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Computers

The Bay Area abounds with computer stores. Trying to pick just a few and applying the label "bargain" is extremely difficult. Prices, products, locations, and the marketing direction of various stores tend to change so often I'm wary about making recommendations. There are so many variables to this market—whether you're buying a brand product or a clone, which system you're buying, whether you're trying to build one yourself, etc.—that it can hardly be covered with a few recommendations. Choosing a store on the basis of price alone may lead to nothing but frustration if the service and support you need is not part of the price. When canvassing other computer users, I find that their advice is most often based on a special relationship they have developed with a particular store or dealer, though some choose stores based on price rather than support. Some hard cases think the best way to spend a day off is perusing the esoterica of the computer market at someplace like Fry's Electronics or Comp USA, while novices will undoubtedly end up on sensory overload and feel like their brains have been scrambled. Price buyers tend to be folks who can whip off the top of their system unit, pull a screw-driver out of their pocket, and add new chips, cards, drives, or other hardware without any apprehension at all.

I suggest networking with high-tech friends or user groups to lead you to businesses with a reputation for good prices and support. Your local user group is hands-down your best resource for all kinds of information, shopping recommenda-tions, and free public-domain software. Finding a dealer in the Bay Area is not difficult. After you've passed the novice stage, you'll find bargain-priced resources for software and add-on hardware (memory, modems, boards, et al.) located all over the Bay Area, particularly in Silicon Valley.

Two valuable Bay Area publications for information on microcomputers are Computer Currents and Micro Times. They provide practical computer information for businesses, professionals, serious home users, and absolute novices. They have question-and-answer columns, let you know what's available in the Bay Area, and list services and products, events and classes to attend, and organizations and user groups to join. Computer Currents and Micro Times are distributed from hundreds of locations in seven counties around the Bay. You're most likely to find them in local libraries, colleges, adult education facilities, record stores, video and electronic stores, and anyplace where high-tech people are likely to hang out. If you can't find one, call their offices 9-5. See below for information about where to find copies.

COMPUTER CURRENTS

(510) 527-0333 to find local distribution points or for subscription information.

MICROTIMES

(510) 768-1200 to find local distribution points or for subscription information.