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Buy-by-Net Shopping

How I Found My Dream Machine Online

by Marlene Gaberel

 

READING Mike Kaltschnee's article last month (Yes, Mike, I do read your articles!) about advice on purchasing a computer, I realized I was right on target with his recommendations. I had been thinking about replacing my aging but still reliable 486 when I took myself off to PC Expo last June. After trolling the aisles for a while, I focused on three mail-order companies that looked like good prospects: Dell, Micron Electronics, and Gateway. Over the next five months I visited these companies' Web sites regularly to check out their products.

In the middle of November I finally succumbed. I decided that I really needed to keep up with technology, and that fall—with its colder days and more time spent indoors—was a perfect time to order a new computer. Another big reason was relief from my kids, who had been bugging me because they couldn't buy the newest and bestest computer games. Our faithful 486, it seems, couldn't meet the high minimum memory requirements of the software.

I had been slow to move from DOS programs to Windows 3.1. And true to form I never upgraded my 486 to Windows 95, even though I knew that 95 would provide me with other neat Web access features I had been eyeing: Java, shockwave, and real audio. I also wanted a faster modem to speed up access to the Web.

I first pointed my browser to the Dell site, where I discovered useful guidelines that helped me assemble a computer with the features I wanted. Unfortunately, some of the components I specified were incompatible. Familiar with the interrupts and conflicts issues on my 486, I moved right to the Micron site.

Micron also helped me put together a computer with the features I wanted, and within ten minutes of sending the request for my dream machine, I got an e-mail offer from the sales department asking for my fax number to confirm it. When their fax arrived, I called the salesperson and asked for a few modifications to my initial inquiry. These were promptly confirmed with another fax and another e-mail. I gave myself a day to think about the offer and then picked up the phone to make the purchase, saying "yes" to Micron's kind offer to deliver my new system for free!

One reason I chose to buy through the Internet is that I hated the thought of going to a national chain store and having to deal with a young clerk who would probably assume I knew nothing about computers and figure I would buy anything. Of course this same young clerk could not possibly remember that once upon a time using a 1200-baud modem in a world of 300 BPS to log onto a BBS somewhere across the country was incredibly fast, and that computers did not have hard disks.

My experience with the Micron sales staff was nothing but positive: The salesperson was never pushy, never talked down to me, and always answered my questions straightforwardly. I appreciated their professional attitude. I was not so happy about the slow delivery. Each day my sons would arrive home from school and ask if FedEx had come. When they finally did, it was a good two weeks later than Micron had promised. Of course I opened the cartons and hooked up all the components immediately, and within minutes had the computer up and running.

My first step was to set up the Internet connection. And then I … well, I surrendered the computers to the kids. I didn't plan it that way, but the delivery coincided with school vacation. Over the holiday period the kids played computer games. I figured any hardware problems would surface during that time of heavy use. They didn't.

Overall I'm pleased with our new computer. But now I need to learn more about Windows 95. How does the software work? I knew my 486 Windows 3.11 in and out but obviously didn't learn it overnight. So I'm going to take my time learning the new OS but also hope to speed the process by attending the Windows SIG, where I can ask as many questions as I like and learn all the shortcuts.


Marlene Gaberel is DACS' new assistant Webmaster and a regular contributor to the newsletter. Contact Marlene via e-mail at mgaberel@ct1.nai.net.

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