Uses For That New PC

by Bob Seidel

A lot of you are probably staring at that new PC that you got for the holidays (and, of course, this column applies to your old PC too!). After fooling around a bit, getting to know it, you are ready to do something serious. But what? Here are some ideas.

By far the most common use for a PC these days is communications. Back in the old days, the most common use was word processing. But the written (and mailed) word is becoming far less popular - too slow, and too formal for today's society. The newer alternatives are e-mail, online chat (including pictures), and instant messaging. Not to mention using your PC to make phone calls. Of course, you need access to the universal connector - the Internet. But your PC comes complete with all you need to access the Internet and to send and receive e-mail (once you sign up for an Internet Service Provider or ISP).

Besides traditional e-mail, the hottest thing is chat. There are programs that allow you to chat with relatives and friends using typed words (text), voice, and even video. Video cameras and microphones are very inexpensive these days. Be warned, however, that voice and video chat usually requires a high bandwidth Internet connection, such as Road Runner or DSL. Probably the most commonly used text chat programs are ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Both AIM and ICQ support voice. If you want full voice and video, the most commonly used program is Microsoft's NetMeeting. All these are available for free.

You can also place phone calls via the Internet, but I have found that many of these programs are difficult to use and perform poorly; I would stay away from this until the technology matures a bit.

The second thing I would do with my new computer would be to edit and store photographs. We all have shoeboxes of photos lying around decomposing. Some day you will wish you saved them as they were. Buy a flatbed scanner (they are also very inexpensive these days) and some image editing software (the most popular low cost program is Paint Shop Pro 7 by Jasc) and start scanning those photos. It will take a long time, so just try to do a few per day. By storing the photos digitally, they will never decompose, and they will be there for your kids and grandkids for years to come. If your computer came with a CD writer, you can then write CDs with the photo library you create and distribute them to the entire family.

The third thing I would do is get into home automation. This is a really fun hobby, with very practical results. Using your computer you can automate your house: turn lights on and off, control the thermostat, make your coffee in the morning, turn off the bedroom stereo after you fall asleep, control the draperies, automatically feed the dog, etc. etc. To get started in this hobby, you can buy the necessary hardware at your local Radio Shack store or visit http://ww.x10.com or http://ww.smarthome.com.

Other uses? Designing quilts, planning your garden, hobby related activities? Just for fun, let's start a contest: E-mail me at bsc@bobseidel.com and let me know a new and innovative use for your new computer. I will list the best ideas in a future column.

(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).