Accessorizing Computers
Accessorizing Computers
What Comes Out of the Box is a Really Just a Starter Kit
Yesterday, we spent about three hours trying to convince
a client of ours that brand new computers just don’t come equipped with all the things that most computers need on a PC. We tried to convince him that a fully
functional computer is one that is personalized with specially selected
hardware and software accessories - and that the computer purchased at the
store doesn’t come with these things. Unfortunately, all of our convincing was
to our avail. Our client insisted that he should never need more than what came
with his boxed product and that we were just trying “bilk” more money out of
him.
As computer consultants, it’s our job and mission to
make sure our clients are 100% satisfied when they walk out of our offices. But
our job is unnecessarily made harder when people don’t take the time to learn
about computer accessories and familiarize themselves with the limitations of
store-bought computers. Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this article,
you’ll understand the lesson that we were trying to teach our client: “What
comes out of the box is really just a starter kit.”
The typical computer package comes with a CPU unit,
keyboard, mouse, and speaker set. That may be just fine for some, but most
people require more than that especially in today’s “connected” society.
Today’s users require full multimedia capabilities, a wide range of graphics
tools, and accommodations for the various portables we now enjoy. These extras
aren’t included with “what comes out of the box,” and the only way to get them
is to accessorize.
To illustrate the importance of accessorizing, we like
to use the “plain dough” analogy. Let’s say that a brand new computer is a
batch of plain dough – waiting to be flavored and baked into something useful.
If we want to use this dough to make a delicious batch of chocolate chip
cookies, we would need to “accessorize” this dough with chocolate chips and a
little brown sugar. If we want to use this dough into in a warm loaf of sesame
seed bead, on the other hand, we’d need to “accessorize” the dough with yeast
and sesame seeds.
Like “plain dough,” the brand new computer isn’t very
useful by itself. It needs accessorizing.
Depending on what’s needed, accessorizing doesn’t need
to be expensive. In fact, you can get
away with paying a minimal amount for extra software and hardware if these
accessories are for children. It’s when these accessories are work requirements
or when they’re needed to produce works of quality for any other reason that
they can become rather expensive. And this expense applies to microphones,
digital cameras, PDAs, scanners, video cams, and more.
Regardless of cost, it’s important to understand that
accessories can become “necessities,” and that the best time to get them is the
moment you buy a new computer. Waiting too long to accessorize can cause more
problems than necessary because while you wait, manufacturers continuously
develop new technologies – technologies that your computer won’t be able to
accommodate in the future. Once you’re ready to accessorize, the new products
on the market are too advanced for your computer and they just won’t work. This
is a typical problem experienced by those who want to use hardware designed for
Windows Vista on a Windows XP or Windows 2000 machine.
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