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"Gail" wondered <<I want to purchase a computer system that
will facilitate building a contracting business... I want a
system that will support the widest base of potential
clients as possible.>>
Strictly speaking, file exchange problems are pretty much a
thing of the past with modern computers, though there are
still a few "gotchas"... so if all you're worried about is
the ability to swap completed wordpro files, then any
computer will do. If you may actually need to run someone's
software on your computer while you document it, you could
buy separate Windows and Mac systems, but a better
(cheaper) solution might be to buy a PowerMac with a
Pentium add-in board. PowerMacs also let you run a flavor
of UNIX, which might come in handy for some rarer projects.
If you had to choose only one computer platform, I'd
regretfully suggest Windoze, since it's by far more common.
As for software, the answer again is "pretty much anything
will do". MSWord is by far the most common package on Mac
and PC platforms, but WordPerfect is a decent alternative
and Frame is the best bet if you'll be doing lots of
_technical_ technical writing.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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