P.C. CORNER

As fall semester rolls around again, Harvard students turn their minds to buying their first, or a new, computer. Maybe you have one you'd like to upgrade. Here are some dos and don't's of computer purchasing, starting with reading this column:

.Don't always trust that new dormmate of yours from Oklahoma who tries to sell you his 8MHz IBM PC which weighs at a bit less than 50 pounds. "It's heavier so it can hold all the chips," he says. Yeah, right.

.Make clear to yourself how much you have to spend. Go into the store (or Technology Product Center show-room) knowing what financial resources you have on hand. Don't forget to set some money aside to buy peripherals (such as a CD-ROM drive or a printer) which may add extra costs.

.Don't get blasted away by the latest state-of-the-art models. There is no such thing as state-of-the-art in computers; technology changes too fast for anything to stay reasonably fresh and new for more than, say, two months. What is super today will surely become nothing spectacular (if not entirely obsolete) by the time you start working on the first draft of your fall Expos term paper.

.Have a clear idea what you will be doing with your PC. Why get a 66MHz 486 when all you need a computer for is word processing and playing SuperSuper Tetris? Why spend $1,000 on a 21-inch SuperVGA monitor when a normal 14-inch VGA monitor will suffices and makes better economic sense?

As a computer buyer I know how easy it is to contract the computer buyer's syndrome: falling in love with all the bells and whistles on display in a computer showroom and wanting to buy the best regardless of cost. But keep in mind that most Harvard students' computers are terribly under-used and they don't even realize it! Also, the money you save from buying a less expensive model (say, a 386SX or Macintosh Centris) may be spent on little goodies such as a CD-ROM drive later on.

.Don't waste tons of time deciding whether to buy a PC (one that uses an Intel microprocessor; often called an IBM-compatible or clone) or a Macintosh. The truth is today there really isn't much difference between the two. PCs used to be super-cheap; but now the price war in the personal computer industry has forced Apple to roll out several affordable models. Macs formerly were the only computers that were user-friendly; but a PC equipped with Microsoft Windows or IBM's OS/2 2.1 is just as easy to use.

.Consider purchasing a notebook computer. A note-book computer is a complete computer system you can carry in one hand. They may cost more than comparably equipped desktop systems, but not much more. What's best about them is that they are easy to store and are very portable. They also tend to be more solidly built than their desktop counterparts.

.Don't fall for a laptop. Laptops are older and heavier cousins of notebook computers. Although they look like notebooks, laptops weigh from eight to 18 pounds. Today they have been virtually replaced by notebooks, but some still sit on store shelves around and sell for irresistible prices. Avoid them. They are too heavy to travel with and too poorly equipped to be useful. And many of them can't run on batteries.

.Check out a computer carefully before you buy it, unless you are confident enough and want to save a few dollars buying mail-order. A computer still costs more than a bicycle or a pair of Bose speakers. So make sure it works the way you expect and you like it before writing the check or charging it on your just-acquired GM card.

.Don't let your friends have too much influence on your purchasing decision. Chances are, many of them know as much about computers as you (which, quite frankly, is not a heck of a lot, for the typical Harvard student). It's your money, and you should make the ultimate decision--and hopefully the above "rules" will help you make up your mind.

If you need more information about computers, ask around, but be sure to ask people who know what they are talking about. Helpful sources of information include the computer store salesperson (who, beware, may be quite dogmatic in his or her preferences), the Harvard Computer Society (their e-mail address is hcs@husc4) and their resourceful handbook, Computers at Harvard, and computer trade magazines such as Byte, PC Sources and Mac-World.

And for those of you who've been reading this column waiting for specific recommendations, here is your free list of Most Recommended Computer Models:

IBM PS/ValuePoint: reasonably priced desktop PCs from the Big Blue. Best of all, you get IBM's unbeatable customer service.

Compaq Contura: in my opinion PCs with the best values. Manufactured by a company you can trust.

Macintosh Performa: low-priced systems from still the only maker of the Macintosh. You get what Apple is always known for.

For notebook computers, check out the IBM ThinkPad, the Apple PowerBook, and those manufactured by Compaq.

Buying a computer shouldn't really be more difficult than choosing which courses to take or deciding whom to ask out to that Saturday a cappela concert. As long as you know what to look for and are willing to spend some time shopping around, you'll surely find a good deal and enjoy your next four years of college computing life.

Haibin Jiu '94, associate photography chair of The Crimson, is former president of the Harvard Computer Society. His column appears on the Science & Health page on alternate Tuesdays. For more help buying computers, or for answers to any other computer-related questions, write jiu1@husc.harvard.edu.