Have a nice holiday season!
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Left-Over Comments from Nov. 1999 Newsletter Topics |
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Last month, I discussed what type of PC configuration I would recommend for a particular home user. A few people have responded with comments about how expensive I set my sights and recommendations at. Well..... my view is influenced by the fact that I am convinced each household will end up with multiple PCs and at least one of the PCs will be a "primary" machine. This machine, in my experience, will end up in the $3000 range including the hardware, directly attached printer, directly attached scanner, and software the family will want on the primary machine.
Likewise, based upon my experience, a budget of $3000 will be sufficient to have this primary home computer serve the household for around 3 years. During this approximately 3-year timeframe a LOT of PC-related matters (hardware and software) will take place. During the 3-years the household's use of the computer environment (and, the PC-industries' use, for that matter) will change. However (again: based upon my experience and in my opinion) a $3000 budget for a families' primary system will, if purchased from a trusted PC-store/etc., have a life within the household and within the industry for the 3-years-or-so. After, approximately, that 3-year period: The household will no doubt take a look at their current aims for PC use and what the PC-industry offers at the time. If a new primary machine is purchased the 3-year old PC will be used in the household as a secondary but, still very usable, PC system attached to the newly-purchased machine. How will the multiple PCs be connected? I use Ethernet at this time. I have not investigated using existing phone lines within a house or wireless as part of the equipment (hardware/software) necessary to inter-connect multiple PCs. Another technology to come along will include use of cable TV connections within a home, to share some computer-to-computer applications and needs. I assume that using existing phone lines, wireless, and exploitation of what cable TV companies will offer as time goes on will get a lot of action as we enter the 2000s -- and, I will certainly look at evolving technologies if they are price-competitive and usable. We see! In any case: I am sure many homes will (and, already) have multiple PCs/laptops and these PCs/laptops can and should be interconnected to meet the needs of a home user family. How each individual home does this interconnection remains to be seen. And: I believe that the primary PC (hardware/software/attached devices) will have a budget of around $3000 three years from now, as it does in December 1999! |
Some Uses of a Home PC Which I Have
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What do I use the PC for? When asked that question, the easiest response is to tell which home-user applications I do on a regular basis -- and the software I use to accomplish the applications. I will, just, give this answer as a list with some short comments if I feel necessary. I am in the midst of writing a document and associated lab exercises for each of the following. If you have any questions or comments regarding what I say, below, don't hesitate to get back to me. The following are home user PC applications I do on a regular basis and the software I use for the applications. The list is in no particular order -- other than what comes to mind as write the list. Each application is a home user PC application/function which is important to me and which I do on a near-daily or, at the least, weekly basis. After these near-daily applications, I list applications which I do less often -- but, are important to my home PC environment, Note: I do not use the PC for home access to banks, for taxes, or other such financial matters which are important to a family. No doubt many home users use the PC to assist them in such financial matters. The fact that important family applications are missing, below, is not intended to imply that something should, or should not be, done! Certainly, the home PC can assist in family financial matters. I, simply, have not had a reason or inclination to do home banking, taxes, etc. What I do on a regular basis and which SCScompA includes in an Assistance to a home user of PCs:
So, as you can see, I use the PC quite a bit during the day and the software I use on my PC and on my laptop, listed above, is around $500 USA one time cost plus the $21.95 per month charge for America Online and eMail/internet access. |
| I will add, here, some less-than-daily applications I do on my home PC. I will add this either sometime later this month as part of this newsletter or discuss this next month (depending upon time availability, etc.) |
Freecell Game/Deal of the Month
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We have started, in our household, doing Freecell deals from 1-to-32000! We will NOT accomplish this task. We know that. However, as we go along in our for-fun-effort, yet frustration... I will mention once in awhile specific Freecell deals we find challenging.
Let me know if this Freecell game and the number of times we had to restart to solve the deal is about what you find. If you are going to attack deals 1-to-32000 and want to interact with us in that regard, let me know what thousand-or-so you are going to start with. For now, we are attacking 1-to-1000 and I would recommend you start with 1001!
Let me know how YOU do! |
Or send snail-mail to:
SCScompA
P.O. Box 58223
Raleigh NC 27658
USA
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