The Costco Connection

IF YOU’RE SHOPPING for a new computer— perhaps for a student about to head back into the classroom—you have more choices than ever before. Traditional desktops are still around, and you’ll also find slimmer, versatile laptops and laptop/tablet hybrids called “two-in-ones.” Who knew PCs were so good at dieting? Here’s a look at what’s trending.

Touch much

Keyboards are still ideal for long-form typing, but touch screens are far more intuitive for other tasks. Tapping, flicking, swiping and pinching feel natural, especially when looking at photos, reading e-books and playing games. Windows 10 is finger-tip-friendly, and an increasing number of devices offer this feature.

The two-in-ones are a growing category, as they offer a lot of flexibility to meet a variety of needs. In some cases, the screen bends back 360 degrees, which tucks the keyboard underneath when you no longer need it, and you can carry and use it like a tablet. With “detachable” two-in-ones, you can remove the screen altogether, leave the keyboard on a desktop or table and bring the screen with you to use as a tablet.

Thanks for the memory

When it comes to storage—that is, how many
files your device can hold—many computers offer
solid-state drive (SSD) memory, as opposed to hard
disk drive (HDD). If you can forgive the jargon
soup, SSD memory is like the flash memory in your
smartphone. It’s smaller, lighter and faster than a
hard drive, efficient in how it runs the computer
and, unlike a spinning hard drive, has no moving
parts. This makes it less prone to damage and much
easier on the battery.
The downside? SSDs cost more per gigabyte
than an HDD. But consider that you may not need as
much storage as you’ve traditionally had. Thanks to
the many streaming services like Netflix (movies and
TV shows) and Spotify (music), which don’t require
you to download files, it’s less of an issue these days.
Also, free cloud services can hold your files off-site
via a password-protected website or app.

Note that there are also SSD and HDD hybrid systems, combining the best of both worlds.

Discs be gone

Another trend is to leave an optical disc drive out of laptops, which enables the product to be thinner and lighter. That means there’s no place to insert music CDs, CD-ROM games and software, or DVD movies—if you still own this kind of disc-based media.

Truthfully, you likely won’t miss it at all. Even if there’s software you like on CD-ROM, chances are you’ll be able to download it onto your new machine (start with the software maker’s website). And as far as recording data to a CD or DVD for archival purposes, you’re better off with an external hard drive, USB thumb drive or cloud-based storage, as they’re more reliable and hold more files.

Which one to buy?

Because of all the options available, it can be over whelming to buy a new computer. The first step is to decide on a form factor. Should you go with a stationary desktop, portable laptop or two-in-one that doubles as a tablet when and where you need it?

Ask yourself how you want to use the computer. Is it for games, which require a certain amount of processing power? Is portability important, for school or travel? How big a screen do you feel comfortable with? Portable-computer screen sizes range from 10 to 17 inches these days.

If you want to drill down farther, research the specs for the various computers, such as processor, screen size (and touch screen or no touch screen), storage capacity (SSD or HDD, and how much), system memory (RAM), graphics performance and battery life.

And last, here’s a good rule of thumb: When it comes to power, consider buying a little more than you think you need today, so you’ll likely hold on to the computer for a longer period of time. C

TECHCONNECTION

J O H N G OLD S TE IN

MARC SALTZMAN

Marc Saltzman, a leading high-tech reporter, contributes to more than three dozen prominent publications, appears on radio and TV, and is the author of