"You will be ready to buy a new computer, Grasshopper, when you are prepared to face the beast."

The beast has the head of Bill Gates, the Siren-like call of a new car salesman, and a soul made of highly advanced computer technology. It can gobble up your dollars with lightning speed, and leave you with the sinking feeling that you spent too much for something you won't use.

You can avoid being burned by the beast if you understand the nature of the beast. Know this: that computer processors double in speed and power, and drop in price by half, almost every eighteen months. Whole computer systems don't drop that fast in price, but almost. You are never going to own the best and faster computer, because by the time it reaches the store, it is already close to one model obsolete.

You can't defeat the beast. You can however, avoid getting consumed by it, and use rapid advances in technology to your advantage.

1. Buy a computer that has the capability to be upgraded. Don't lock yourself into what is called a "proprietary architecture." That is, in a Brand X computer, only Brand X parts can be used. Get a computer that takes standard SIMM memory chips and well known CPU chips like Intel, AMD and Cyrix.

2. Spend more money on the peripherals that count. If you spend more than 6 hours really working at a computer, shoot for a 15 to 17 inch monitor with .28 dpi resolution. If you use the Internet electronic bulletin boards, or on-line services, spend extra money for a 28.8 Kbs modem, or look into an ISDN (special high-speed data telephone line) hook up through the phone company.

After you buy your new computer, don't look at the newspaper ad! That is what the beast is hoping you'll do.

"Argh!" you'll scream, "The same computer is $300 less this weekend!"

That my friends, is the nature of the beast.