There are computer stores that offer “refurbished” machines which are those returned for whatever reason, sent back to the manufacturer, checked-out, repackaged, and resold for maybe half price. You may also be able to find discontinued models.

For the average home user who doesn’t care about this years bells, whistles, super-duper processors, and bigger disk storage, these computers can be the answer. Use the hundreds of dollars saved for a mp3 player, games, or a comfortable desk chair.

Here are the newest computers. Prices taken from Best Buy.

eMachines – 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $364.99
Compaq – Presario 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $374.99
eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $414.99
Compaq – Presario 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $464.99
eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with Hyper-Threading technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $494.99
eMachines – 820 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 820; Intel® Viiv™ technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $544.99
Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion 3800+ Desktop AMD LIVE! Smarter Digital Entertainment; AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion Slimline 3800+ Desktop AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
Gateway – 915 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 915; Intel® Viiv™ technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $579.99

Any power and memory intensive processes, like computer games, video editing, etc., will usually require more “umph”.

When shopping for the “best computer” for you, begin by accessing your needs for the present and the future; always cognizant of the fact that computing power double about every 2 years or so.

* COMPAQ S6000NX Presario Desktop Computers $479.99 with an Intel Celeron processor 2.7 GHz / 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM / Monitor Is Not Included
* COMPAQ S6100NX Presario Desktop $549.99 with an Intel Celeron processor 2.8 GHz / 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM / Monitor Is Not Included
* COMPAQ S6500NX Presario Desktop $749.99 with an AMD Athlon XP processor 3000+ (2.167GHz) / 512MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM / Monitor Is Not Included
* EMACHINES T3265 Desktop $749.88 with an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ Processor (2GHz) / 512MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM / Monitor Not Included
* HEWLETT-PACKARD A410N Pavilion Desktop PC $669.99 Intel Celeron 2.8GHz processor / 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM / 120GB HD / DVD-ROM & CD-RW Drive / MONITOR NOT INCLUDED
* HEWLETT-PACKARD A420N Pavilion Desktop PC $719.88 AMD XP3000+ (2.167GHz) / 512MB DDR Memory / 160GB HD / CD-RW Drive / DVD-ROM Drive / 3.5 FDD Drive / 7-in-1 Card Reader
* HEWLETT-PACKARD A430N Pavilion Desktop PC $849.99 AMD XP3200+ (2.2GHz) / 512MB DDR Memory / 160GB HD / DVD+RW – CD-RW Drive / 3.5 FDD Drive / 7-in-1 Card Reader
* SONY PCV-RS520 VAIO Digital Studio PC $1149.88 A desktop PC with an Intel Pentium 4 processor 3E GHz with HT Technology / DVD+/-RW / 512MB PC2700 / No Monitor
* SONY PCV-RZ54G VAIO® Digital Studio PC $1699.99 A desktop PC with an Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3.2 GHz with HT Technology / PVR / VHS to DVD Software / No Monitor
* SONY PCV-RZ56G VAIO® Digital Studio PC $2199.99 Desktop computers with an Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3.4 GHz with HT Technology / PVR / VHS to DVD Software / No Monitor

Computers

* 1931: First calculator, the Z1, is built in Germany by Konrad Zuse.*
1936: Englishman Alan M. Turing while at Princeton University formalizes the notion of calculableness and adapts the notion of algorithm to the computation of functions. Turing’s machine is defined to be capable of computing any calculable function.*
1937: George Stibitz builds the first binary calculator at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

* 1938: Hewlett-Packard Co. is founded to make electronic equipment.*
1939: First Radio Shack catalog is published.*
1940: At Bell Labs, George Stibitz demonstrates the Complex Number Calculator, which may be the first digital model.*
1940: First color TV broadcast.*
1940: Remote processing experiments, conducted by Bell Laboratories, create the first terminal.*
1941: Colossus is designed by Alan M. Turing and built by M.H.A. Neuman at the University of Manchester, England.*
1944: Mark I (IBM ASCC) is completed, based on the work of Professor Howard H. Aiken at Harvard and IBM. It is relay-based.*
1946: Binac (Binary Automatic), the first to operate in real time, is started by Eckert and Mauchly; it is completed in 1949.*
1946: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator), with 18,000 vacuum tubes, is dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania. It was 8 by 100 feet and weighed 80 tons. It could do 5,000 additions and 360 multiplications per second.*
1946: Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation is formed as the Electronic Control Co. to design a Universal Automatic (Univac).*
1947: Alan M. Turing publishes an article on Intelligent Machinery which launches artificial intelligence.*
1948: IBM introduces the 604 electronic calculator.*
1948: IBM builds the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC) with 12,000 tubes.*
1948: Transistor is invented by William Bradford Shockley with John Bardeen and Walter H. Brattain.*
1950: Maurice V. Wilkes at Cambridge University uses assembler (symbolic assembly language) on EDSAC.*
1951: Maurice V. Wilkes introduces the concept of microprogramming.*
1951: UNIVAC I is installed at the Bureau of Census using a magnetic tape unit as a buffer memory.*
1951: Wang Laboratories, Inc. is founded by An Wang in Boston.*
1951: Whirlwind becomes operational at MIT. It was the first real-time model and was designed by Jay Forrester and Ken Olsen.*
1952: IBM introduces the 701, its first electronic stored-program.*
1952: UNIVAC I predicts an Eisenhower landslide with 7% of the votes, just one hour after the polls close.*
1952: U.S. Department of Justice sues IBM for monopolizing the punched-card accounting machine industry.*
1953: First magnetic tape device, the IBM 726, is introduced with 100 character-per-inch density and 75 inches-per-second speed.*
1953: IBM ships its first stored-program, the 701. It is a vacuum tube, or first generation.*
1954: FORTRAN is created by John Backus at IBM. Harlan Herrick runs the first successful FORTRAN program.*
1954: Gene Amdahl develops the first operating system, used on IBM 704.*
1955: Remington-Rand merges with Sperry Gyroscope to form Sperry-Rand.*
1956: Burroughs acquires Electrodata and Datatron, which become the Burroughs 205.*
1956: Government antitrust suit against IBM is settled; consent decree requires IBM to sell as well as lease machines.*
1956: The acronym artificial intelligence is coined by John McCarthy.*
1957: Digital Equipment Corporation is founded by Ken Olsen.*
1958: ALGOL, first called IAL (International Algebraic Language), is presented in Zurich.*
1958: First electronic models are built in Japan by NEC: the NEC-1101 and -1102.*
1958: Seymour Cray builds the first fully transistorized supercomputer for Control Data Corp., the CDC 1604.*
1958: Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments makes the first integrated circuit.*
1959: COBOL is defined by the Conference on Data System Languages (Codasyl), based on Grace Hoppers Flow-Matic.*
1959: Jack S. Kilby at Texas Instruments files a patent for the first integrated circuit.*
1960: First electronic switching central office becomes operational in Chicago.*
1960: Removable disks first appear.*
1961: IBM delivers the Stretch to Los Alamos. This transistorized model with 64-bit data paths is the first to use eight-bit bytes; it remains operational until l971.*
1962: H. Ross Perot founds EDS (Electronic Data Systems) in Dallas, TX.*
1963: Tandy acquires Radio Shack (9 stores).*
1964: BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language) is created by Tom Kurtz and John Kemeny of Dartmouth. First time-sharing BASIC program runs.*
1965: Digital Equipment ships the first PDP-8 minicomputer.*
1965: First computer science Ph.D. is granted to Richard L. Wexelblat at the University of Pennsylvania.*
1965: IBM ships the first System 360, its first integrated circuit-based, or third generation.*
1966: Texas Instruments offers the first solid-state hand-held calculator.*
1969: PASCAL compiler is written by Nicklaus Wirth and installed on the CDC 6400.*
1971: IBM introduces the 370/135 and 370/195 mainframes.*
1971: Floppy disks are introduced to load the IBM 370 microcode.*
1971: Intel Corporation announces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, developed by a team headed by Marcian E. Hoff.*
1971: John Blankenbaker builds the first personal computer, the Kenbak I.*
1971: Sperry-Rand takes over the RCA product line.*
1972: Cray Research is founded.*
1972: First electronic pocket calculator is developed by Jack Kilby, Jerry Merryman, and Jim VanTassel of Texas Instruments.*
1972: Gary Kildall at Naval Postgraduate School writes PL/1, the first programming language for the Intel 4004 microprocessor.*
1974: Intel introduces the 8080, an 8 bit microprocessor that will be used in numerous units.*

1975: Cray-1 supercomputer is introduced.*
1975: MITS introduces the Altair Computer, named after a Star Trek episode, A Voyage to Altair. The kit cost $397 for a 256 byte computer. The I/O consisted of switches and lights. It was designed by Ed Roberts and Bill Yates.*
1975: Microsoft is founded after Bill Gates and Paul Allen adapt and sell BASIC to MITS for the Altair PC.*
1975: The first computer store opens in Santa Monica, CA.*
1976: Seymour Cray engineers and delivers Cray 1 with 200,000 freon-cooled ICs and 100 million floating point operations per second (MFLOP) performance.*
1976: Superminicomputers are introduced by Perkin-Elmer and Gould SEL.*
1977: Apple Computer is founded and introduces the Apple II.*
1977: Apple, Commodore, and Tandy begin selling.*
1977: Datapoint introduces ARC system, the first local area network.*
1978: The first COMDEX trade show is held.*
1980: Microsoft licenses UNIX operating system from Bell Laboratories and introduces its XENIX adaptation.*
1981: Osborne Computer introduces the Osborne 1, the first portable computer.*
1982: Compaq Computer incorporates.*
1982: Sun Microsystems is founded.*
1982: Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to 50 microcomputer manufacturers in the first 16 months of availability.*
1982: Time Magazine names the computer its Man of the Year.*
1983: Compaq ships its first computer in January and sells $111M, the greatest first-year sales in the history of American business.*
1984: Apple introduces the Macintosh computer.*
1984: The Tandy 1000 personal computer becomes the #1 selling IBM PC-compatible in its first year.*
1985: Aldus introduces PageMaker for the Macintosh and starts the desktop publishing era.*
1986: Burroughs merges with Sperry to form Unisys Corporation, second only to IBM in computer revenues.*
1987: IBM introduces its PS/2 family and ships over 1 million units by year end.*
1988: The first PS/2-compatible computers are announced by Tandy, Dell Computer and others.*
1988: A nondestructive worm spreads via the Internet network and brings several thousand computers to their knees.*

1989: The battery-powered notebook computer becomes a full function computer including hard and floppy disk with the arrival of Compaq’s LTE and LTE/286.*
1991: Notebook PCs are introduced by most PC vendors.*
1992: Wang Laboratories files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.*
1992: Intel says its next microprocessor will be called Pentium instead of 586.*
1993: – Microsoft unveils Windows NT.*
1993: Compaq introduces the Presario, a PC family targeted for the home market.

Go Home from Best Computer.

Notebook computers are capable of many of the same tasks that desktop computers perform, although they are typically less powerful for the same price.

They contain components that are similar to those in their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption.

Cheap laptop Computers usually have liquid crystal displays and use SO-DIMM (Small Outline DIMM) modules (rather than the larger DIMMs used in desktop computers)for their RAM. In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may utilize a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external mouse or keyboard can usually be attached.

Many people just like the compactness and mobility of these machines, and the ability (with wireless) to carry them from room to room and even enjoy work and play outside on the deck, by the pool, or in the garage.

Cheap Computers can be new, discontinued models, refurbished machines, or simply “last year’s favorites”.

Cheap computers that are “refurbished” are those returned for whatever reason, sent back to the manufacturer, checked-out, repackaged, and resold for maybe half price.

For the average home user who doesn’t care about this years bells, whistles, super-duper processors, and bigger disk storage, these computers can be the answer. Use the hundreds of dollars saved for a mp3 player, games, or a comfortable desk chair.

Here are a few of the latest computers (priced from Best Buy).

• eMachines – 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $364.99
• Compaq – Presario 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $374.99
• eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $414.99
• Compaq – Presario 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $464.99
• eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with Hyper-Threading technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $494.99
• eMachines – 820 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 820; Intel® Viiv™ technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $544.99
• Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion 3800+ Desktop AMD LIVE! Smarter Digital Entertainment; AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
• Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion Slimline 3800+ Desktop AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
• Gateway – 915 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 915; Intel® Viiv™ technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $579.99

Here are a few of the latest computers (priced from Best Buy).

• eMachines – 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $364.99
• Compaq – Presario 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $374.99
• eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $414.99



• Compaq – Presario 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $464.99
• eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with Hyper-Threading technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $494.99
• eMachines – 820 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 820; Intel® Viiv™ technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $544.99
• Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion 3800+ Desktop AMD LIVE! Smarter Digital Entertainment; AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
• Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion Slimline 3800+ Desktop AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99
• Gateway – 915 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 915; Intel® Viiv™ technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $579.99

Go Home form Cheap Laptop Computers.

If the computer is inoperable, immediately contact the manufacturer’s computer services repair tech-support phone line.

Don’t Panic, turn the computer off, wait two minutes, then turn it back on, check for loose cables, and update and run your antivirus program.

Many times a simple “reboot” will clear up whatever was causing the problem.

Newer operating systems have upgraded the troubleshooting features on their Help systems with quizes on what’s going wrong, then suggest a solution.

The operating systems often provide a button or link in the error box to get further help, either from your PC’s Help system or from the Internet.

A solution can often be found in “Help”. From Start, select Help, then Search, type in “error,” and look through the options listed to see if any match your problem. Often, one-time errors go away if you merely shut down your open programs and then reboot the machine.

If you have bought a new computer and components are missing from the box, immediately pack up the computer, take it back to the store, and demand an exchange. Something missing from inside the box suggests the computer may have been returned because of a problem. Demand a full replacement.

If your computer is still under warranty, it may be replaced with a later model instead of repaired.

Go Home from Computer Services.

eMachines – 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $364.99

Compaq – Presario 356 Desktop Intel® Celeron® D processor 356; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 120GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $374.99

eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 512MB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $414.99

Compaq – Presario 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with HT Technology; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Basic $464.99

eMachines – 631 Desktop Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 631 with Hyper-Threading technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $494.99

eMachines – 820 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 820; Intel® Viiv™ technology; Intel® EM64T enhancement; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $544.99

Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion 3800+ Desktop AMD LIVE! Smarter Digital Entertainment; AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99

Hewlett-Packard – Pavilion Slimline 3800+ Desktop AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $564.99

Gateway – 915 Desktop Intel® Pentium® D processor 915; Intel® Viiv™ technology; 1GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium $579.99

Apple® – iMac™ with 24″ Display Intel® Core™2 Duo processor 2.16GHz; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive; 250GB hard drive; 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM; built-in AirPort Extreme; Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” $1,999.99
Velocity Micro – ProMagix E6600 Desktop Intel® Core™2 Duo desktop processor E6600; 2GB Corsair DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW and DVD-ROM/CD-RW drives; LightScribe labeling; 320GB Western Digital SATA hard drive; Windows Vista Ultimate $1,999.99

Sony – VAIO T5600 All-In-One PC/TV Desktop Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T5600; 2GB DDR2 memory; 19″ widescreen; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; built-in camera; wireless LAN; Windows Vista Home Premium with TV tuner $2,099.99

Apple® – Mac Pro Intel® Xeon® 5100 series processors; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive; 250GB hard drive; 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 DIMM; Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” $2,499.99

Velocity Micro – ProMagix QX6700 Desktop Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor; 2GB Corsair DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW and DVD-ROM/CD-RW drives; 400GB SATA/150 hard drive; Windows Vista Ultimate $3,499.99

Go home to Data Recovery from New Computer.