The first step in buying a computer may seem a little obvious, but it involves deciding what you want to use the computer for. Once you know that, you can choose a machine that will do the job you want, without paying more than you need to.
Many people buy a computer for educational purposes.
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 encyclopaedias. 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.