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Get the Computer You Want (and Then Some)

Posted on: Monday, 26 September 2005, 15:00 CDT

When my old Dell laptop that originally cost $2,700 was stolen a few months ago, I collected the near-microscopic insurance payout and went to Fry's to look around.

I didn't have a clue what to buy.

At that time, my understanding about computer-buying was about as impressive as my understanding about the characteristics of the Komodo dragon.

And, I must say, both the computer and the dragon seemed equally daunting. So, demoralized, I slunk home to brood about this task.

Because I'm a journalist and educator always on the go, I needed certain components: to begin with, at least two USB ports for my "flash drive" that keeps me sane while I'm running from job to job, interview to interview, school or PC Caf computer to my home computer.

That began my want list.

I've wanted a flat screen monitor ever since the Internet PC Club in Gardena installed them in their expansion. And I recalled how I coveted a friend's Plexiglas Mac -- it was so fashion-forward. I also wanted a DVD driver.

Because, I guess, I live on the cusp of the virtual Dark Ages, I have floppy discs dating back to, well, the Dark Ages.

And because the information from them, which had been copied onto the hard drive of my now non-existent laptop, was no longer available, I needed a floppy drive to resurrect it.

I felt pretty smug about having compiled this information until a week later when I re-visited a big-box electronics store, approached a salesman with it -- and realized I'd better look elsewhere.

That's when I consulted a colleague, Casey Kemp, who teaches information technology and is a computer industry consultant and business owner. Casey thinks the Dark Ages occurred when people lacked access to custom computing.

After that, I approached Bi-Pro Computers in El Segundo with my list, and the experts built me an I/O intensive "White Box" (unbranded) Plexiglas tower replete with a DVD driver and burner, four USB ports, and, yes, a floppy drive although few computer fabricators add them anymore.

There is a see-through plastic keyboard and Plexiglas mouse. Bi- Pro couldn't find a Plexiglas PC monitor, so I had to settle for a silver-framed one.

As an added accoutrement, Bi-Pro, understanding my interests, added a neon strip to the tower.

I now own the most fashion-forward computer of all my colleagues, and have become a devotee of stores that build them to an individual's specifications.

What did all this cost? Because I mainly need applications for word processing, not for anything exotic, it came in at about the same price as I would have paid for a middle-of-the-road model at a major electronics retailer -- $980.

Doretta Zemp is a contributing writer and sociology professor at University of Phoenix Southern California.

Source: Daily Breeze

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