Back to basics: choosing the 'right' computer

Government personnel have an even harder time than business people in justifying computer purchases. They cannot take depreciation into account, and they cannot plan to write purchases off in three to five years. Government workers must justify purchases on the basis of work load and productivity gains. The basic questions to answer when deciding which computer to buy is what does the user want to do with the computer and how much use will the computer get. Guidance is offered for: choosing a Macintosh; choosing an Intel-based machine; 8086 and 80286 machines; 80386-based systems; configuring an Intel-based system; and choosing a bus. The question of which computer is best will be answered either by the user or by the organization paying for the system. There is no one answer.