It may be for themselves, or for their children. Called 'edutainment', there's a wide range of software that's informative and entertaining, too. You can learn to fish, to type or satisfy a hunger for knowledge with one of the computer-based encyclopedias. There's also a huge range of educational software for kids these days, and of course computers make it easier to put together well-presented school assignments. Email is an easy way of sending messages to other Internet users around the world.
Computers are now an integral part of most businesses.
They have just about replaced the typewriter, but of course they are much more versatile. They have not only made letter-writing much easier, but also help with accounts, inventory control, sales presentations, client contact, and so on. But there's a lot more to computer gameplay, including sophisticated strategy games and old favourites like the card game Bridge. There are also some great games for kids which provide a mixture of entertainment and education. Now that you've decided what you want to use your computer, we can look at the specification of a computer that will do that job.