I have a lot of interests–most of them technology

I have a lot of interests–most of them technology–and this holiday season in particular has got me STANDING on my soap box.� Why?� Because of the inevitable confusion that the consumer will go through when buying a PC (personal computer).� Why will he/she be confused?� Because of the fragmentation of the PC market this holiday buying season, of course.

We’ve always had hardware choices: HP, Sony, eMachines …and of course, Mac.� We’ve had operating system choices, too: Mac vs. PC.� But this year we’ll be faced with more choices then ever.� For example, do you buy a Pentium 4M, a Core Duo, a Core 2 Duo, a Core 2 Duo with Windows XP Home, a Core 2 Duo with Windows XP Pro, a Core 2 Duo with Windows XP Media Center Edition, a Core Duo with Windows XP Home?� A Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro?� A Mac (in general) that you can then put Windows XP on?� How about Vista.� Do you buy a PC that’s Vista Capable (what does that mean?), Vista Ready?� We also still have Intel vs. AMD, and with Dell selling AMD boxes, the confusion will be worse then ever!� Then we’ll hear the “well, should I wait since Vista isn’t out yet?”� Microsoft has made that more fun by offering a coupon if you buy a computer now, that will give you a discount on Vista when it ships.� And we still have the “but aren’t faster processors coming out anyway so shouldn’t I hold off for now?” question.

I can’t wait for friends and family to start asking that “any recommendation?” question this year.