Skylarking

New Mac Prices (click to enlarge)

Often people say to me, “I think I’m going to get a Mac” because they’ve “had enough of Windows”.

Then I ask them, “How much did you pay for the computer you have?”

90% of the time they say about $600 to 800.

Then I let them know that they’re not likely to find a Mac at that price because the cheapest Mac, apart from the Mini which no Mac owner I know has ever considered, costs at least $1,000. Most Mac owners start with the MacBook Pro which costs anywhere from $1,200 to $2,300 depending upon the features you get.

That’s usually when I say, “Any $1,200 computer is a good computer.”

For more information $1,200 computers, check out this article from PC World: “The Perfect PC: Don’t Buy It, Build It”. They discuss $500 machines briefly, then they elaborate on more expensive machines, even though they are talking about building your own computer.

FYI, I have an iMac and two PCs.

I was reading an exclusive survey article “Get the Most Out of Your Home” in the April 2010 issue of Money magazine. When discussing the home office they reported:

Researchers at the University of Utah have found that people using 24-inch computer screens worked 52% faster than those using 18-inchers when doing tasks like editing a document and copying numbers between spreadsheets.

They went on to suggest that you get one for as little as $199, but I’ve found a couple of nice refurbished 23 and 24 inch monitors at TigerDirect for $160 to $170, and a new 23-inch for $190. No extra charge for shipping.

Dell 23 inch Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor (Refurbished Dell S2309W)

This monitor is not only useful for standard home office work and study, but it is also great for viewing movies and photos, playing games, or even editing video. I checked one out in person and found the images had great lifelike detail and brilliant vivid colors. its typical high contrast ratio of 1000:1 delivers deep blacks and stark whites. It’s DVI-D connector lets you view high-definition multimedia content from Blu-ray Disc drives on desktops and notebooks. It also has a standard VGA connector for use on older computers. Its sleek, glossy bezel (thats the frame around the screen) fits in beautifully in any decor. Plus the tilt-adjustable panel lets you position the display to a comfortable viewing angle. Buy a refurbished Dell S2309W with free shipping for $160 at Tigerdirect.  

Acer 24 inch Widescreen HD LCD Monitor (Refurbished Acer P244WBD)

The Acer P244WBD 24″ Widescreen Monitor compares very well to the Dell model above, and your getting the full 24 inch HD image here. It, too, has a stylish sheer glossy black bezel that’ll look beautiful on your desktop. I felt the blacks were even deeper on this monitor and some scans of some old black and white photos I had look exceptionally good. They didn’t have the blue or greent tint that I often see on other color monitors. Buy a refurbished Acer P244 WBD 24 inch HD LCD monitor at Tigerdirect for only $170.

Viewsonic 23 inch Widescreen LCD HD Monitor (New! Viewsonic VA2323wm)

You can get greater productivity with this 23 inch widescreen LCD HD monitor from Viewsonic. It’s large enough to view two full sized documents, side-by-side onscreen. Or you can have 2 or more programs visible onscreen simultaneously. The VA2323wm is competitively priced, and includes two hidden stereo speakers.

It only costs $190 to get this new Viewsonic 23 inch widescreen HD LCD monitor from TigerDirect.

A reader sends in the following question:

The main hard drive in my desktop computer has failed. I still have the old drive, but I don’t know what a suitable replacement will be. What do I look for?

Generally, any hard drive from a major manufacturer will do.  Any major computer retail store should be able to help you to find a replacement. Make it easy, and take the hard drive with you to the store.

If you want a little more knowledge about hard drive considerations here are some hard drive basics to consider.

• Data Cable
• Capacity

IDE Ribbon

Data cable: This refers to the cable used to connect the drive to the motherboard. A typical computer uses either an IDE or SATA connection. (Note: IDE drives are also called PATA drives.)

• An IDE or PATA drive will have a 2 inch wide connector at either end of its cable. The cable often looks like a two inch flat ribbon.
• A SATA drive has a small half-inch connector at either end of its similarly thin cable.

SATA connector

So if your old hard drive has a two inch wide connection on it, its an IDE drive, and you will need another IDE drive to replace it. If it has a 1/2 inch connection on it, then you will need a SATA drive.

Capacity: This is how much the drive can hold. Today’s hard drives are measured in gigabytes, abbreviated as GB. Techies often says “gigs” instead of “gigabytes”. Most hard drives have a label on them which will tell you how many gigabytes of data they can hold.

Today 500 GB, and 1,000 GB hard drives are becoming very common and affordable, but an older computer might not be able to “recognize” or use a drive of that size. If you have an older Windows XP computer, you might find it cannot handle a hard drive larger than 137 GB. (If you’re still using Windows XP I say, “Now’s the time to get a new computer, not just a hard drive.”) If your computer was running Windows Vista or Windows 7, then hard drive capacity won’t be a problem.