How to Buy the Wrong Laptop

… or any other computer, for that matter.

As usual, I had several calls over the holidays asking me for recommendations on buying a new computer. This year, all the requests related to laptops. What these callers want is for me to give them the technical specifications they need in order to do what they want to do with the computer.

Now in the good old days, these calls were needed. Over and over I’d encounter people who had bought a computer to run some piece of software, only to find that their new machine wasn’t up to the task.

But those days are largely dead and gone. Provided you aren’t trying to run software for the wrong operating system–and I do encounter this–you’re probably not going to have a problem. The exception is if you are using specialized software, such as CAD or other graphics intensive applications. If you’re installing something on your business network, you need to be careful, and calling in a specialist is probably a good idea. It will save you money.

But for personal use, and especially when you’re buying a laptop for your personal use, it’s unlikely that any of the machines you pick up off the shelf of your local computer retailer, or select off of one of the major web sites, will fail to run the software you need it to.

I’m happy to confirm this in a phone call, don’t get me wrong. The problem here is not that you’re bothering me with your calls. The problem is the part that people often ignore–the human element.

I was asked, for example, whether a Netbook would “work” for a certain client of mine. “I really don’t know,” I had to tell her. “Go to the store, put your fingers on the keyboard, play with it, look at the screen, ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable doing that for a couple of hours, or however long you anticipate using the device at a time.”

It used to be that meeting those technical specs was the hard part, and then we would live with the human element. Now you will generally find that your technical needs are met, at least if you’re like the vast majority of people, so you need to think about comfort and enjoyment.

What this means is that you need to go look at the computer in question. For example, I would be comfortable with a Netbook for most of my activities. But that’s meaningless. You need to find out how your fingers fit on the keyboard. Are you cramped? Bring up a web site on the screen. Do you squint?

The bottom line is that you need to think of your purchase more as a tool and less as an exotic technical device. We may imagine we’ve gotten used to the computer, but there are still many people who think it’s exotic.

It’s time for your computer to be comfortable for you.

Related articles

• Laptop, Netbook or Tablet: 7 Questions to Ask Before You Buy (pcworld.com)
• 5 Things To Consider Before Buying A Netbook (makeuseof.com)
• How to Find and Buy a Budget Laptop (brighthub.com)
• Finding a Linux Powered Laptop: A Buyers Guide to Linux (brighthub.com)