If someone walked into a store today and started demanding to buy a computer, they would be looked at just as oddly as someone who made a similar request there before November 1989. In other words, they would look at that person as a fool. But for different reasons.

Back then, if someone tried to buy a computer, they would have been laughed at. This is because such things were virtually unobtainable at the time, and perhaps the only hope for many of us would have been the unobtainable Tuzex. And today, given how wide the range of computers available for modification is, modification hopefuls would be perceived as odd because retailers would not know what to offer.

These days, when one wants to buy a computer, one cannot just want a computer. In fact, today one must specify more precisely what one wants. This is because there is such a wide variety of computers on the market today that one must at least specify what one intends to use the computer for, whether it is for playing computer games or for office work, and so on. And it should also specify whether such a specimen will be permanently installed somewhere, and whether a desktop computer or a laptop computer is needed. And when a person who is knowledgeable and has specific ideas about his or her expectations goes shopping, for example, what kind of hard disk drive the desired computer should have, what kind of sound card, graphics card, network card, operating memory how big it should be…

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And when buying a PC, you must also consider the accessories you plan to use. Compatible printers, speakers, scanners, and other hardware are also needed, and not just a keyboard and computer mouse.

You need to know your computer\’s speed, colors, monitor diagonal size, installed Windows, antivirus programs, etc.

And since everyone has his or her own ideas about perfection, we often have computers built to our specifications. This is because it is now possible, and even skilled people do it slowly and “on their knees”. And each person has his or her own way.

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