Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Computers

John Bryant
Arizona Computer Consultant
(602) 861-1738

Everything You Ever Wanted
to Know About Computers ...
But Were Afraid to Ask

(June, 1996)

In a nutshell, here's the good news and the bad news ....

	The Good News	The Bad News
C	Cost Effective - Correctly used, todays computers can pay for themselves in months. Money can be saved on printing, accounting, employee time, etc.	Confusing - Unfortunately, an untrained user can spend more time trying to print an envelope than it would take to type it by hand.
O	Online - The Internet (World Wide Web) has become an extremely important means of information exchange and worldwide communication. An estimated 45 million people presently “surf the Net”.	Overwhelming - The Internet was originally organized by the government, planned by the military and designed by computer nerds. Need I say more?
M	Massive Storage - The average computer can hold an enormous amount of information. The complete texts of a large library can easily fit onto new hard drives.	Mysterious - As hard drives grow, so does the size of your favorite software package. It’s a little mind-boggling when a hard drive that can hold the entire Library of Congress is suddenly full!
P	Power - New computers have incredible speed and power. Comparing new Pentiums against the massive NASA computers used for the Apollo moon flights	Power Outage - Without the proper precautions a common electical “spike” can send your speed-of-light computer into a black hole. A blackout can turn your 1995 business records into mush.
U	User Friendly - Windows programs are easier to learn than older, more complicated programs.	User frustrating - While it is easier to use computers now, “user friendly” is still a laughable term. Most computer users have made at least one death threat against an intolerant “user friendly” computer.
T	Time Saving - A good software, like Quicken, can help you reconcile a confusing bank statement in a matter of minutes. Turbo Tax can tame a ferocious tax return in only a few hours.	Time Wasting - Do you know how many hours can be spent on computer solitaire ? Not since the advent of TV has a machine been able to mesmerize a person so completely.
E	Economical - Computer prices have dropped through the floor. Today a new, high quality computer can be purchased for under $1,000.00	Esoteric - What kind of computer do you need? What is a “Pentium”? What does Windows 95 do? Is it “good”? Deciding on the “right” computer is definitely not a simple task.
R	Rebuildable - Want to make your computer better, stronger, faster? Newer computers can be upgraded quickly and inexpensively.	Return on Investment - If you bought a new computer two years ago, don’t be surprised if you can only get pennies- on-the-dollar for your old hardware when you upgrade.
S	Satisfaction - The feeling you get when you finally learn and understand your computer is worth the time and effort invested. Take the time to learn - you’ll be glad you did!	Sanity - Using a computer program for the first time can be hazardous to your mental health. Take your time. Ask a friend or consultant before you become frustrated. You’ll save a lot of time this way.

	Disclaimer:Statements made here are strictly the opinions of the author and not to be taken too seriously.

(June 15, 1996)
Printable copy of this newsletter

Questions or comments?
Feel free to email me at john@helpmedoc.com
or you can call me at (602) 861-1738.