Computer for My Dad?

[Schmeh]

My dad wants to get a new computer and he asked me to check things out for him. I built my own pc and I am fairly knowledgeable about computers and components, but I do have a question that you guys can help me with.

He has his own small business. Basically he wants to be able to have something at the house so that he can access his e-mail and run software (word, powerpoint, peachtree accounting and others) from the 2 laptops that he owns. He wants to be able to do this at home as well as when he is out of town working.

My question is should he get a server (either from Dell or built by me) to do this or do you thing that a standard pc would work just as well. Other than the computer what else will he need to be able to access it from the laptops on the road? We already have a linksys wireless router, does he need a new one with VPN capabilities or not? If you could think of any thing else that he will need please let me know, thanks.

 

[nick1985]

i think a cheap athlon XP rig will suit him just fine.

whats his budget?

 

[txxxx]

Given that dell uses the cheapest components they can find, I'd most likely avoid it.

A basic Athlon XP workstation should be fine.

 

[LifeStealer]

If hes not computer literate make him buy a mac

 

[Schmeh]

Originally posted by: nick1985
i think a cheap athlon XP rig will suit him just fine.

whats his budget?

I am not sure what he is thinking for a budget, but probably no more than $800-$1000. We I need the VPN?

 

[txxxx]

Originally posted by: Schmeh

Originally posted by: nick1985
i think a cheap athlon XP rig will suit him just fine.

whats his budget?

I am not sure what he is thinking for a budget, but probably no more than $800-$1000. We I need the VPN?

A vpn is a secure link from one location to another. Think your' going to need it?

 

[halfadder]

Why doesn't he just use one laptop can take it with him everywhere? (Remind him to back up his data, at least to CD-R or USB thumb drive).

Servers are fun, VPN is great, but for a busy person a better choice may be to just buy some cheap web hosting and set up a password protected directory on the web server. Windows and Mac OS X play nicely with WebDAV for pushing files up and you can pull the files back down with any web browser. (There's also FTP and SFTP/SCP).

 

[Slowlearner]

How are the laptops connecting to the internet on the road. If it could be dialup or broadband - something like gotomypc @ 20$/month might be cheaper. For a nominal charge you can add a FTP site to a dialup account.

VPN connections are worthwhile only if you have a guaranteed broadband connection like working from home.

 

[Schmeh]

Originally posted by: Slowlearner
How are the laptops connecting to the internet on the road. If it could be dialup or broadband - something like gotomypc @ 20$/month might be cheaper. For a nominal charge you can add a FTP site to a dialup account.

VPN connections are worthwhile only if you have a guaranteed broadband connection like working from home.

He connects mostly through broadband, but occasionally has to use dial up. The web hosting sounds like that my be the best bet.