- 25 Jan 10, 19:59#181478
Ignore this. It took me ten minutes after a stressful day (we had a full audit carried out by the company that's taking over our employment from next Monday >.<) and isn't very good. I only wrote it because the place I originally posted it happens to be writing-related. It is horrible and I would like people not to think it is an example of how I actually write. 
Anyone who's just interested in the question I want to ask should skip down past the quote.
Okay, to the point. I'm surprised by the recommendation based upon the needs that I told him I had. If it wasn't for the fact that the board had died and it wasn't cost-effective to replace, I'd still be using my Athlon X2 5600+-based system that had served me well for years and that would be suitable for more than what he thought I would use it for. Now, I understand exactly what he was trying to do, and that was sell me the most expensive thing he could get away with. And a non-technical customer would likely believe anything he said to them. That doesn't surprise me and isn't why I'm posting this. The reason I am posting this is that some people go in there and ask for such a high-spec machine to do simple tasks, without the sales folk having to convince them.
What I want to know is, what do you think you would need when buying a computer? And I want you to look at it from the perspective of the 'average' user, so typing documents, children's homework, viewing photos and maybe resizing them every now and then, watching videos, listening to music, surfing the interwebs, doing some downloading, maybe playing classic, non-demanding games (think Age of Empires 2, Call of Duty, Unreal Tournament) every now and then and other such simple things. And I don't want just you to answer. If you can, and are willing to, ask friends and family what they think. I'm going to be asking at work and various other places that I post, then will compile the results in some kind of understandable format (don't worry, I won't write another nonsensical tale to go with it) and present them, because I really am stunned that so many people will gladly go out and spend so much money when they don't need to.
Anyone who participates will be rewarded, somehow, and I will be forever grateful for any contributions.
Also, if Gaz reads this: seeing as you work in IT, you might know exactly the kind of person I'm after getting answers from. Would you mind asking a few of them the question and seeing what their response is?
Many thanks
* PC World, for any UK-based members who hadn't already guessed.
** The fact that I actually run a quad-core and 4GB of RAM is beside the point - I got that stuff for absolutely nothing, so I might as well run it. The stuff I bought to replace the dead board and old 5600+ stuff was, in fact, just a more up-to-date dual-core and 2GB RAM with a half-decent board. Now it sits unused in my bedroom.
Anyone who's just interested in the question I want to ask should skip down past the quote.The sun had fallen below the horizon as I walked from the bus stop towards the road that would, eventually, lead to my house. The sky was thick with grey clouds and the air chilly, wind cutting straight through my cheaply-made, low-quality Trutex fleece provided, very kindly, by my employer. I shivered a little as I made my way across the road towards one of the various retail parks dotted around my home-town, taking care to avoid the cars expertly piloted by men and women who were clearly not looking where they were going. The sound of keys in my pocket clunking against a side-panel was concerning, but I was left unharmed. Amazingly, they found it appropriate to wave their hand at me, fingers arranged in a rather sharp V-shape. 'Wonderful,' I muttered to myself, hopping over a small wall and in to the adjacent car park.
My feet landed with a reassuring 'thump' as I made it to the other side, ready to make the final leg of my journey, when I noticed that the large store* opposite me had a sale on. I knew that I was running low on CD-Rs and something in which to place them once I had written my precious data to them, so thought that I might as well pop in and see what they had at a reasonable price. Upon entering the store, I was eyed suspiciously by the glasses-clad, purple-shirted teenager at the customer services desk. A friendly smile was about all I could manage after the day's work, having used my voice far more than I am used to whilst answering the various questions which had been asked of me. Remembering the layout of the store from a previous visit, some six months ago, I quickly found the aisle I was looking for and, after giving a glance each way to make sure that it was free of any dangers, started to walk down it.
It wasn't long before I arrived at the blank media section, three shelves stacked high with consumables in boxes and spindles, the combination of colours and the arrangement of items making for a pretty, if somewhat mundane, display. My eyes moved quickly from one item to the next, dropping briefly to the labels below which showed the prices, my mind quickly processing the numbers in order to work out what was the best value. It turns out, the best value wasn't exactly cheap, nor was anything else here, and that it would cost less if I ordered a big box online, paid for postage and waited three days for their delivery. Dismayed by the ludicrous prices they were asking, I quickly found myself drifting away from the over-priced merchandise and towards the section where desktop computers were on display.
As I made it to the second row, where I saw something on-sale at a whopping £800. A glance at the specification made me realise that I could build something at half the price, though I thought it best not to say anything. Of course, that was almost entirely down to the fact that I stood alone, but such details are of little significance. It was then that out of the corner of my eye I noticed a purple-shirted creature approaching rapidly and further inspection revealed that there was a rather enthusiastic look on his face. My surprise at the price of the previously inspected machine clearly must have been misinterpreted as confusion at the sheer number of options I had been presented with. I made a mental note to check how simple a creature I looked when I got home.
Before I had chance to flee from what would inevitably be an awkward social situation, the creature let out its war cry. I froze, terrified. "Good day, sir, is there something I can help you with?" it asked, its grin so wide that it could have swallowed its own face if it made a half-hearted attempt. I considered making a run for the door. It was only fifty metres away and, even though I'm not in great shape, the enemy was worse-off and in far more restrictive clothing. Alas, politeness prevailed over my fear of social interaction and I cleared my throat, working up the courage to answer. "I was just browsing, seeing what's on offer," I began, taking a pause to think about what was the most polite way to inform him that I required no assistance and that any he could offer me was of little use, given my profession. That was the biggest mistake I could make. Taking his opportunity, he pounced and the quiet soul that I am, I stood little chance of defending myself from the initial assault.
"Well, what do you use your current computer for?" he asked. Cautiously, I took a step back and answered. "Well, admittedly, not too much right now. I spend a lot of time on the internet and I work on a lot of word-processed documents. Listen to music, watch videos. That kind of thing." I concealed the truth, as anyone who knows me would tell you. I couldn't tell you why I didn't mention any of the more intensive tasks I carried out, nor any of the games I play. But what followed was truly surprising. In fact, I was so shocked by it that, even now as I tell you this tale, my hands shake and I have to fight hard not to spill my tea all over my (perfectly adequate) laptop. "Well, sir, I think that this computer should be perfect for you. It's got a quad-core processor, so it's fast, and four whole gigabytes of memory. Terabyte hard drive? Should be plenty to store all those big Word documents on and there will be room for your whole music collection, too. And it comes with the latest Windows, Windows 7! It's by far the best piece of software I've ever seen, really quick, really pretty and it will make your life much easier. You can have all this for £600 or, if you spend £700, you can have a 22" screen, keyboard and mouse, too! I couldn't think of a better product for you."
Honestly, I could not speak (not that that isn't a rarity for me) after hearing that. I had never spent that much on anything before, never mind computers. In fact, as I thought about it, I hadn't spent that much on all four of the computers that are in my bedroom right now. Shaking my head, I smiled politely. "No, thank you. What I have at home is perfectly adequate and I have no need for a quad-core processor and that much memory**. Besides, I haven't the cash and to be honest, I wouldn't run Windows on any of my computers if you paid me. I feel bad enough having it in a virtual machine. Sorry to disappoint," I explained, smiling once more, offering my thanks and giving a short goodbye. As swiftly as I could, I made my way to the exit and fled the store, cursing the decision to enter in the first place. There was a reason my previous visit had been so long ago.
Glad to be free, I turned to my left and continued on down the road, dodging a two-child pram pushed by a young woman chatting away to her friend, head turned completely sideways and not paying even the slightest bit of attention to where she was going. More blame laid on me, something which I have come to accept as being the norm in this town, I hopped over another wall and on to the final stretch of pavement. It would be good to be home.
Okay, to the point. I'm surprised by the recommendation based upon the needs that I told him I had. If it wasn't for the fact that the board had died and it wasn't cost-effective to replace, I'd still be using my Athlon X2 5600+-based system that had served me well for years and that would be suitable for more than what he thought I would use it for. Now, I understand exactly what he was trying to do, and that was sell me the most expensive thing he could get away with. And a non-technical customer would likely believe anything he said to them. That doesn't surprise me and isn't why I'm posting this. The reason I am posting this is that some people go in there and ask for such a high-spec machine to do simple tasks, without the sales folk having to convince them.
What I want to know is, what do you think you would need when buying a computer? And I want you to look at it from the perspective of the 'average' user, so typing documents, children's homework, viewing photos and maybe resizing them every now and then, watching videos, listening to music, surfing the interwebs, doing some downloading, maybe playing classic, non-demanding games (think Age of Empires 2, Call of Duty, Unreal Tournament) every now and then and other such simple things. And I don't want just you to answer. If you can, and are willing to, ask friends and family what they think. I'm going to be asking at work and various other places that I post, then will compile the results in some kind of understandable format (don't worry, I won't write another nonsensical tale to go with it) and present them, because I really am stunned that so many people will gladly go out and spend so much money when they don't need to.
Anyone who participates will be rewarded, somehow, and I will be forever grateful for any contributions.
Also, if Gaz reads this: seeing as you work in IT, you might know exactly the kind of person I'm after getting answers from. Would you mind asking a few of them the question and seeing what their response is?
Many thanks
* PC World, for any UK-based members who hadn't already guessed.
** The fact that I actually run a quad-core and 4GB of RAM is beside the point - I got that stuff for absolutely nothing, so I might as well run it. The stuff I bought to replace the dead board and old 5600+ stuff was, in fact, just a more up-to-date dual-core and 2GB RAM with a half-decent board. Now it sits unused in my bedroom.
and just nod. 
