Hey folks,
I need some advice from you "Techno-Gurus" concerning a computer purchase for my Dad. He is 76 and decided he wants to get a PC and digital camera to play with. Keep in mind that the only thing he really wants to do is have a way to print and edit photos that he takes with the camera and also be able to scan old photos for edit and reprint with some occasional web surfing. He would also like the ability to put the new and old photos on CDs in order to be played by others on CD/DVD players hooked to their TVs. He also doesn't need to spend a fortune either or get anything too complicated.
I have suggested one of the Kodak cameras since both my daughter and myself have been real pleased with our Kodaks. I've got the DX-4530 which is more than enough camera for me.
I would like your opinions on the following package that I have picked out for him. I am by NO means, the most knowledgable on these things,,,,,,, but I'm all he has to go on.
I also went with the Dell because I can get an added discount


Thanks for your help
Dennis

Dimension 3000

*Dell Dimension 3000 Series:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB)

* Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

*Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options:
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support

*Memory:
256MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz 256M4

* Hard Drive:
40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive

* CD or DVD Drive:
Dual Drives: 48x CD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive

*Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices:

* Document Management:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

* Monitors:
FREE UPGRADE! 15 in (15.0 in viewable) E153FP Flat Panel Display

*Sound Card:
Integrated Audio

*Speakers:
Dell A215 Speakers

*Keyboard and Mouse Bundles:
Dell Quietkey Keyboard and Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse

*Video Card:
Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2

*Mouse:
Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

*Network Interface:
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

*Modem:
56K PCI Data/Fax Modem

*Dell Media Experience:
Dell Media Experience™

* Productivity Software:
WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing

* Security Software:
No Security Subscription

* Tracer Skus:
Award Winning Service and Support

*Digital Music:
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software

*Digital Photography:
Paint Shop™ Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album™ Starter Edition

*Internet Access Services:
6 Months of EarthLink Internet Access Included ERTHLNK

*Dell All In One Inkjet 942:
Dell Photo All-in-One Printer 942 (Prints / Scans / copies / PC fax)

Total = $688.00

 

We have the Dell Dimension 8250 and are real happy with it. We are just geting a digital camera, but have scanned and edited a lot of pics of horses we have sold.
We have been pleased with the computer, and the only one time I had to call customer service, I got good results and was happy with them....
The Dell image Expert software is pretty easy to use, though for the price, I think they should include more than a trail version, which is good for 90 days, then you have to purchase the software....

 

Look at the HP lineup. You are looking at a lot of computer/options to do everything on your list.

Scanner
Photo Printer
CD/DVD writer

A good software package to make it all user friendly.

http://h30015.www3.hp.com/hp_dpc/pro...mender/pcs.asp


my .02

 

Hey Dennis, If his focus (pun intended) is pics, why not buy a Kodak camera doc and photo printer along with the camera? The inkjet printers use a lot of ink, and I mean a lot, (you probably knew that) and when printing on regular paper the ink has to dry, and sometimes it wrinkles the page because it's so wet.
Also, I would not go with less than 512k RAM(no pun intended). An additional 256k is worth every penny (even from Dell) which is higher than most OEM'ers.
Nat

 

Dennis,

Sounds like a decent machine. But like natstayl said, spend a few extra dollors and bump the RAM up. It will pay for itself real quick by not having to wait on things and things will run much better/faster. If it was me, I would also upgrade to XP Pro vice the home edition - but that is me.

 

Gee Butch......

Where have you been hiding?

 

Between this nasty 4 letter word (WORK) and getting the wife moved out of her old house, I've been on the road a LOT. Making another run this weekend (hopefully the last) to get all the big stuff and whatever is left over.

Put almost 30K on the truck this year with most of it since July.

I'm getting real tired of all these road trips. But don't tell the wife......

 

Dennis,
Check here before you buy for coupon specials, Dell runs different ones everyday

http://www.techbargains.com/

 

Dude, you're gettin' a Dell.

 

"Nothing complicated" for a 76 year old guy who wants to do digital photo work??? If he doesn't already have a decent working knowledge of the complexity of doing what you describe, I'd definitely recommend getting him a digital camera and have a photo service provide paper pictures and pictures on a disk. For those of us who are comfortable with all this, it's not too complicated. I have tried to get several people doing what you are proposing for your dad and they are all too intimidated to learn. Take him through the whole process with real equipment and see if he still wants to take it on. If he does and can do it, he's pretty cool.

 

Get a dedicated graphics card... integrated one's suck (generally) and steal CPU cycles for rendering which in turn makes the machine slow down.

 

I understand what you're saying Preston, but Dad was around computers when he was in charge of the Purchasing Dept. for the city of Hopewell before he retired several years ago and he has watched me work with photo editing programs on mine. Granted, a lot of this stuff is over my head but Dad is always eager to learn new stuff. Keep in mind,,,,,,,, this is a guy who still rides, collects and restores Harleys and other motorcycles,,,,,, has a form of self-discipline that I hope one day to possess just a fraction of,,,,,,,,,,,,, and just plain has a knack for doing anything he puts his mind to.
I want to thank everyone for your help and I'm still open for suggestions.

 

Hey Dennis
Check Out Gotapex.com
Karl

 

Have you looked at Apple Computer?

I have both platforms, PC/Mac. Compaq Presario R3000 laptop, Mac iBook & iMac. The Mac is the computer of choice for what your dad needs. Real easy to use, and you get all of the software and video support, it's all there. And it is true plug and play. And with OSX (Unix), the computer is so stable, that the only time our macs go down, is when the lights go out. In fact they are never even turned off, you just put them to sleep. I can't even remember when one of our Macs crashed.

Now the PC, constant pain in the butt just to keep up with all of the worms, bugs, viruses, etc... It is not plug and play like our Macs, and God only knows the next time it will crash (XP Pro). The Macs on the other hand, have never caught anything, and are stable beyond belief. I don't even have virus software for the Macs, where it is a constant battle with the PC.

In fact I just bought my mother a PC, Toshiba laptop, because "she had to have a PC". It sits unused, she stays with the old Mac. I've got to bring her PC home to get the virus or worm off of it, as it is already infected, and she has virus software.

I would seriously take a look at the Macs www.apple.com

And don't let the lower mhz ratings scare you, it is totally different then the PC ratings. My 800 mhz iMac is just as fast, for what I do, as the Pentium4 2.?mhz in my Compaq laptop. If your a gamer, go with the PC. Pictures and such, the Macs can't be beat. And all of the sofware is there, and it is made specifically for the Mac, everything works out of the box.

Mike

 

With Windows XP on there, I would highly recommend bumping the memory to at least 512 MB. XP is a bit slow with only 256 MB.