When thinking of computers for your business, if the phrase, "...and a little child shall lead them..." goes through your mind or you're just new to the use of computers, don't feel you need to beg your neighbor's 14 year old kid to help. As you'll quickly discover below, you probably know more than you think.

Arguably the most important piece of office equipment to come along since the telephone, the PC or Personal Computer has made itself almost indispensable in today's modern business setting. (Sorry, but believe it or not, the fax machine has its roots in the American Civil War era long before the telephone.)

Let's take a look at what today's best dressed office should have in the way of computer hardware. The good news is that, even while you read this, prices for hardware continue on a constant downward spiral while the horsepower available heads ever in the opposite direction. The bad news is that whatever you buy today will be considered to be "old" technology somewhere between now and 18 months from now.

In this case, "old" technology does not equate with obsolete, unusable, or even uneconomical. Eighteen months from now your flashy, new PC with the coffee stained keyboard and fitting you like a pair of comfortable, old  shoes, will still be doing the job you needed done when it was new. However, you'll wish your hard drive was bigger (a law of computing states: Data will always expand to fit the disk space available.), the CPU (Central Processing Unit the brains of your computer) was faster, and your connection to the Internet was faster.

First, let's discuss what a reasonably equipped PC should have for the average business office. A lot of what comes next will depend upon your specific needs, but it should hold true for most cases. Note I said, "reasonably equipped", not reasonably priced. The current truism amongst knowledgeable computer buyers is that the computer you really want will always cost $2,500. Don't let this scare you. You can do very well for your enterprise for much less.

There are four basic components to your computer hardware "system": monitor; keyboard; system unit (what most folks think of as the computer); and the printer.

Laptop Computers While we're focusing on desktop computers for office use, laptop computers should not be overlooked. They're an excellent choice for computing power if your job is primarily that of a road warrior. They are just about every bit as powerful as their physically larger cousins but offer the advantage of being portable. If your need is for both portability and office use and you can't afford one of each, consider buying a laptop with a docking station. You may even wish to explore the purchase of a larger monitor and keyboard to attach to your docking station.

Key issues to consider when investigating a laptop are: battery life (hint: buy the extra batteries up front don't wait for that awful 
discovery the first time your batteries die and you...well, you get the picture);
can you be comfortable with the keyboard for long sessions;
can you also be comfortable with the screen for long sessions;
ease of communication (via modem from your hotel room on the road, 
via network connection in your office).