Now that you've picked a laptop, you need to think about software. There's absolutely no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on Microsoft Office. My choice: OpenOffice, which has the best price you'll every find. It's free. OpenOffice is similar to Microsoft Office and is generally compatible with standard Office document formats. It doesn't have every single feature you'll find in Office, but more than enough for most of us.

Do get an anti-virus program, but you don't have to spend money for it. I've been using the free version of Avira for some time and have had no problems with any sort of malware.

San Francisco journalist Bill Snyder writes frequently about business and technology. He welcomes your comments and suggestions. Reach him at bill.snyder@sbcglobal.net. Follow Bill Snyder on Twitter . Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter