One of the jobs I have at the start-up company I work for is to oversee the buying of new computers for the folks we hire. Sometimes its a Macintosh, sometime its a PC. But in both cases, we buy the zippiest machines we can -- G4's and Pentium 3's. After all, that's what the advertisers tell us to do. Faster is better. The more megahertz -- 450, 500 -- the better the computer.

And while for some users this is true -- especially web developers, artists, and gamers -- for the rest of us, its not. The speed of computers seems to double every year or so -- a phenomenon often misquoted as Moore's Law -- but the needs of users do not double at the same rate. Most of the members of my family own computers more than 2 years old and seem to get by just fine. My dad even uses Windows 3-1, god help him to surf the web. You think that's bad, my mom's using a version of Microsoft Word that's downright ancient... Word5.1 from way back in 1994.

Perhaps the question most computer buyers don't ask often enough, and the question many computer retailers are not interested in asking, is "what are you going to use your computer for?" If the answer is word processing, home finances, email, and a little web browsing, then you most likely don't need a Pentium 3. If you can save a few hundred dollars by dropping down a couple hundred megahertz, then do it. The computer sellers and makers are guilty of telling you you need more more more speed. But you don't. Of course, if money is no object, then splurge away.

The other thing to remember is that the speed rating for your computer -- 300 megahertz, 500 megahertz -- can only be compared to other machines in that class. That is, a 500 megahertz G4 is faster than a 500 megahertz Pentium 3, and a 500 megahertz Pentium 3 is faster than a 500 megahertz Celeron.

But the real secret that no one wants to say out loud is that its poorly written software that drives the need for more speed, more hard drive space, and more RAM. Its called bloated code in the busisness, and it affects most programs, although Microsoft is most notorious for chewing up space. But in the business world, upgrading to, say Word 2000 is a lot less driven by my needs than by the sheep-like Fortune 500 companies who I have to share documents with. If people send me dozens of Word 2000 files, I can't open them using my beloved Word 5.1. So... if you upgrade your software less often, you'll be able to hang onto that PC for just a little longer... as long as your friends and colleagues keep their software retro too.

Lastly, unless you have specific needs, it really doesn't matter if you buy a Mac or a PC. By and large the applications you'll need as a normal user are available for both kinds of computers. And remember, that $700 computer is no bargain if you have to spend hours futzing with all of its internals getting it to work.

Rich Dean is Director of E-Commerce at MysteryNet.com.