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Choosing a Computer
Copyright 1997-2002, Virginia Lawrence
A top-of- the-line computer is always a treat, but it isn’t necessary for preparing a book for publication. If money is no object, go for the most advanced computer you can find. You’ll be very happy with it, and it will serve you for a long time, accommodating the new software as it appears.
It is not absolutely necessary to have the most powerful computer, however. You can successfully publish a series of books using either a recent Macintosh or at least a 600 MHz PC. Your PC, however, must have Microsoft Windows software, because the programs discussed in this chapter require Windows.
Memory
Whether you use Mac or PC, the minimum necessary memory is 64 megabytes (Mb). You simply cannot make do with less. Even with only 64 Mb you might not be able to save a large file. Your system will tend to crash or freeze up when you try to have more than one program open at a time. 128 Mb is better.
In fact, if your book will contain many graphics, you must invest in 128 Mb. The larger memory will speed up graphics manipulations considerably, and memory is very inexpensive. You can upgrade your existing computer for well under $100.
Hard Drive
The minimum necessary hard drive size is 10 Gigabytes (Gb). Programs are getting bigger with every release. Part of the increase in size is due to the added features, because software keeps increasing in complexity.
There are two other reasons for the increase in size, however. One reason is commendable; to make things easier for the user, software installation programs tend to install everything the user might want. The other reason is a sad commentary on the software business: the rush to market. Software companies today have such competition that they ship product as soon as most of the bugs have been fixed. They cannot afford to spend time optimizing and decreasing the size of program code, because that may lead to more bugs and a delayed shipping date.
The competitive software market makes it necessary to have a large hard drive. However, the market also benefits users in lowered software prices. Luckily, the hardware market is also competitive; you can buy a 40 gigabyte (40 Gb) hard drive for under $100 at Fry's.