Page 10 - IT Essentials And Data Recovery For Online Businesses

In addition to the growing demands of applications, the products of those

applications – known as “files” – have expanded in size as well. Word processing
documents can get extremely large when high-quality graphics are added, as well –
something to think about if your small business is involved in publishing and/or

graphic design.

Fortunately, the cost of both RAM and hard drives (where information is stored) has
come down in cost considerably in recent years.

Types of Information Tools and Media

This subject by itself could easily fill a book, since information technology is so
ubiquitous. Chances are, you and your business will need more than one of these

tools, but will probably not need all of them.

Personal Computer

This is the heart of your small business I.T. system. You’ll find a plethora of models
and options to choose from. New, low-end, entry-level machines today start at

under $400, and include a processor running at 1.8 gigaHertz (Ghz), 256 MB
(expandable up to 3 gigabyte [GB]) or RAM and an 80 GB hard drive. On the upper

end are the latest Apple machines with 3 Ghz quadruple processors, 1 GB RAM
(expandable to 8 GB), and a 250 GB hard drive. (Incidentally, if you’re not familiar

with terms such as “gigabyte,” gigahertz” etc., don’t worry. These are defined in
the glossary at the end of this book.)

The decision of whether to go with a PC (IBM-compatible) or a Mac (Apple) is less

of an issue that it was just a few years ago. The newest Apple computers use the
Intel chip used by the most popular PCs. In addition, Apple computers can now run

Mac OS X side-by-side with Microsoft Windows. It’s really a matter of cost – a new,
top-of-the-line Apple runs about $3200, is not easy to upgrade, and will probably

be obsolete within two years. On the other hand, if you’re doing high-end video