What to Buy

What Computing Device to buy? 

Before you buy a device it is important to answer the question: what do you want to do with it? Do you want to do something that you can’t do with your current device? 

A related and equally important question is, “Do you mainly consume information, or consume and create information? 

Perhaps I can illustrate this with documenting what I do, and perhaps want to do, with computing devices. 

My current activities with different devices and what criteria led me to those choices. 

My activities and use of technology cannot be met with one device.

For some, depending on what they do, or need to do with a device, one device may work. 

Tablets and smartphones have the additional challenge of smaller screens and integrating keyboards and pointing devices such as mice, trackpads, pens, and touch screens. 

So, I end up with a kitchen sink approach: Windows PCs, Chromebook, Linux PCs, iPhone, iPad, and a Kindle Fire tablet. Hopefully, you will not need all of these choices!

Definitions 

Personal Computer: I am referring to a Windows PC, desktop or laptop; or a Mac, desktop or laptop; or a Chromebook, desktop or laptop. 

Smartphone: I am referring to either an Android phone, or iPhone. 

Tablet: I am referring to devices larger than a Smartphone, smaller than a laptop, usually with the keyboard “on the screen” using touch. iPads, Android tablets, and Kindle Fire tablets, are examples. 

Communications 

Perhaps my number one use of technology is to communicate with others. This translates into applications: 

● Email - one to one, one to many, many to one communication ○ Personal computers - Windows, Mac, Chromebooks 

○ Smartphones - Android or Apple (iPhone) 

○ Tablets - iPad, Android, Kindle Fire 

● Texting - one to one, one to many, many to one communication ○ Usually Smartphones 

○ Can be integrated into other devices 

■ Windows PC and Chromebooks can integrate with

Android Smartphones 

■ Apps such as Google Voice work on multiple devices 

■ All Apple devices (phone, tablet, PC) can send and 

receive texts. 

● Social Media 

○ Facebook - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ○ Twitter - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ○ Reddit - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ○ Instagram - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ● Audio and Video meetings

○ Zoom - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ○ Skype - Personal computers, Smartphones, and Tablets ○ Etc 

Basic Website Use 

● Shopping 

● News 

● Search for information 

● Watching videos 

● Listening to music 

Finances 

Most of my financial management is electronically based now. ● Online Bank access 

○ Bill pay 

○ Access statements 

○ Money transfers 

○ Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook access via Web using a Web Browser 

● Smartphone or Tablet access via a mobile application from an app store 

● Tax filing I use Turbotax on a PC 

○ Web access can be done 

○ This is one function that may be better suited for a Windows PC or Mac based on the complexity of your tax return. 

● Financial Tracking - the choice of an application may drive device selection 

○ Spreadsheets 

■ Cloud solution - Google Sheets, most all devices can 

access and edit 

■ Microsoft Office 365 - might be best on a Windows PC ■ Microsoft Office one time purchase, might also be best on a Windows PC

■ Free apps 

● Mac included “Numbers” app 

● LibreOffice “Calc”, Windows PC, and Mac 

○ Software such as Quicken may work best on Windows PCs or Mac, and not on a Chromebook 

○ Monitoring stock market 

Photo and Video Management 

This is one of the most important functions to think about when buying devices. How do you take photos and videos? 

● Smartphone 

○ iPhones integrate best with Macs 

○ Android phones integrate best with Windows PCs 

● Digital Camera 

● Scan old photos 

Where do you store your photos? 

● “Locally” on a Personal Computer, Tablet, or Smartphone? ● Cloud storage such as 

○ Google Photos 

○ Google Drive 

○ iCloud 

○ OneDrive 

○ Others 

Do you edit photos and videos? 

● On smartphones 

● On Personal computers 

● In the Cloud 

How do you manage photos and videos? 

● On Personal computer 

● In the Cloud 

In my opinion, if you do a lot of work with Photos and Videos, you will need either a Windows PC, or an Apple Mac. Ifyou want more seamless integration between an iPhone, cloud storage, and a laptop or desktop PC, that points to thinking about a Mac desktop or laptop. 

If you have an Android phone, integration is better with Windows PCs. In general, a cloud solution such as Google Photos may work across device types better. Smartphones, both iPhones and Android phones can sync to Google Photos. It just depends on where you want your photos. I recommend not mixing cloud solutions for Photo and Video storage. 

Music and Podcasts - There is an app(s) for that 

Like Photos, how you use Music on your devices may influence the type of device you use. 

Decisions I made years ago are still driving what I can do today. I have thousands of songs on my Windows PC. I manage them with iTunes, because some time ago I bought an iPod. iTunes integrated with the iPod well, so that is what I used. Now I have an iPhone, and still use iTunes to sync music to the iPhone. 

For a time I had an Android phone, no iTunes integration. So, that was one of the reasons I switched to an iPhone. 

Locally stored music would also integrate well between an iPhone and a Mac. 

The way we listen to music has changed. We now have streaming music choices versus needing to purchase and store music on your device. If that is the way you listen to music, then the device you use usually does not really matter.

Content Creation (Documents, Spreadsheets, or Slide Presentations) 

Many of you probably do not create a lot of content, you probably consume content created by others. 

If you do create content, like I am doing with this document, there are several choices that also can influence your choice of devices to create that content. 

The first question I think to consider is: 

“Do you want to use Office solutions (Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Slides) that are cloud hosted solutions, or applications that are installed on your device?” 

If you go with cloud solutions such as Google Doc, Sheets, and Slides, that I am using with this document; then device selection is more open. 

If you want to have content created and available locally on the device, then that probably points to a Windows PC or a Mac. 

Mac offers free built-in software: Pages, Numbers, Keynote. For Windows you can subscribe to Office 365, Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Or you can purchase Office 2021, one time license. 

LibreOffice, a free open-source alternative to Office, provides: Writer, Calc, and Impress.

Desktop or Laptop 

A good place to start when you are thinking about a new PC, is do you need a desktop computer or a laptop computer? 

It is an easy answer if you are happy with one or the other right now. Things to consider: 

● Desktop computers offer more “bang for the buck” 

● Desktop computers usually have a longer life span 

● Multiple types are available 

○ Tower, mini-tower, and small form factor 

■ Need to add monitor, keyboard, and mouse 

■ Lots of ports and easy to add new memory 

○ All-in-one 

■ Monitor and the “guts of the PC” are in one device 

■ One cord powers it 

■ Takes up less desktop space 

● Laptops have a range of types 

○ Clamshell (Apple and Windows) 

○ 2-in-one (Windows) 

■ Screen folds over to use as a tablet 

■ Or screen detaches from keyboard to use as a tablet 

○ Various sizes, 11”- 17” 

○ Touch screens, some with pen input (Windows) 

● And, of course, they are portable 

● Can be used with separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse (vs. built-in trackpad) 

Windows or Mac 

This is an easy decision if you have one or the other now, and do not like change. 

One thing to consider, especially for Windows is the Windows Operating System you are coming from: Windows 7 or Windows 10?

Windows 11 has been released and should come with any new Windows PC. Some, especially close out sales might come with Windows 10. The upgrade is free. Windows 10 will be supported until  October 2025. 

If you are considering change, here are some things to consider between Windows and Mac. 

Windows PCs 

Devices: 

● There is a wide range of vendors 

○ HP 

○ Dell 

○ Lenovo 

○ Acer 

○ Asus 

○ Samsung 

○ Etc 

● There is a wide range of device types and features 

○ Various sizes of Desktop PCs 

○ Some with Touch screens 

○ Various form factors for laptops 

■ Clamshell 

■ 2-in-1 

■ Touch screen and pen input on some models 

● Wide range of prices available 

○ Budget 

○ Mid-range 

○ High-end (gaming and graphics systems) 

● Large list of compatible software supported (some specialized software may only run on Windows or “run better” on Windows) ● Windows is the most popular Operating System used on PCs

Mac PCs 

Mac Desktops and Laptops do come from one vendor, Apple. That approach, sometimes referred to as a “Walled Garden” allows tighter integration between the hardware, Operating System, and software. Mac offers: 

Built-in Software 

● Office automation 

○ Pages (word processing) 

○ Numbers (spreadsheet) 

○ Slideshow maker 

○ Keynote (slide presentation) 

○ Photos 

○ iMovie 

○ Mail 

● Tight integration with other Apple products 

○ iPhone 

○ iPad 

Cost of ownership vs initial cost 

Mac desktops and laptops mostly cover the mid-range and high-end market—as a result they can be higher priced, certainly compared to budget and mid-range Windows PCs. However, if you factor in the life span expected from Macs vs PCs; Macs usually last longer and hold their resale value longer. 

Chromebooks 

Chromebook are a newer entry in the overall PC market. If your computing requirements can be met, then they are a lower cost, viable choice for many people. We have information on our website: https://bit.ly/sctc-home if you are interested, and a short YouTube video linked on the website home page.

Linux 

If you are interested in saving an old PC from the recycle bin, then Linux is something to think about. We have information about Linux on our website, https://bit.ly/sctc-home and a short YouTube video linked on the website home page. 

Summary 

So, a lot to consider. If you can get an idea of answers to the above, then we can work with you to go through options that make sense. 

A good article from Consumer Reports: 

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/laptops-chromebooks/buying-guide/in dex.htm