Page 19 - IT Essentials And Data Recovery For Online Businesses

same machine). Chances are, a computer similar to this one will serve about 95%

of the small businesses out there quite well for several years.

There are of course risks to purchasing a used computer. You have no idea if it has

been protected by a firewall (more on this later), what viruses may be lurking, and

you have no way of knowing how well it has been maintained. 98% of all computer
problems are software-related, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll
experience a great deal of frustration and downtime. If you’re going to purchase a

second-hand computer, make sure you have some computer knowledge, or bring a

friend with you who does. The best cure for most all computer problems is
prevention of course, so later on, we’ll be discussing the care and feeding of your
computer.

If you are determined to have a brand new computer however, it’s best to have it
custom configured for your needs. This writer recommends UNION BUILT PC

(https://unionbuiltpc.com/).

This U.S. – based company uses unionized, U.S. American labor to assemble their
products. Their machines are priced very competitively with those of the major

manufacturers who use off-shore factories in Asia. You can purchase a new
computer with an Intel Pentium 4 3 Ghz processor, 512 MB of DDR RAM, 80 GB

hard drive, 52X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Windows XP Pro operating system
installed for $1018, and includes an optical mouse, enhanced keyboard and stereo

speakers. That is nearly $70 less than the lowest-priced, overseas-manufactured
name brand, which does not include mouse, keyboard nor speakers. Union Built PC

offers a one-year warranty on its computers, and has additional products and
business-related services available. The base price of their machines starts at $825,

and a “wizard” is available on their website that enables you to add upgrades and
see the price difference in real time.