Book details of 'How to Avoid Buying a New Computer: An Expert Tells You Everything You Need to Know to Upgrade the Computer You Already Own'

Title	How to Avoid Buying a New Computer: An Expert Tells You Everything You Need to Know to Upgrade the Computer You Already Own
Author(s)	Myles White
ISBN	0771088302
Language	English
Publisher	McClelland & Stewart

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Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
In "How to Buy a Computer" (see reviews), White did a bang up job of tackling the oft attempted task of specifying what is helpful and what is hype when it comes time to walk into a computer store. This time out, he takes on the equally crowded field of computer upgrading (plus a little troubleshooting and repair) and does an even better job. As White points out, adding bits and pieces to your computer is not rocket science. With a multi-tip screwdriver and some care about static electricity, in most cases it is a heck of a lot easier than changing the oil in your car (as well as a lot cleaner). You may have to twiddle software until you are ready to scream in order to get the new hardware to work, but the actual physical installation is nothing to be frightened of. Most of the fear that computer novices have stems from the fact that they have never seen the inside of a computer. White recognizes this fact, and has more illustrations, and particularly more photographs, than any book I've ever seen, including a number of the "illustrated" variety. The only suggestion that I would make would be to the publisher: colour plates may be expensive, but they would definitely be worth it in the case of this type of work. White covers the basic innards in chapter one, including the important CMOS memory and equally important CMOS battery. Chapter two looks at the internal cards and boards, with pictures of the different bus slots. Replacing or adding drives is a common response to software bloat and chapter three deals with it well, including the cabling needs. Chapter four discusses memory and the CPU (central processing unit), which may sound logically distinct, but physically offers much the same challenges. After his usual (but, as usual, highly apposite) rants in chapter five, White concludes with possibly the most useful vendor list of the many I have seen over the past few years. If you are thinking of upgrading your computer at all, or even ever, this book is worth many times its cover price. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
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