Since the Daily Info Oxford Guide was first put online in the mid 1990s (way back when the Daily Info office was Oxford's first informal Internet Cafe), much has changed in the world of computing. Every single machine we mentioned then is now completely obsolete - in fact, there's a law of computing ['Moore's Law', Ed.] that states that computer power doubles every eighteen months. At the time of first writing, we had personal computers more powerful than the room-sized machines that put us on the moon; today we have personal computers more powerful than yesterday's supercomputers. In 2010, computers with microprocessor speeds of over 3GHz are available. This is more than 600 times the speed of the Commodore Amiga, a popular home PC of the late 1980s. Unless you've got a Mac (and maybe even then!), your computer or laptop is likely to depreciate into obsolesecence over the course of just a few short years.

To go along with this rapid increase in power, prices are falling all the time. You can pick up something workable for a few hundred pounds on Ebay, Amazon and so on, but if you need something locally and immediately, and an assistant who knows what they're talking about, try a small, established supplier such as Sinoco (7 The Roundway, beyond Headington - tel 01865 765558) or the legendary Computer Assistance at 154 Oxford Road, near Temple Cowley police station - tel 01865 451177). Conversely, find PC World on the Botley Retail Park, Botley Road.