I lurk and post from work. I'm a programmer analyst of Big Iron. I use a PC at work, but haven't had one at home since the last 386 I put together from parts that I ran with DOS 3.3. I use Windows 95 at work on a 90 Mhz Pentium (log on to TSO via a software product called attachmate).

I'm thinking about buying a new or used personal computer for home use. Mostly internet use. Some word processing. Some getting back into the PC swing of things.

What would you recommend as an "at least" or "optimal" PC platform.

Which operating system would you recommend? There are so many versions of windows out there, I'm not sure which one to go with.

I'm thinking of EITHER going the cheaper, used route, OR buying something new and nice that won't break my budget. My biggest concern is which operating system to go with. Also, can I trust a new vendors Y2K compliancy claims for the hardware? I don't want to spend a lot of money now just to have a non Y2K compliant boat anchor in five months! I don't have a boat! The idea of being on hold with hundreds of thousands of other people waiting to be told what operating system "fix" to get and apply doesn't sound like fun either!

HELP!!

-- Relic (Doesntmatter@here.now), August 06, 1999

Answers

Buy a Mac. (time to start the flames)

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 06, 1999.

If you're not familiar with the pros and cons, and don't actually NEED the thing (from the sound of your post), why the heck would you be buying one now?

I'd think you could find other things to do with the money, and in five months you'll know exactly what works and what doesn't! Shucks, we'll all know lots more in five months, give or take.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), August 06, 1999.

Macs RULE ! Test drive one first to see which you like better. For Netting the iMac is awesome! Get the newest version. If you want to tinker and add, buy the new G3. New operating system upgrades every 6 months, and have been Y2K compliant all along. *Major* new operating system coming out soon.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 06, 1999.

Relic:

I have a boat. Now I know what to do with those two window's machines that I converted to paperweights in April. Maybe they will hold me over my favorite fishing spot.....

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 06, 1999.

If you buy a Mac, no problem

If you buy a new PC, however have the seller verify the date of the BIOS.

Other than that there isn't much you can do but "trust" Microsoft that they are compliant. You must download any updates to the patch for Win98 if you don't have the 2nd Edition, but you best double check anyways.

The rest of your software most likely depends on your BIOS's Date, So don't sweat it if you don't need a date driven application.

Father

-- Thomas G. Hale (hale.tg@att.net), August 06, 1999.

Just have the salesperson demo the Y2K compliancy of the system you buy.

DJ

-- DJ (reality@check.com), August 06, 1999.

Another Mac vote here. After much research and jumping back and forth over the fence trying to decide between PC or Mac.......I decided that I'd rather cast my $$$$ with an operating system whose programmers realized *years* ago that the century would end.

Another reason that I like Apple is that they build the machine AND write the operating system AND have control of many software applications that are used......therefore you get a system that has a greater chance of running properly. After hearing horror stories from PC friends.....it wasn't a choice really.

Dusty (who has little tolerance for machines that don't work)

-- Dusty (dustmoopp@aol.com), August 06, 1999.

Dusty:

I use Mac, Windows and Unix. I don't know what you mean about Windows horror stories. Those are not horror stories. Those are factual accounts.....

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 06, 1999.

>> I'm thinking of EITHER going the cheaper, used route, OR buying something new and nice that won't break my budget. My biggest concern is which operating system to go with. <<

Look into Linux. It is fully Y2K compliant, free, will run on a 486 or even a 386, and is perfectly good for Internet access or word processing. The "real" price of Linux is the learning curve for a new OS. It has a lot of freeware, but it is nerd-friendly freeware rather than newbie-friendly. No MS Word clones. Instead you get emacs.

If you are already familiar with DOS, the UNIX-like environment of Linux will seem vaguely familiar (DOS borrowed heavily from UNIX). At least you can't beat the dollar-cost of Linux, if you are cost conscious!

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), August 06, 1999.

I have met many Windows-only users who believe it is "just as good as a Mac". I have never met a Windows user who had extensive experience with a Mac, who would make such a remark. I have encountered several Windows users who used Windows at work but for their own personal work used exclusively Macs at home, and preferred the Mac. I have never met a Mac user who voluntarily switched to Windows. The Mac computers will crash and freeze occasionally, but apparently far less often than the Windows computers. The phrase "plug and play" actually has meaning in the Mac world. In the Windows world I am told it translates as "plug and pray." There are many PC software and hardware consultants, billing hours regularly to keep PCs running. It is quite difficult to find a similar Mac consultant, because there is not much call for their services. (This is what is called a "hint".) My Mac G3 PowerBook will have a date problem not in 2000 but in some year like 29,400 or something. If I am still alive 27,000 years from now I will start worrying then. Software: Office 2000, just released, uses 2-digit years and a user-selectable 100 year window, according to what I have read. This is an outrage, if true. It is a product for the Windows world, written by Microsoft. This is another hint.

-- Joseph R. Whaley (whaley@attorney-us.com), August 06, 1999.

Same as the rest. Get a Mac.

-- (Macs@are.the.best), August 06, 1999.

Joseph

You have a G3 portable? I am envious.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 06, 1999.

Macintosh, compliant from the start. I LOVE my G-3! Faster than a speeding bullet! If the power's on....

Bwaaaa-hahahahahah!

-- mommacares (harringtondesignX@earthlink.net), August 06, 1999.