[WEB4LIB] Re: How to buy a PC workshop for patrons

[Paul Mills]

> I would note a couple of things given the current marketplace:
> -Get 256MB RAM (or more); Windows XP (and Mac OS X) both work better
with
> lots of RAM, and it's currently dirt-cheap.

I agree with you on both counts.  Late last year I knew that I would be
installing XP Pro on my main PC at home, so I started shopping memory.
It was so inexpensive that I could not resist upping it to 640 MB.  Much
more than I needed, but the prices were just too enticing to say no.

> -Although you shouldn't need this much disk space on public machines,
40GB
> drives are now so cheap that they're probably the sweet spot (Dell &
> Gateway both show a $20 differential between medium-speed 20GB and
> high-speed 40GB drives: a buck a gigabyte is ridiculously cheap).

That is what I recommend to my member libraries.  20 GB seems to be the
default offering now and is more than enough by itself, but, as you say,
$20 is chump change for the increase in size.

> -This may be the time for flat-panel displays, particularly where
space,
> heat, or power are issues. Dell and Gateway both charge $200 or less
to
> upgrade from the default CRT to a 15" LCD panel; that's a fairly good
> deal.
> And, of course, the iMac now comes with a snazzy LCD screen.

I have seen a lot of interest in flat panels lately, and most of it does
seem to come from space concerns.  In situations where space is not an
issue, though, I still love the amount of screen real estate you can buy
with a regular CRT.  

> If I don't mention CPU speed and graphics cards and sound cards, it's
> because most libraries don't emphasize game playing, multimedia
creation,
> or high-end photo-editing or video editing as public-computer
uses--and
> unless you're doing those things, almost any of today's PCs have
enough
> power.

The only stipulation I usually make in terms of public access PCs is
that they consider a stand-alone video card.  They are fairly cheap, and
I prefer that system memory not be used as most libraries are saner than
I and don't buy 640 MB for their workstations.  :-)

Thanks, Walt, and thanks to everyone else who responded and shared their
materials and their thoughts.  This is a great listserv, and receiving a
response like this just makes me happy to be a librarian!

Paul Mills