Sams Teach Yourself Internet and Web Basics All in One

Choosing a Computer

I've told you that almost any computer—even an older one—can be used to get on the Internet, and that's true. But to take full advantage of what the Internet offers, you need a top-of-the-line computer, or pretty close to it.

You see, some Internet tasks, such as email, demand little processing power from a computer and don't require a really fast Internet connection; they're neither processor-intensive nor communications-intensive. However, the main thing most newcomers to the Net want is access to the Web, and browsing the Web is just about the most processor-intensive, communications-intensive thing a computer can do.

To take full advantage of the Web, a computer must be able to display and play the multimedia content—graphics, ...