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package deal at your local electronics shop or super store will probably work. For this usage shop around for the best deal, since most computers will work.

4. School or work computer. For this usage many times a laptop is the best choice. Laptops are generally more expensive and are harder to upgrade but they have the advantage of being portable. The most important consideration for a laptop is battery life. How long do you need to be able to work without being plugged in?

5. Web machine or second computer. Used only for web surfing and occasionally email. Any computer that can run a modern operating system will work for this. Consider buying used. You can get a great deal on a used computer that will do all the web surfing you want for just a little cash.

One can spend several thousand dollars on a top of the line gaming machine with all the accessories or less then one hundred on a used computer for web surfing. Consider carefully what you need before you go to buy. Try to talk someone that has good computer experience into going with you while shopping. They will probably know enough to avoid the hype from salesmen.

Terms:
RAM - Memory used by computers for short term storage. Measured in Megabytes the higher the better http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R AM

Megahertz - The clock speed of a computer. Simplistically this is the measurement of speed of a machines processor. If you are going for a high end machine look for performance comparisons as this is not entirely reliable as a measurement of speed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M egahertz#Computing

Gigabytes - Hard drive storage is measured in Gigabytes. Most new computers will have plenty of storage for general use. If you plan on storing lots of video or data consider getting a large hardrive.

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