1. a new computer from a reputable manufacturer that can run Windows XP Professional (Home edition no longer available) from the business divisions of major computer manufacturers is preferred and Microsoft Office 2007, or

2. an Apple iMac G5 with OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and running Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, or

3. a computer at a store such as PC Computer in Newtown, CT, with 320MB hard drive, 1GB RAM of memory, and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive with an install of Windows XP or installed with the free, open-source, Linux distribution called Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).

   With Ubuntu comes OpenOffice.org which has the usual word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database tools.  The word processor is compatible with Microsoft Word documents (.doc); the spreadsheet is compatible with Microsoft Excel documents (.xls); and the presentation application is compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint files (.ppt).  Ubuntu is easy to configure with printers, e-mail, web browsing, connecting up USB memory keys and external hard drives.  Ubuntu 9.10 is full-featured and will work well particularly for the home/office environment.  (a neat cost savings too)

If your Windows XP computer's hard drive has failed and you have the Windows XP reinstall disk along with the system drivers disk along with your office software, purchase a new hard drive to replace the old drive and reload Windows XP and your other software.  I'm suggesting that you stay with Windows XP for now if you can.  (MadMod Computing can help you with this reinstall if you prefer.)

1. The cheapest, most-elegant solution at present is to load run Windows software using Wine or VirtualBox running inside of Ubuntu.  While Wine, VirtualBox and Ubuntu are free to install and use, there is not 100% certainty that a particular Windows application will run properly, though most businesses probably won't experience significant problems.  (Applications use the Wine libraries to run as if Windows had been installed.)  VirtualBox allows for the complete install of a licensed Windows XP running inside Ubuntu in a virtual environment.  Using that method, programs running on Windows XP can be installed and run with little difficulty.
   
   
   
2. A much more expensive solution is to run VMware Workstation that uses a virtual version of Windows on an Ubuntu computer.  This allows applications to run inside of a virtualized Windows version.  To work properly, the computer needs about 10GB of disk space and with 2-4GB RAM.  VMware Workstation 6 for Windows costs approximately $189 for a single user.
   
   

• 1GB RAM (preferred: 2GB RAM)
• 160GB Hard Disk Drive (bigger drives for graphics applications) or 16GB Flash Drives
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM
• Wireless Card built-in (802.11G or 802.11N-capable)
• Optional USB Optical Mouse
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)--network units plug into the battery backup side, surge protection for all other units (not pictured)

• 4-port Wireless DSL/Cable Router
• Computer -- connected by wireless
• Cable/DSL Modem (connected to the WAN port of router)
• HP Photo PSC (Inkjet) Networked (router connected) or USB
• 100GB (1 drive) Networked Storage connected to the router

• Change the router username and password.
• Select a unique non-obvious SSID.
• Turn off the SSID broadcast signal.
• No wireless encryption.  Note: If private customer data is stored, use WPA 128-bit encryption for all wireless systems.  Also encrypt all customer data on the hard disks and on the network storage.

• 1st partition for file backups (e-mail, My Documents)
• 2nd partition -- image the computer's hard drive

• Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home (Windows 7 is the 'replacement' for these if necessary)
• Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2007
• McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 (firewall and anti-virus are both necessary)
• Program -- Password Manager (multiple vendors)
• Program -- Backup Software (multiple vendors)
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 or later versions

• 1GB RAM (preferred: 2GB RAM)
• 160GB Hard Disk Drive (bigger drives for graphics applications)
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM
• 17" or 19" Flat Panel Display Monitor (or bigger -- 22" wide also popular)
• Keyboard, Mouse (wireless--nice but they have battery and radio babysitting issues you have to get used to)
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)--network units plug into the battery backup side, surge protection for all other units (not pictured)

• 4-port Wireless DSL/Cable Router
• Computers -- connected to a router port or by wireless
• Cable/DSL Modem (connected to the WAN port of router)
• HP PSC (Inkjet) Networked (router connected) or USB
• HP PSF (Laser) Networked (router connected) or USB (FAX to phone line)
• 100GB (1 drive) Networked Storage connected to the router

• Change the router username and password.
• Select a unique non-obvious SSID.
• Turn off the SSID broadcast signal.
• No wireless encryption.  Note: If private customer data is stored, use WPA 128-bit encryption for all wireless systems.  Also encrypt all customer data on the hard disks and on the network storage.

• 1st partition for file backups (Quickbooks, e-mail, My Documents)
• 2nd partition -- image the computer's hard drive

• Windows XP Professional (perhaps available through major computer vendors at their business division)
• Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
• McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 (firewall and anti-virus are both necessary)
• Program -- Password Manager (multiple vendors)
• Program -- Backup Software (multiple vendors)
• Quickbooks Pro 2009 (single-license version depends on business needs)

• 1GB RAM (preferred: 2GB RAM)
• 160GB Hard Disk Drive (much bigger drives for graphics applications)
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM
• 17"-23" Flat Panel Display Monitor
• Keyboard, Mouse (wireless nice--but they have battery and radio babysitting issues you have to get used to)
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)--network units plug into the battery backup side, surge protection for all other units (not pictured)

• 8-port Wireless DSL/Cable Router
• Computers -- connected to a router port or by wireless
• Cable/DSL Modem connected to the WAN port of the router
• HP PSC (Inkjet) Networked to the router
• HP PSF (Laser) Networked to the router (FAX to phone line)
• 200GB (2 drives) Networked Storage connected to the router

• Change the router username and password.
• Select a unique non-obvious SSID. (think strong password)
• Turn off the SSID broadcast signal.
• No wireless encryption.  Note: If private customer data is stored, use WPA 128-bit encryption for all wireless systems.  Also encrypt all customer data on the hard disks and on the network storage.

• 1st Drive -- individual partitions for each computer--for file backups
• 2nd Drive -- image the main computer's hard drive (the one with Quickbooks)

• Assumption 1: the router (the king of the system) is the gateway to the business network and the Internet, and thus must not be compromised in any way. Internal equipment must not bypass the in-place security constraints.
• Assumption 2: people normally make judgment mistakes on e-mail attachments, downloads, using instant messaging, visiting unsafe websites, etc.--because they are human and are sensitive to 'social engineering.' Consequently they may be difficult or impossible to train and/or change.
• Assumption 3: someone in the business needs to be the Information Technology (IT) ever-aware shepherd--teaching and reminding the others and putting things back to within the security policy rules--hopefully before damage has occurred.
• The SSID of the router is not to be shared with non-business computers. (No non-business computers may use the network in any way.)
• Neither Wireless Access Points (WAP's) nor Powerline Ethernet/Wireless Bridges may be connected to the business network at any point.
• Remote notebook computers -- must have Internet Security (firewalls, anti-virus in-place while in use) and must have file sharing turned off.
• Notebook computers must be rescanned for viruses/malware before reconnecting them to the business network. (Assume the worst!)
• All computers must have regular updates to Windows and software packages, along with subscription renewals for Internet security products.

• Windows XP Professional (perhaps available through major computer vendors at their business division)
• Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
• McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 (firewall and anti-virus are both necessary)
• Program -- Password Manager (multiple vendors)
• Program -- Backup Software (multiple vendors)
• Quickbooks Pro 2009 (single-license version depends on business needs) (only on one computer)

2.5" USB external hard drive containers typically are for hard disk drives from notebook computers, and are particularly useful and easy to carry along with your notebook computer.  They tend to have an storage upper limit of 100GB for the inexpensive containers.