Actually, I agree with almost everything that you guys have said. I once bought a HP multifunction copier/printer/fax machine on ebay (out of warranty) and when the sheet feeder stopped working they sent me a new one within 3 days, no questions asked.

There is a difference between home and business both in quality and in cost. If you do buy a great deal on ebay, though, it just makes sense to see what is "under the hood" to see if there are any parts that could/need to be changed out for better performance, then factor that in before you buy. I screwed up in that I didn't do that with either the monitor or the computer, both of which were problematic. Sometimes on ebay folks unload these lemmons...

Let me make myself clear- I buy from HP frequently. I love their printers and scanners in particular. Their computers could sometimes be improved quality-wise.

For laptops I like Dell; for desktops I personally like Dell and Gateway. I never have had to go "business" with these companies to get quality. I also frequently use the ebay "bare bones" computers ( http://search.ebay.com/barebone ) to upgrade some of my computers to add speed, power, and quality (cost is $300 to $400 including RAM memory). You just swap out the drives from your old machine; everything else is already installed.

One thing that I disagree on is that a client/server setup will "fix everything". If one has a bad LAN connection, a bad server, or whatever, it might tolerate a bit more hardware issues, but you still will eventually end up with corrupted data. As always, on the client/server vs file/server setup one has to balance cost with power. If you're willing to get your hands dirty a little bit, you can go for cost savings and file/server setup.
[Linked Image from wipo.int]
The other thing that I semi-disagree with is with over-reliance on IT professionals. At first, do use them to set stuff up. It's always a good idea to have a notebook where you write down the problem, then write the solution. It seems that the same problems recur over and over and over again. You'll see that before long, you'll be able to solve almost all of your problems in-house. If you call the guy everytime, you'll end up broke! Also- don't forget to use Google. Google is your friend! It can give you professional pictures, explanations, and how-to advice for free.

Cheers,
Al

Last edited by alborg; 03/09/2008 12:25 AM.