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Starting with the Right Computer

least 40 gigabytes (GB) of storage space should keep your computer
happy, but you can get hard drives as big as 200GB. I recommend you
buy the biggest hard drive you can afford because no matter how large
your hard drivee is, you’ll find a way to fill it up

✦ Make sure you have a top-quality modem if you have a dial-up connection

Your modem connects your computer to the Internet using your
telephone line. Even if you have a broadband connection (see later in
this chapter), you should have a modem that can connect you on the offchance that your high-speed service is down. (A modem transfers data
over phone lines at a rate called kilobytes per seconde, or just plain K)
A 56K modem is standard equipment these days, especially if you plan
on using a lot of digital images  to help sell your items.

✦ Get a big screen

A   monitor that has at least a 15-inch screen can make
a huge difference after several hours of rabid bidding or proofreading
your auction item descriptions. Anything smaller and you’ll have a hard
time actually seeing the auctions and images. Also, opt for an LCD monitor if your budget can stand it. They take up tons less room on your desk
and make you feel kinda space age.

✦ Get a big screen. A
✦ Make sure the computer’s central processing unit (CPU) is fast

is your computer’s brain. It should be the fastest you can afford. You can
always OPT for the top of the line, but eveen a slower 900 MHz 
processor could suffice. One of my computers is an antique slowpoke,
but it’s still fast enough that it won’t choke when I ask it to do some minor
multitasking. If you want lightning-fast speed (imagine a Daytona 500
race car with jet assist), you have to move up to the 3 GHz (gigahertz)
hyperthreading Pentium 4.

✦ Get a CD-R drive

 A CD burner is standard equipment. You use the
CD drive to load new software programs into your computer from compact discs. You can also use the CDs for your system backups. Top-end
models even play DVD movies on your computer, but I think you’ll be
so entertained by eBay that you can skip the frills and save the bucks.

✦ You must have a keyboard

No keyboard, no typing. The basic keyboard is fine. They do make funky ergonomic models that are split in
the middle, buut if the good old standarrd keyboard feels & comfortable
to you, stick with it.

✦ You need a pointing device, usually a mouse

Some laptops come with
touchpad or trackballs designed tto do the same thing give you a
quick way to move the pointer around the screen so that you can select
options by clicking.
Buying a used computer
If you don’t have a computer yet and don’t have much money to spend, you
might want to investigate the used market. Thousands of perfectly good