The Total Cost of Ownership

By Peter DeHaan

I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  I love to have the latest, fastest, and most powerful tools and toys, but I hate the time it takes for implementation, requiring that I preempt more important activities to install, fine-tune, and master my new technology.  Therefore, I tend to stick with what I have. 

However, it became time where I had to buy a new office computer.  Given my reluctance to spend time migrating from one computer to the next, I had successfully found reasons to put this off for over a year.  But my aging computer was clearly being taxed, so I finally made the switch.

My new computer is much faster, and Windows 7 is a great operating system, with an easy learning curve from Vista.  This computer is my first with a DVD burner and my first without a floppy disk drive.  Also absent are the modem and parallel port – an oversight on my part, given that my old faithful printer requires a parallel connection.

The cost of the computer breaks down to about 50 percent for hardware and 50 percent for software (Windows and Office) – and 50 percent for unforeseen expenses.  Yes, there were costs overruns.  I’ve had to upgrade several of my other programs to work with Windows 7.  Aside from my parallel printer, my other printer lacks a Windows 7 driver.  Although I have temporary workaround solutions for both, a new printer is in my future as well.  That will push the cost overruns even higher. 

My other frustration is with Office 2010, specifically Word.  Had I been using Office 2007, the switch would have been easy, but my migration is from Office 2003.  For my prior computer upgrade, I purposely retained Office 2003.  The user interface on Office 2007 was quite different (a learning curve issue) and cumbersome to use (an efficiency issue).  I had hoped that the 2010 version would return to an Office 2003 type of interface, but that was not the case. 

With Office 2003 showing its age, I made the leap to 2010.  Despite my frustrations that common routine tasks now require more mouse clicks, I am discovering new features, pleasing improvements, and some nice shortcuts, so it will eventually be okay.  Even so, two months into it, I am still not as efficient as I’d like to be when I write.

My new computer has cost me both time and money.  The cost overruns were my fault: I overlooked the need for a parallel port and all my driver problems stem from the fact that I bought the 64-bit version of Windows (32-bit drivers were available for all my programs).  The time issue, however, was unavoidable.  Fortunately, I scheduled my purchase during a slower period of the year.  This afforded me extra time to spend converting to the new system and learning new software versions.

Upgrading a single PC pales in comparison to replacing technology in throughout an office or workplace, but I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing that; the benefits are just too great.  What I do want to communicate is to be extra careful in spec’ing the system and allow additional time to learn it and become proficient.  The results will be well worth it.

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