Martin and Computers


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So...I'll bet the chances are that you got your computer for Christmas, perhaps because you've heard all the stuff about the INTERNET and surfing the 'net. Well, you must have gotten there because here you are... Have you begun to ask yourself the above question yet? Bet you have. Bet you went into one of those big superstores, listened to what the man had to say, and came out 2 hours later, two grand lighter, with two big boxes to show for it.		PC Plus Computer Active IT for All whatis?.com Webopaedia IBM Redbooks

When you got it home, what did you do? Get it out of the box? Good. Read the manual? Not if it was close to Christmas. Plug it all together? Congratulations if you got it right first time. Now - did you switch it on, hoping that you'd be surfing by tea-time? Ha! Sorry, but that's the normal sequence of events. (I include my own experiences in here too.) If you did, and you were surfing by teatime, you're in the minority. Putting a computer system together is one thing; getting it up and running is another - even for those of us who like to call ourselves "professionals". Installing peripherals (modems, printers etc.), installing and configuring software (you mean the store didn't do it for you?) and getting it all running sweetly is not a task to be undertaken lightly.		Great Download sites WinDrivers Driverguide Download.com Microsoft Downloads My Pages My Psion Page My Pocket PC Page My Dell Page My Siemens Page

And remember, you've probably made one of the largest purchases since the nicam tv and video with surround sound (and I'll bet that was installed by the store...). Really - think about it. Where else would you spend that amount of cash, and not expect to be given help and support from your supplier? OK. So you've surfed the net. Visited the numerous sites whose use is questionable. Found that 95% of the stuff on the net is crap. So now what do you do? Here are some suggestions.		Help Sites BBC Webwise
Buy some games. The PC is now the games machine of choice. It says so in all the magazines, including PC Plus, PC Gamer, and many others. (You did buy a Pentium 4 2.7Ghz with 6:1 surround-sound sound card and DVD ROM and DVD-RW and a 128Mb 3d graphics card, didn't you?). In all honestly there are some pretty good games out there - some are even educational as well. Seriously, take a look. Also, if you've a hobby, there could be a game out there to expand your horizons.

Create your own web site. Do like I did... learn some HTML, buy or acquire a web authoring program and use the free disc space your ISP so generously supplies.

Make contact with other people Look for others who share your interests - join some newsgroups. Avoid chat rooms.

Buy some serious software (or use whatever came with your machine) and do something useful. Actually, PC's are really very versatile. Invest some time in finding out just what you can do with a wordprocessor, database, spreadsheet, or desktop publishing program.

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