has to write memory to disk."
Bigger really is better
Fuelling the need for bigger memory and faster processors is not only the size of today's programs, but the availability and increasing numbers of people hooked to the Internet via high speed connections, either cable modem or ADSL connection.
That has led to a boom in the number of people downloading everything from movies to the latest cut from their favourite band.
"With MP3 files, one song can take up five, six or seven megabytes," says Walker.
A growing number of people are also using digital cameras and not only put photos on their computers but e-mail them to friends and family across town and around the world.
Many people are also including scanners as an important computer accessory to convert photos into electronic images. That means ensuring your computer comes with a USB port.
Unlike serial or parallel ports, USBs allow you to plug scanners, modems, network cards and other devices right into your computer without a need to go through the complicated process of installing a special program.
Operating system
Operating systems are also important, and although most PCs come pre-installed with Windows 95, 98 or the new Windows ME (for home use) or Windows 2000 (business applications), there are alternatives.
One that's growing in popularity is the Linux system. And unlike Microsoft's Windows, Linux can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet.
"It's robust and you can turn it on and it runs forever," says Walker, adding it allows knowledgeable computer users to set up the system the way they like.
"It can be as simple as a DOS prompt or a graphic interface," he said.
"It's flexibility and customization are unbelievable."
Anyone looking to upgrade their computer is likely wondering whether to buy a system that can be upgraded as programs and operating systems are updated.
It's important to ensure your RAM can be expanded and there are plenty of expansion slots inside.
But like it or not, as the Internet continues to evolve and people find new and improved uses for their computers, from downloading music to video and even on-line telephone conversations and videoconferencing, we just have to be prepared for the fact that what's good today won't be good enough three years from now.
