5. Picking the Right One: What's the Function

If you've already have a computer, this section may be redundant to you. But if you think you'll need to purchase another one in the future, you might want to read on.
When you look to purchase a computer, your first instinct should not be to buy the flashy one with all the bells and whistles and cool case that lights up. Admittedly, I like flashy things that light up, but I do not let it sway my opinions on computers. Marketing departments know we like bells & whistles. They are well aware of our primal instinct for flashy things. Don't let them do it to you!

Before you purchase a computer, you really should ask yourself what are you planning on doing with it?

While computers are fantastic, powerful machines, not all are created equal. Not only do you need to look at the different brands, you need to look at the different sub-genre of each. I'm going to divide these into separate categories and discuss their strengths and weaknesses, but first, I want to discuss the differences between the various operating systems (OS), the software that makes your hardware work.