Back to School Computer Time
by Gary Woods

First, you have to decide whether you want a notebook or a desktop. If you take notes in class on the notebook pay particular attention to the battery life. Next, how fast a processor do you want? If all you're doing is writing papers then a 2.0GHz processor or slower is plenty. If you're rendering 3D graphics then think about a 2.8GHz Pentium 4.

Hard Drives tend to get filled up so I would go for a minimum of 40 Gigabytes and think about a 60 Gigabyte drive. For RAM I would suggest getting the upgrade to 512 Meg.

To connect to the Internet a lot of colleges have wireless Wi-Fi systems running on campus but you should really check with the institution and specifically the dorm if you’re staying on campus. Ask them how the students connect to the Internet and what they suggest.

I recommend getting a DVD/CD-RW burner. The blank CD-Rs are really inexpensive and it's a great way to archive files.

If you go with a desktop a 17" monitor is a must, and if you go with a notebook then somewhere around a 14.1 or 15 screen would be good.

If you're using a Windows bas.ed system I would definitely recommend getting Windows XP Pro. There have been a lot of reports of students showing up with XP Home and then not being able to hookup to the campus network.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910