Double Duty Home PCs for business and family give you the best of both worlds.

You've been fighting it for weeks. You've made a few forays into computer stores, marveled at the technology, calculated the costs, and finally found the courage to ask yourself: Should I invest in a home PC?

If you already own a home PC that serves both business and family needs, your question may be: Should I upgrade my old model with a kit, or is it time to turn in my plain vanilla computer for a dazzling multimedia model?

Multimedia computers have video and sound capabilities as well as all the standard applications, all in one unit. With modems and speakerphones to send and receive data via telephone, built-in audio speakers, fax capability, voice mail, answering machines, CD-ROM drives and microphones, today's multimedia home PCs are almost as fully equipped as a complete office.

If you're thinking of modernizing your computer with an upgrade kit, it might be better to save time and money by simply buying an entirely new model. Many users find that not only is it too complicated to install kits, but they also need to replace some computer parts to accommodate newer technology.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a computer genius to set up and operate these new multimedia marvels. Many, like Acer Corp.'s Aspire series and NEC's Ready line, have different-colored cables to help you connect them to the right port; others have easy-to-follow manuals.

A business and entertainment center in one compact package, a home PC provides the means to conduct almost every aspect of your business. Besides inputting text and creating spreadsheets, you can send faxes, talk hands-free on the telephone and create professional brochures. And that's just for starters.

Today's multimedia home PCs also come bundled with lots of software so you don't have to figure out what to buy; as many as a dozen software and CD-ROM disks are included free. The software can range from pre-designed forms and tips for your taxes to games, online services and more.

Some of the giant computer manufacturers have turned their sights to the home office, recognizing the tremendous growth in the SOHO (small office/home office) market. As a result, you can now choose from a variety of multi-media systems from the best computer manufacturers in the world for under $2,000.

Jill Amadio is a writer in Newport Beach, California, and ghostwriter of Help! I've Hired a Lawyer! (Emptypockets Venture).

Assess Your Needs

Before shopping around, you'll need to determine what tasksyou'll be using your home PC for. Ask yourself thesequestions:

• How many people use your computer? If everyone in yourfamily needs computer time, make sure your PC is powerful enough torun all the software programs and games everyone will use.

• Will you need added accessories? Junior (or senior) maywant a joystick to play games.

• What are your use patterns and schedules? If jugglingeach person's time is a problem, it may be better to buy abasic machine and one with all the bells and whistles. When yourfamily needs to use the dream machine, you can still sit at yourtrusty plain Jane and catch up on correspondence, invoicing orproposals.

Basic Features

Multimedia home PCs are pretty identical in terms of basiccomponents and features, although the housing of some computers hasbeen redesigned from boxy shapes into sleek minitowers. In additionto the obvious monitors, mice and keyboards, most offer a CD-ROMdrive, a modem, fax capability, speakerphones, audio speakers, afloppy drive and sufficient memory to handle most of your businessneeds. Many can be bought with Windows 95 pre-installed, and mostcan be expanded at a later date as your business grows. For alittle extra money, you can add a few frills and install morememory, a faster modem, higher-quality speakers and various otherupgrades.

Speakers: Some PCs have built-in speakers; others havestand-alone speakers. If you have plenty of space, separatespeakers might be your best choice, which also gives you the optionto buy more powerful speakers later. Listen to the speakers'sound in the store; quality can vary dramatically.

Microphone: If built-in, where is it located? Can it pickup your voice from your chair, or do you have to lean forwardawkwardly to speak into it? If free-standing, does it have a sturdybase so it won't topple due to vibrations from your printer orother office equipment?

Modem: Do you make frequent phone calls? Look for a modemwith higher speeds to connect you quickly. If you do a lot oftelephoning, look for features such as speakerphone, modem, callerID, fax on demand and remote voice-mail retrieval.

Monitors: The larger and easier they are to read, thebetter. Opt for a 17-inch screen if your dealer allows you to mixand match components. Some monitors also have built-in speakers andmicrophones.

Latest Models

Now that you have an idea about which features you need,here's a rundown on some of the most popular home PCs:

• Acer: One of the most user-friendly computers,Acer's Aspire line was designed for home business and familyuse. It is simple to set up, assisted by an eight-step instructionlist and color-coded cables and ports. Aspire also includes morethan 30 software titles for business, education, communication,entertainment and home use. Added bonus: The computers areavailable in emerald green and charcoal to better match your homedecor.

• Apple: The Performa 6200 is ideal for the home office.It has a digital answering machine, modem and fax capabilities, anda 16-bit sound card. A quad-speed CD-ROM drive accesses CD-baseddata fast. One ex-pansion option is a VCR or camcorder connectionto capture images and use them on your computer. The keyboard hasan adjustable slope; the mouse is contoured to fit your palm.

• AST: The Advantage! 600 line of desktops comespre-loaded with Windows 95, along with AST's own navigatingsystem, AST Works II. Advantage's bundled software includesNovell's PerfectWorks-a word processor, spreadsheet anddatabase all in one. The AST LifeLine feature allows ASTtechnicians to remotely access, diagnose and help you repairhardware and software problems.

• Compaq: The Presario 7170 Series features multimediacapabili- ties ideal for the home professional. These powerful,affordable computers have pre-installed online services and comebundled with more than 30 software titles, including Windows 95. Aninnovative built-in feature is a voice recognition center that letsyou retrieve phone messages off-site by voice.

• Gateway 2000: The P575, Gateway 2000's base model,offers very impressive performance. Microsoft Word, Excel and othersoftware and CD-ROM titles are included free. Gateway 2000 is oneof the few companies that still offers free software technicalsupport. The modem allows faxing and voice mail.

• Hewlett Packard: The Pavilion line's sleek minitowerhas built-in speakers and ergonomic controls organized in a linear,logical sequence. Setup is easy, thanks to color-coded cables andan easy-to-follow instruction manual. All major online servicescome pre-installed.

• IBM: Managing your home business on IBM's Aptiva isa snap. Its Rapid Resume feature is a boon to absent-minded, busyentrepreneurs by zapping you back to the place you left off whenyou turned off the computer. Another feature, Wake-Up on Ring,"wakes up" the computer, even after you've turned itoff, to receive a fax or phone call, then turns it off again whenthe call is complete.

• NEC: Called Ready, NEC's multimedia home PCs areready to go with minimum setup. A handheld remote control operatesthe system's phone and audio functions. A push of the buttonretrieves phone messages, operates the speakerphone or lowers thevolumn of your CD-ROMs. Bundled software includes Microsoft'sWindows 95 and MediaWorks; you also get the Quicken householdfinancial management package.

• Packard Bell: Not enough room for a computer? PackardBell is way ahead of the crowd with a triangular computer that fitsinto a corner so work-at-home entrepreneurs can use crannies thatare normally wasted space. Armchair lazies can use the CornerComputer's remote control to initiate a phone call or activatea software program from anywhere in the room.

Shopping List

Model/800Number/Multimedia Functions/Modem?/

Features Accessories/Memory/Price*

Acer Aspire/(800) 223-7763CD-ROM, audio/Yes, withspeakerphone,fax, data, voice mail/Speakers,microphone/8MB/$1,299

Apple Performa 6200/(800) 776-2333/CD-ROM, audio/Yes,with speakerphone, fax, answering system/Speakers, microphone,video/8MB/$1,999

AST Advantage! 600/(800)876-4278/CD-ROM, audio/Yes, withspeakerphone, fax, data, voice mail/Two-button mouse, speakers,microphone/8MB/$1,899

Compaq Presario 7170/(800) 345-1518/CD-ROM, audio/Yes,with speakerphone, fax, voice mail/Speakers, video/8MB/$1,699

Gateway 2000 P575/(800)846-2000/CD-ROM, audio/Yes, withfax, voice mail/Speakers, 104-key keyboard/8MB/$1,899

Hewlett Packard/Pavilion 5010/(800) PCHOME1/CD-ROM,audio/Yes, with speakerphone, fax, data, voice mail/Two-buttonmouse, video, speakers, microphone/8MB/$1,499

IBM Aptiva/800) IBM-2YOU/CD-ROM, audio/Yes, withspeakerphone, fax, voice mail, answering system/Speakers, video,wake-up on ring/8MB/$1,799

NEC Ready 7022/(800) NEC-INFO/CD-ROM, audio/Yes, withspeakerphone, fax, voice mail/Speakers, microphone/8MB//$1,799

Packard Bell Corner Computer/(800) 733-5858/CD-ROM,audio/Yes, with speakerphone, fax, voice mail /Speakers,microphone, remote control/8MB/$1,899

*Manufacturers' suggested prices as of December 1995