Travelin’ Rick Buys a New Computer

“Hi there, boys and girls! I’m going to the city today. I have decided that I am going to buy a new computer. Please come with me!”

Travelin’ Rick drove to the city. Once there, he went into the biggest computer store that he could find.

“So, what exactly are you looking for in a computer?” asked the sales clerk.

“I really don’t know,” said Travelin’ Rick. “I’ve never owned a computer before.”

“Are you going to use the computer for business or entertainment?” asked the sales clerk.

“Probably a little of both,” said Travelin’ Rick.

“Then, I would recommend you get a CD-ROM,” said the sales clerk.

“A CD-ROM!” exclaimed Travelin’ Rick. “What is that?”

“A CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc-Read Only Memory,” explained the sales clerk. “A CD-ROM uses a compact disc which is a small plastic disc used to store digital data. The disc is covered with a transparent coating that is read by a laser beam. They do not wear out when played. You can get games and full programs on CD’s.”

“A CD-ROM sounds great,” said Travelin’ Rick.

The sales clerk turned a nearby computer on and let Travelin’ Rick try it.

“Here,” said the sales clerk, pointing to the mouse. “You use this mouse to move the cursor on the screen.”

“A mouse!” exclaimed Travelin’ Rick. “My cat is going to love that!”

Soon, Travelin’ Rick was moving the mouse all over the screen.

“Here,” said the sales clerk, popping a popular new game into the CD-ROM. “Try this out!”

Travelin’ Rick had so much fun playing the game that he almost forgot what he came into the store for in the first place.

“This game is great!” said Travelin’ Rick. “What else can a computer do?”

The sales clerk showed Travelin’ Rick a few of the new software applications that are very popular.

“I love that word-processing program and that clip-art program,” said Travelin’ Rick. “Can I buy them with my new computer?”

“These software programs come bundled with your computer,” said the sales clerk. “The game you were playing also comes with it.”

“Great!” exclaimed Travelin’ Rick.

“Now, what size hard-drive do you want?” asked the sales clerk.

“What?” asked Travelin’ Rick.

“Inside each computer is a hard disk,” explained the sales clerk. “The hard disk stores copies of your programs and your data for quick and easy retrieval.”

“Well, I guess that I would want a big hard drive,” said Travelin’ Rick.

“Yes, you would,” said the sales clerk. “How much RAM do you think that you will need?”

“Now what is RAM?” asked Travelin’ Rick.

“RAM stands for Random Access Memory,” explained the sales clerk. “RAM is a series of chips that can be read from and written to by a computer. Computers today are usually sold with 512 megabytes of RAM and more RAM can be added to it at a later date.”

“It looks I will need 512 megabytes,” said Travelin’ Rick.

“A very wise decision,” said the sales clerk.

Travelin’ Rick picked out his computer system and the necessary software that he wanted to go with it.

“I’ll tell you, I didn’t think that there would be so much to know about when purchasing a computer,” said Travelin’ Rick. “I thought that I would just walk in the store and buy one right off the shelf.”

“That is the fun thing about computers,” said the sales clerk. “We can build a computer system that will match each customers needs.”

“It sure was nice of you to show me around,” said Travelin’ Rick, paying for his purchase at the cash register.

“That’s my job!” exclaimed the sales clerk.

“Well, you do a very thorough job,” said Travelin’ Rick.

“Thank-you,” said the sales clerk. “Thank-you very much and I really hope you enjoy your new computer.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” said Travelin’ Rick.