So, what do you need to know before taking the plunge and buying a new PC? As always, I will try to cut through the mumbo jumbo and explain the important concepts in a way that the average person can understand.

Let's start where it really counts: how much will it cost? Bottom line, the typical business user will want to spend $800 to $1,200. More than that is overkill, unless you have very specialized or advanced needs like high-end video editing, multimedia development or ego inflation caused by spending more money than all your friends.

Now that you know how much you need to spend, how do you know which machine to buy? My advice is to stick with a known brand. Dell and Gateway both have great reputations and online deals. Insiders say that Toshiba is the most durable as far as wear and tear. For the education, art and media industries, Apple Computers are widely used and also have the advantage of being virtually immune from all the e-mail viruses that plague Windows computers. And, of course, we are all familiar with other popular brands like Sony and IBM.

The next thing to think about is size. All too often, people make a mistake by going for the big screens. Certainly it is nice to have a large monitor on your desktop computer and I can understand people that just want to have the "biggest and best." I did that with my first laptop, but have never made that error again.

It doesn't take long to figure out that whenever use your laptop, you have to lug it around in your backpack or briefcase. Therefore, when I bought my most recent laptop, I got the smallest and lightest one they made. It is less expensive, super light and I honestly never missed the bigger screen.

Ok, we have covered price, brand and size, but unfortunately you must still understand a few technical concepts before you will be completely prepared to choose the exact model and features best suited for your needs.

The first one is the computer's processor, which controls how fast the computer can literally process through complex operations. The numbers will be something like 2 Gigahertz, 4 Gig, etc. Again, unless you are doing super high-end stuff, having the absolute biggest number here isn't a big deal. And, any new computer will have a processor that will meet your needs. This is one place you can cut corners and save a few bucks. You don't need the biggest and fastest processor.

The next factor is called RAM memory, which controls how fast your computer responds to your actions and how many programs can be running at the same time. This is the number one component that has the ability of making your computer seem noticeably fast or slow. And this is one place to definitely not cut corners. You will see things like 256 Megs of Ram, 512M of Ram or even a Gig of Ram. Consider 256 the minimum and anything over 1 Gig to be overkill.

If you are not sure what a Meg or Gig or other abbreviation means, here is a list that explains these terms when relating to your computer's RAM or hard drive space.

k = kilobyte (k) 1000k = 1Megabyte (Meg or M) 1000M = 1 Gigabyte (Gig or G)

The third and final technical factor you must consider is the hard drive space. This type of memory is the raw storage of your computer. Typically, hard drive space ranges from 20 Gigs to 100s of Gigs or bigger. These days, 60 Gigs is considered better than average and that is a lot of space. In general, hard drive space is cheap so I usually recommend going for 40, 60 or 80 Gigs. That is more than enough for the average user and still leaves room to handle your downloaded MP3s!

Ok, I am going to wrap this up with the fun stuff: must-have features!

All laptops have CD drives, but you will want a CD drive with a DVD player and CD burner. It is just one drive that does it all, and many times it is called a combo drive. The burner lets you create CDs to hold information when backing up or sharing files and will also let you create music CDs from your downloaded MP3s. And the DVD player actually lets you play movies on your computer. I love this for plane rides, long car trips or times when you have to sit around and wait with nothing to do.

Next, be sure your laptop includes a built-in wireless card. With this, you can walk into Starbucks or anywhere else with a wireless hotspot and instantly be surfing the Net without plugging in. For less than $100 you can even set this up in your home. I love surfing the Net (I mean working) from the couch, back porch, bed ˜ wherever! You may be surprised to learn that there are quite a few wireless hot spots in Yuma.

Another essential, an Ethernet port is what allows you plug in a network cable. That is necessary to physically connect to any computer network or broadband connection. If you have DSL or cable at your home or office, you need one of these.

The last thing I'd recommend is to watch for package deals. As you shop around there will often be systems that come with other things you may want like a digital camera, printer, scanner, pda, etc.