Industry Aims to Make PC a Household Word : Technology: With the corporate market about tapped out, computer makers are targeting individual consumers with less costly, more powerful and easier to use units.
With a flick of a switch and a click of a key or two, today’s families can balance their checkbooks, message friends around the world, compose music, even study mating calls of exotic birds.
The technological advances in personal computers have made all this and much more possible. Yet only a third of the 96 million U.S. households are plugged into that world.
Many of the unplugged confess that they are scared by the sight of a “mouse,” not to mention a keyboard, monitor and modem. They are perplexed by the techno-jargon of bits, bytes, baud, RAM, ROM and DOS.
Part of the problem lies with the computer industry, which in the past catered mainly to experienced commercial users. Individuals were dismissed as “dead-end” users, a term technicians used for the painfully obvious questions novices could pose.
But that has rapidly changed as high-tech firms, nearing a saturation point in the corporate market, turn to consumers as a source of business. The technology has also made computers more powerful for less money.
“The PC industry has historically never really addressed consumers,” said Rick Martin, director of product marketing for Compaq Computer Corp. “We have to tell our story to the people . . . and explain all the benefits of having a PC in the first place. Then we have to provide the technology to do those things.
“Our goal is to go after the two-thirds of the households that don’t have a computer.”
To tap into that market, Compaq has been heavily marketing its Presario PC brand, unveiled last summer with individuals and small businesses in mind. It includes all-in-one units that require no assembly, a software program that organizes computer files like a notebook and easy-to-read manuals.
Gateway 2000, a mail-order company, has been “advertising in magazines that we have never advertised in before--more consumer-oriented magazines,” said Wendell Watson, a company spokesman.
Consequently, he said, sales have been brisk for its recently introduced Family PC, which comes equipped with a multimedia package that includes a CD-ROM player and speakers that allow users to both see and hear information from their software programs.
Other companies, including industry leaders like IBM Corp. and Apple Computer Inc., have made their equipment easier to use and more fun to operate. Their lightweight laptop PCs pack the same punch as the larger desktop PCs but can be used just about anywhere.
Improved software has helped. A standard installation now in many machines is the Windows program created by Microsoft Corp., which lets users point to on-screen pictures to tell the computer what to do.
Windows has made it easier to work with a computer’s disk operating system, or DOS, the cumbersome foundation software that tends to the basic functioning of all IBM-compatible computers.
“The technology has come a long way in a relatively short time. You can do so much with your PC,” said Lawrence J. Magid, author of “The Little PC Book,” written for novices.
While the technology has leaped, prices have fallen. Today, a fast, well-equipped PC can be purchased for $1,200 to $2,000, with portable units costing about a third more than desktop units.
About a year ago, the average PC sold for about $3,000. Four years ago, it cost about $5,000.
The normal reaction may be to wait until technological advances bring down prices even more. But Magid’s book recommends: “If you need a computer now, buy one. If you wait a year or two, you’ll save money or wind up with a more powerful system, but think of the opportunities you’ll have missed.”
Magid says the safest bet is to avoid both the ultra-high-end models and last year’s leftovers. “You should try to buy as much technology as you can afford. . . . It’s sometimes more expensive to upgrade,” he added in a recent interview.
Before shopping, decide what you want a PC for: Will it be used mainly as a word processor for occasionally working at home? To organize family finances? Help with your children’s homework? Play games? Perhaps a little of each?
The initial choice boils down to either an IBM-compatible PC or an Apple Macintosh. Either will do the job; the main difference is that each uses its own proprietary software and the IBM standard is more prevalent. (Apple has recently introduced Macintoshes that are IBM-compatible, however.)
While it is not necessary to fully understand a computer’s components to run one, it is helpful to become familiar with basic functions to make a more educated choice.
You will need to know two key things: a PC’s power and its memory capacity.
The power, or main computing work, comes from the microprocessor chip, the computer’s brain. IBM-compatibles operate on the 8086-80486 family of chips or the new Pentium chip by Intel Corp. A chip’s ability to process data depends on the level of megahertz. The higher the number, the faster the processing speed.
Each PC has random-access memory, or RAM, which is where the computer stores programs and files in use. It also contains what is known as a hard disk, which acts as a warehouse by holding all data. Storage capacity is expressed in megabytes, with one megabyte storing 1 million characters. Again, the higher the number, the more information can be handled and the more you can do with your PC.
