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(Continued from page 5) cal drive, especially laptops, since the optical
drive on a laptop adds considerably to the
About 10 years ago my nephew camped out- bulk of the system. External optical drives are
side of Best Buy to get a dirt-cheap laptop. available for $25 - $30 and this is often the
The laptop was inexpensive, but it came with- solution if an optical drive is required.
out a permanent operating system! Fortunately Also make sure there are plenty of USB
he had a geeky uncle who was able to help ports, and importantly at least 1 high speed
him, but not all were so fortunate.
(3.0 or 3.1) USB port.
Today you are unlikely to be sold a computer Some new computers are sold with HDMI vid-
without an operating system (OS). There are eo output only.
plenty of different computer OS out there —
Windows, Apple OS X, various flavors of If you plan to utilize an older monitor with only
Linux, including the Chrome OS. Each OS the old standard 15-pin sub-D input, you are
functions differently. Most importantly for us- out of luck without a special adapter.
ers, each OS handles software differently (if at
all). If you have an old computer running one Not Finding a Problem with a Com-
OS and want to bring software you purchased puter While You Can Still Return It.
to a new computer, don’t expect to succeed if
you switch operating systems. For example, Just because you’ve spent your money for a
Skype may have versions working for Mac and new computer already doesn’t mean the buy-
Windows, but you won’t be able Skype with ing process is over. You have a time window
your friends and family if you switch over to where you can return the computer if you’re
Chrome OS. Remember the first step in buying not satisfied. Test everything. See how far the
a computer: you need to decide what you need Bluetooth signal reaches. Ensure it can con-
to do with a computer and ensure the OS will nect to your Wi-Fi network and maintain a
support it. connection. Test out all of the drives and
ports. Try out headphones and microphones.
Install all of the programs you want to use and
Assuming a Feature is Included try them out. Run Prime95 or your most de-
Whether you’re shopping for a laptop or a manding video game for hours. You basically
desktop, don’t make any assumptions about want to make sure that the computer will easi-
the features that are included. ly meet your needs. If it’s falling short or not
working how you expect, you want to find that
out while you can still return it. (Personal sto-
Computers come in all configurations ry: I once bought a high-end Dell desktop
computer that seemed great, but it would not
You should never take anything for granted. If
you want a computer with a CD/DVD drive, shut down without cutting off the power. I re-
look and see if there is one, and if you’re shop- turned it quickly for a replacement. If I hadn’t
ping on line or in a store, make sure you know tested out those features early on, I would
with 100% certainty it’s there. Optical drives have learned the hard way what it felt like to
seem to be slowly going the way of the old waste $3000.)
floppy drives – away.
Software can usually be downloaded online
rather than installed from an optical disk. More (Continued on page 7)
and more new computers don’t include an opti-
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