Last week started a multi-post series on how to deal with the impending onslaught of back-to-school computer advertising (Short answer: cave in to it) and with the next steps after you’ve successfully dealt with it. We started with an examination of the software recommended.

This week we’re getting into basic hardware. The first thing you need to decide on is a laptop or desktop. Both have their benefits and limitations.

Desktops: Financially, they are much softer on your wallet compared to a laptop for comparable systems. They also offer a much wider array of options for future upgrades. For example, if you want a larger monitor at some point, it’s no big deal to go and buy a new monitor. Compare this to a laptop where the screen size is pretty much set.  If a part on the desktop fails and needs to be replaced, there is an available replacement card. Of course, if the entire motherboard fails it won’t matter if it’s a desktop or laptop.

Laptops: The biggest benefit is its portability. Unplug the laptop, throw it under your arm and carry into another room. Done. Try going from your bedroom to the living room to watch TV with a desktop. Every feature that can be had on a desktop can be had on a laptop. There are two potential drawbacks. First, upgrading. If something fails, they tend to be more expensive to replace the part. Second, you also have to concern yourself with the battery, something that does not exist on the desktop. Batteries tend to have their own separate limited warranty from the rest of the laptop.

As we move forward, consider the options very carefully. This is a sizable investment and you don’t want to get home, set everything up and immediately realize that just because something is on sale, means that it is a good deal for your needs.

Once you decide on the computer form we can now finally examine the specifications. If we were car shopping, we’d be ready to start kicking some tires.

Next week, we start kicking some tires.

We’re about ½ of the way through the month of July and as we head into August it is a guarantee that the back-to-school ad campaigns will start. Along with all of the reams of paper, pens, pencils, spiral notebooks we’re sure to see an avalanche of ads saying something along the lines of “You’re not a good parent if you don’t buy your kid a new computer for the upcoming school year.” Great. Just what you need to hammer you at every turn.

So let’s assume for sake of argument (and the purposes of this post) that you cave into the advertising pressure and decide to get a new computer. What do you get? How do you know you’re not going to get soaked on the price? Speaking of soaked, what recourse do you have if it ends up dripping soda out of the keyboard? These are valid and important questions before cutting a check for hundreds of dollars.

Since we’ve got some time before the advertising onslaught begins, this will be a multi-part post. There’s a lot of ground to cover: everything from processors to warranties to software. Zoiks Scooby-Do!

Lets start with easy stuff: Software

1. What does the computer come with? It may say something like “Office 2007 pre-installed”. That’s just dandy but is it a fully licensed version or just a 60 day trial ? The trial versions are maddening. You get a number of projects/documents saved and suddenly the trial is over and you’re stuck with no means of getting to them. This was covered in a previous POST.
2. What do you need? Since we’re talking about a school computer, we’ll keep the focus there.
   1. Some form of Office type software that includes word processing and possibly presentation-type programs (a la PowerPoint). Unless you specifically request this type of software, you are almost guaranteed to end up with a limited trial version.
   2. The manufacturers will try and push some kind of CD burning software on you. This is not necessary. Both Mac and Windows based machines have it built into the operating systems.
   3. Photo-editing software. Unless you’re going to be doing some serious design work, the built-in software on the operating systems should be fine. Something else to consider is that most digital cameras come with their own photo editing software to crop the pictures, remove red-eye, rotate, resize and most of the common editing tools.
   4. Without a doubt, some form of anti-virus and anti-malware. Kids, college-bound or high school, are click-happy. They’ll click on anything and everything. There are free software for both, so don’t fall for the “We’ll include anti-virus for just a few more dollars” line. Plus, being on a budget, it’s rather hard to beat FREE. For recommendations, refer to THIS POST.

Bear in mind that there are means around the added expense. Let’s face it, the software can add another 50% onto the price. Talk with the school and see if they can get discounts on the “Student and Teacher Editions”. Many colleges do offer these discounts and is something that is well worth checking into.

Stay tuned, next week we’ll dive into hardware.