How To Buy A Little Computer

Walk into a store, plunk your money down, and carry it out under your arm.

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Here's the problem with buying a personal business computer: They're still new enough that most of the people who know what you need are making the machines, not selling them. And the people selling them have only just begun to realize that you're not interested in playing Space Invaders or balancing your personal checkbook.

There are two parts to getting your money's worth out of a personal business computer. You need to know how to operate the machine, and you need to know enough about business to get it to do what you want. Computer salesmen know how to operate the machines, but they don't know much about business. (If they did, they wouldn't be selling them.) "The problem I had," says George J. George, president of Global Mortgage Corp. in Pittsburgh, "was that the typical computer salesman had a hell of a time relating. They would say, 'This machine will do your general ledger.' I'd respond, 'I don't need a general ledger,' and they'd go away."

What makes personal business computers different is that they are easy to operate. With the right software and a couple of hours, anybody can get the machine to do what he wants. And the machines are so cheap now that it's often worth buying one just to find out what they are capable of.

Every personal business computer consists of essentially the same components: a microprocessor that executes the instructions you give it and holds between 32,000 and 64,000 bytes (a byte is roughly equivalent to one character) of working memory; one or two disk or tape drives to transfer stored information and programs into the working memory; a video monitor so you can see what you're doing; and a printer to make paper copies of the results of your work. On page 56, we've put together a guide to the models of personal business computers that cost under $5,000 and can be bought off the shelf with a good range of software.

All computer hardware, even minicomputers and mainframes, is essentially the same. To get comfortable with the machines, think of them as glorified television sets. Some TVs are better than others, but they all tend to provide a usable picture with sound at competitive prices. Computers, likewise, are all built from the same, though remarkably complex, electronic stuff.

What does differentiate computers is after-sale support. Manufacturers of bigger computers can afford to provide onsite repairs and maintenance and extensive training and software assistance. But when you buy a computer for less than $5,000, you can't expect much more than the machine and a handshake. If the computer breaks, you'll probably have to carry it under your arm back to the store for repairs. And you'll have to depend on manuals and a few telephone calls to figure out how to make the software work.

When deciding what you want to use the computer for, keep in mind how much time you can afford to lose to repairs. "At worst case, my business could suffer through a one-week downtime," says Global Mortgage's George, who uses a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model II to keep track of his mortgages. "If that ever happens, I know other people who have purchased similar machines and will let me run my programs on theirs in a pinch. The computer store will also allow me to run software in an emergency."

There are three ways to get yourself into computing without losing much time or composure:

1. BUY ONE AND TRY IT. The fact is that personal business computers are pretty cheap, so just pick one of the computers listed in our guide and buy it. With the new programs that are available and their well-written manuals, it should take only a couple of hours to figure out whether you can really use the machine. If you decide you can't, you can probably sell the machine and get half your money back. (Or you can always give it to your kids and write it off.) "For less than the price of an automobile," says Gary Richard, owner of a Budget Rent A Car agency in Madison, Wis., "I put a piece of equipment in service that could do as much for generating revenues as a car, if not more."

The first step in buying a personal business computer unassisted is to decide on one activity that you've always wanted to accomplish in your business (other than general accounting) but haven't because it was too much trouble to do manually. For instance, have you always wanted to set up a cross-referenced master file of your customers and their preferences? Or to forecast your sales and expenses for three different economic scenarios? Once you've decided on an activity, figure out which program will handle it.

If you can identify a program that will handle your activity, find out which brand of computer will accept it without any modifications. Then find a hearby store that sells and services that brand. Walk into the store and buy what you need: Once you've decided on a brand, the major problem is getting the right printer. You'll have to pay more for the printer if you want reports that look professional. Don't let a demonstration of the computer deter you, even if you end up confused and embarrassed. Take it back to your office in the box and set it up according to the manuals. It's about as easy as setting up a stereo system; you've just got to connect the different components. Then stick the disk or tape in, turn it on, and start fooling around according to the software's manual.

One alternative to the buy-and-try-it method is becoming more common. Some retailers are letting customers take a machine back to the office on a trial basis by renting or leasing it. That way, if the machine doesn't do what you want, you can return it to the dealer having spent only a month or two's rent to find out.

2. GET SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS TO BUY IT FOR YOU. This method is more expensive than doing it yourself because you have to pay for somebody else's expertise on top of the cost of the machine. But the extra expense pays off if you want to use the computer for an activity that is critical to your business, particularly if you want to try to put all of your accounting on a small computer.

You can find a good consultant through local computer clubs, by asking business people who already own a computer, or by getting references from local retailers. Be sure that the consultant knows about personal business computers and the software, and isn't tied either to big computers or to any one brand.

The consultant will spend anywhere from one day to several weeks studying your business requirements (depending on how far you want to go with the machine) and will give you several concrete alternatives. The cost will vary from $50 an hour to flat fees well over $1,000, and typically includes purchase and installation of the computer and a month's worth of handholding.

3. GO TO SCHOOL. Whichever way you decide to go, it's probably a good idea to get some instruction just to gain confidence about computers and to learn some jargon. (And it's a real ego boost to talk to a computer nut, during a cocktail party, about Boolean searches, even if you still don't understand what they are.)

Computer courses range from general overviews that introduce you to the basic concepts and some common terminology all the way to advanced programming courses that teach you how to talk to a computer in its own language. Classes can last from a couple of days to several weeks or months, and cost from $200 to $2,000. If you're interested in buying a personal business computer, your best bet is probably a computer literacy course or an introduction to data processing that's sponsored by a reliable organization or taught by somebody who is recommended by a friend or business associate you trust.

There will always be some people who don't even want to hear about computers. But the price and usefulness curves have finally reached a point where many doubtters can be pushed over the edge. "The average businessman has no idea how a typewriter works," says Gordon Vickers, formerly senior systems analyst at the ADE Corp. in Newton, Mass. "Still, millions of typewriters are sold every year. These small business computers (ADE has at least 15 Commodore CBMs) are very much the same. Once you've identified those tasks that need computerization and have found software that will handle those tasks, the rest is easy and the financial exposure is minimal."