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Show Expert says there's a trick to getting the right computer By R. LYNN JACKMAN I just bought my first computer: a Vic 20. Eagerly I plugged it in and connected it to my TV to do word processing. To my dismay I discovered disco-vered that it came only with enough memory to write no more than a paragraph or two at a time after a small software package was loaded in. There went my plans to write the Great American Novel. Later on programs became very cheap. I bought some along with an expansion module for additional memory. The reason behind these bargains became all too apparent. Commodore Computers was discontinuing dis-continuing the model from its production pro-duction lines. Very soon after this I developed problems with my computer. Dust machine to do. Step two is to find the software which will do those things. Step three is to find the machine which run the software you want." A lot of people according to Meyer do this backwards. They end up getting frustrated and two weeks later the computer ends up in the closet. Mike Lundberg, another local salesman, suggest that you look at your budget before buying a computer. com-puter. Once you see what you can afford, you should also check for expandability and software compatibility, com-patibility, although he believes IBM compatibility is stressed too much. One thing I've found too that helps is to join a users' group. Salt Lake City is fortunate to have us ers' groups for practically every system. For a ridiculously low fee you can join a club and have more experienced people help with your problems. You can also get some computer products at discount prices. How well a users' group fits your needs is something you might want to consider. Many companies will offer an extended ex-tended warranty on their products. Purchase it because this is an insurance insur-ance in case the product does breakdown. You can get the computer com-puter repaired for free. Also look to see how compatible a new model is compared to an old one. Atari and Apple go at great lengths to insure one program will work on the next generation of machines. Some companies won't do this, forcing you to buy a new machine. had ruined a circuit. After calling several places to get it serviced I located the store designated as its authorized service dealer. They told me that they could not fix it and I would have to sent it to Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania to get the part replaced. The store was also having a sale on the Commodore 64. 1 considered turning turn-ing the Vic into a hockey puck but a friend looked at it and he was able to find the part, a very common one, at a local electronics supply store. I'm not trying to attack Commodore Com-modore Business Machines or their retailers. My purpose is to help you avoid some very common mistakes in buying a computer. I talked to some salesmen on how to buy computers. Dave Meyer Jr. of the Computer Club says, "Step one is to decide what you want the |
