Giving computers a longer life

Nothing becomes obsolete faster than computers. What you would have thought as a ‘decent' buy could look ridiculous in just months. Walking into a retail store and enquiring about an ‘ideal' configuration might not help. The store would be more interested in getting stocks off their racks than giving you a computer or laptop with a configuration that may last a couple of years.I was in for a surprise when I walked into a retail chain that specialises in electronic and electrical products. On display were several computers, especially all-in-ones (the ones with huge screens that have CPUs built into them) — and most of them had 2 GB RAM and Intel i3 processors. Well, it is not really a bad configuration, but may start sounding dated in two months and be obsolete in six. How fast computers become obsolete? I bought my first one more than a decade ago. Most of my friends had computers with 32 MB RAM (yes, 32 MB, and I am not joking). One of them had a computer that had ‘double' the power — with 64 MB RAM, and he had bought it almost a year earlier. I did not know much about computers then. He advised me: Go for something double the size. I agreed, but many computer dealers tried to dissuade me. “What are you going to do with 128 MB? It's a waste of money,” they said. I had to put my foot down. Finally, one dealer agreed to give me 128 MB and also offered me a generous 40 GB storage. “This will last you a lifetime,” he assured me. I agreed and bought one with 128 MB RAM and 40 GB hard disk. Just within two years, my computer began to ‘compute' slower than me. I would click on the browser icon, and sit before it for one full minute staring at the animated hourglass. I would get fed up, go around the house doing nothing for one more minute and come back. The browser would have just opened and it would require at least 30 seconds more to get fully ready. Opening a photo would again require at least three minutes (there was hardly any digital camera worth it when I bought the computer, and the photos were shot in a 1 MP camera), and videos took at least 15 minutes (that's for only opening the video. It would slowly progress in fits and starts). This was more irritating as I was used to the computers in my office that seemed to do these within seconds. I thought increasing the RAM would help things. I went to a dealer and asked for 2 GB RAM. “Will your computer support it,” he asked and wanted to know the configuration. He almost fell off the chair when I said I had 128 MB RAM. If you don't want to be in a similar situation in just two years, invest in a computer with 4 GB RAM and i7 processor. Shouldn't i5 be enough (remember, there is an i3 also available)? Yes, an i5 is enough — but only for now. If you don't want to curse yourself after two years like I did, it is better to go in for i7. With everyone having digital cameras and mobiles with high-end cams, it is better to go for at least 500 GB storage. Even this is conservative. There is nothing wrong in spending a little more and getting one with 1TB hard disk. After all this, one mistake many people make is to not checking whether the computer has an operating system installed (look for that smallest of small prints that ‘convey' this information). Computers without OS may cost less, but you have to be prepared to shell out more. Computers WILL become obsolete, there is nothing you can do about it, but by being more careful, and also by spending a little more, you can at least, give it longer life.