Home Offices That Work for You

I keep hearing the same question, even from my FedEx guy: "I'm setting up a home office -- What kind of computer should I get?" Since it's no longer possible to leave all of our work at the office, most of us need an office for our work at home. " I've had a home office for more than 10 years. It went from a paper-strewn cubbyhole to a paper-strewn room. Now it has taken over most of the dining room, and my wife's not happy about it. "

I've learned the hard way that there's more to a home office than a solid personal computer. You Need the right printer, telephone, software, accessories, maybe even a copier. So I've scouted out equipment that won't let you down when you're working solo and there's no MIS guy to call.

You Need: An office with just the essentials, for working late nights and on weekends.

PowerTools: IBM Aptiva S8C, Quicken 6.0 Deluxe, Canon BJC-4200 Photo, Sony IT-D250

Admit it: keeping office work out of the house is a losing battle. But you needn't pile up the equipment purchases just so you can crank out the occasional report.

IBM's Aptiva S8C has enough speed and features to take on overstuffed spreadsheets, and it comes with enough software and accessories to keep the rest of the family happy. It's a deal at $1,999.

The Aptiva S8C is packaged in separate, slick black components. A media console with power controls and 16x CD-ROM sits under the monitor, while the main CPU and guts of the system reside in a floor-standing box. The system comes equipped with a 166 MHz Pentium with MMX to handle current and future software, 32 MB of SDRAM, built-in sound (speakers are included), a 33.6 Kbps modem with fax (upgradable to 56 Kbps), and a 3.1 GB hard drive to store all your programs. The monitor is extra, unfortunately. You can get away with a 15-inch model for $499, but I suggest springing for the 17-inch model for $749, so you get a better view of those spreadsheets. By shopping around, you should be able to bring the whole system in for around $2,500.

IBM includes abundant software with the system. The main business package is Lotus SmartSuite, which includes Lotus 1-2-3. There's also RingCentral software, which enables the Aptiva to answer incoming calls, store faxes, and even page you. They left out a top-notch personal finance program, however. Fill the void with the clear leader in this category, Quicken 6.0 Deluxe from Intuit. It will set you back $54.95, but will save money by tracking your expenses.

Even an intermittent home office user needs to print out a report every once in a while. To keep down the total cost of the office, consider getting the Canon BJC-4200 Photo. It's an upright Bubble Jet printer that holds 100 sheets of paper. With rebates until the end of June, it can be purchased in discount computer stores for about $230. It prints in both color and black and white, and the print quality is surprisingly sharp for the price.

It doesn't matter if you work just a couple of nights a week: get a separate phone line to cruise the Net, fax, and email without interruption. You should also pick out a phone. One of the best econo-line desk phones for the task is Sony's IT-D250. It lists for just under $100, and several major stores offer it at a discount. The IT-D250 can handle two phone lines and comes with an automatic call timer and redial.

Geek Factor: The Aptiva S8C doesn't scream "Back to Work!" at you. Its unobtrusive yet cutting-edge design helps it blend in with other gear.

Weak Factor: The Aptiva lacks a backup storage device, so you should shell out another $149 for an Iomega Zip drive.

Coordinates: IBM Aptiva S8C, IBM Consumer Division, 800-426-7235, http://www.pc.ibm.com/aptiva ; Canon BJC-4200 Photo, Canon Computer Systems, 800-848-4123, http://www.ccsi.canon.com ; Quicken 6.0 Deluxe, Intuit, 800-446-8848, www.intuit.com ; Sony IT-D250, Sony, 800-222-7669, http://www.sony.com .

You Need: An office that can handle part-time telecommuting.

PowerTools: NEC Ready Office 1720, Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet Series 500, DataViz e-ttachment Opener, Lucent Technologies 7650

The conflicting demands of work and family mean more people are taking at least one day of flextime a week. If you're one of these latchkey workers, you need a little more computing power than the Aptiva delivers.

NEC has set out to build an all-inclusive computer system that bundles everything you need into one box. And they've largely succeeded. The $2,600 Ready Office 1720 minitower system comes in a solid-but-stylish case and is based on a 200 MHz Pentium with MMX. It's loaded with all the basics, including 32 MB of EDO RAM, a 3.2 GB hard drive, and a 16X CD-ROM drive. There's also a built-in Zip drive. And if your home's power gets zapped in a thunderstorm, the Ready Office comes with an uninterruptible power supply that keeps your screen lit for about four minutes while you store your work.