Upgrades are expensive and buying a new computer every
year is even worse. An upgrade or new computer doesn’t just include
hardware; it also includes software, training time, and support, among
other cost factors. Simply looking at the cost of the hardware is
shortsighted. To understand the full cost of an upgrade, you must
include all other factors including the downtime to install the upgrade
or new system. In short, inefficient resource use costs more than
just user time; it also costs money for upgrades.
Part of the goal of optimizing your system is to save
money on upgrades. For example, it’s relatively easy to double or
triple the life of a hard drive simply by maintaining it. Keeping
it free of old data and unneeded applications helps the user locate
information faster and improves overall performance. Optimization
offers several cost savings when it comes to hard drives:
* Reduced wear because the heads don’t move as much
to find data.
* Reduced electrical needs.
* Faster data search times.
A successful optimization can often result in a larger
increase in resources and performance than buying a new machine. New
machines today offer incremental performance increases, so doubling
the performance of a system through optimization is actually a better
use of time and money.
The act of optimizing a system and maintaining it is
more than just a cost-saving measure, however. Performing this task
teaches good maintenance and management techniques. The common computer
science wisdom holds that data will expand to fill any increase in
hard drive space. The reason for this bit of wisdom is that people
don’t manage resources until they’re almost gone. Increasing the size
of the hard drive gives someone more space to use and reduces the
need to manage the resource carefully.
Most of the chapters in this book contain some type
of management element for the topic they discuss. However, Chapter
10 discusses an especially important need in today’s computing environment.
Not only are people filling up the hard drive and memory with excess,
but outside sources are also too willing to help them do it. Chapter
10 contains the essential discussion for keeping outside sources of
dirt at bay.