Additional Features

Printer

There are two types of printer available for home use, laser or inkjet. Laser printers are more precise then inkjet printers and print a lot faster then inkjet printers. The down side is that they are black and white only. (Colour laser printers are still very expensive).
Color inkjet printers give you more flexibility in terms of your printing work since you can add color to your end result. My personal recommendation is to buy a Epson or HP color inkjet printer. They give the best results in terms of quality, durability and least use of ink cartridges. Buy a color inkjet with photo printing technology.

Recommendation: HP Inkjet. Epson and Lexmark printers are also good.

Scanner

With a flatbed scanner, you can scan color photo's and black and white text. Printed text can potentially be converted to documents (with OCR software) without having to re-enter the text and color images can be used to add to documents, send over the Internet, etc. You can buy a scanner for £30 or more.
Most important is the resolution of the scanner and the ease of use of the software that comes with it.
Scanners can be connected via the printer port or via the USB (Universal Serial Bus). If USB is present on the computers motherboard, it is recommended to use this over reusing the printer port. However, I do not recommend you add a USB port to an old computer just to run a scanner.

Recommendation. HP, Epsom, Visioneer, or Microtek.

Network

If you have more then one computer (or desktop and laptop) you can install a network. Often at home this is to play games with other computer owners, but a network can allow resoutrces such as printers and the internet to be shared. A network is not expensive and Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP has standard network software built-in. a simple lead will allow you to link two PCs together. It shouldn't cost £10. Access to the schools network is not that simple: there are a range of issues here including security for the network and the computer. There is also a substantial extra work load for the network administator, at the present time this is simply not a priority. Data can be passed to and from private machines please see Mr Vajzovic about this.

Digital Camera.

With a digital camera, you definitely get what you pay for. I would recommend a 3X optical zoom camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels. The optical zoom is important to bring objects closer to your camera. The resolution is important for keeping the pixel size small in your printed pictures. Good quality Digital cameras can be found starting around £60.

Game controller.

To be able to play games, you can either use your keyboard as a control device or connect a game controller to your PC. Game controllers come in many different varieties and vary enormously in price. Purchase a game controller that is compatible with most games and that is easy to use.

Recommendation. Wingman extreme digital 3D joystick (£30), one of the Microsoft joysticks or gamepads, or Gravis Gamepad Pro.

© LEV