Home is where the hardware is.

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED PURCHASING A HOME computer but haven't yet made the commitment? Consider this: Home computers are no longer the sole province of game players and the wealthy. Computer prices are constantly falling as technological advancements increase, making a home computer as affordable as many other large home appliances. They are powerful, useful tools that can make many home management tasks, such as filing income taxes, managing your budget and providing supplemental education for your children, as easy as point and click. Imagine being able to instantly input data from the previous year's tax return into this year's filing, or planning the exact route--from door to door--of a cross-country road trip without having to ask for directions. Better yet, think of the head start you'll give your children by preparing them with the technology that will soon be requisite knowledge for all students--and think of the consequences if you don't.

Anita and Daniel Johnson of Silver Spring, Md., are in the fast lane of the techno revolution. Anita, 37, a member of the senior technical staff at Adsystech--an African American-owned systems engineering consulting services firm based in Silver Spring--has led the way for the Johnson family's entry into the information age.

The Johnsons' well-equipped home system, an IBM-compatible 486 DX2 66 MHz computer with a quadruple speed CD-ROM drive and an internal 14.4 kbps data/fax modem, was purchased in 1995 for around $2,300 to replace an older machine that didn't have multimedia capabilities. Peripherals include a laser printer, copier and fax machine.

"All of the programs I wanted were coming out on CD-ROM, and I felt like we were in the Stone Ages without multimedia capabilities," says Anita. The capacity for interactive educational software for the Johnsons' three daughters was also a factor in their choice to purchase a second home computer.

Daniel Johnson, 36, is a manager of advanced technology development at defense contractor Lockheed Martin and, surprisingly, given his occupation, a reluctant home computer user. The older computer has since been banished to the basement where Daniel makes his private home office. A self-proclaimed "Lotus man," he uses the home system primarily to stay in touch with the office and work from home with Lotus Notes and related software. He does make an occasional foray onto the Internet for in-depth sports and news stories. Anita plans to network their home systems so that files and printers, faxes, etc., can be shared by both computers.

Although the Johnsons work in technology-related fields, they insist that they've embraced computers and other technological advancements not so much because of what they do for a living, but for the value technology adds to their lives. "I do everything on the computer," Anita says, "from finding recipes in NetNoir to using Turbo Tax to do our taxes." The "techie" of the family, she has two America Online accounts, one at work and one at home. A member of an African American women's book club, she keeps a database of her fellow members and the books they've read. She also produces a newsletter for the club to keep new and old members updated.

The Johnsons have achieved a tremendous return on their investment, some of which can be measured in actual dollars. For example, by using Turbo Tax they've saved between $200 and $450 a year in tax preparation fees.

The home computer has also helped to lower the Johnsons' long-distance telephone expenses. Anita now keeps in touch with far-away friends and relatives almost exclusively through e-mail, thereby eliminating many of their monthly long-distance charges.

The Johnsons' computer is unmatched as a home productivity tool. "I'll go through the trouble of composing something on the computer for two hours that I may have been able to write manually in less time, but with the computer I've facilitated that task for the next 200 times I have to do it," explains Anita. Last year she produced 75 personalized Christmas greeting cards in one night--including mailing labels, signatures and return addresses--a task that would have taken a few days' worth of spare time to produce manually.

The computer also lets Daniel spend more time of home because he can access his files from work via modem. It also came in handy during many snowbound winter days by allowing him to transact business from the comfort and safety of home.

The boundless array of specialize software now available offers something for everyone. The Johnsons have a home legal advice program called Lawyer for Windows that lets them produce legal documents from their PC. It covers issues ranging from guardianship of their children to their last will and testament. "These are things that we would traditionally have had to pay a lawyer to produce. Now we need only to have the documents reviewed [by a lawyer], thus diminishing our costs dramatically, Anita says. They are eagerly awaiting the day their bank offers online banking, so that they can take full advantage of the financial management capabilities of their system. (For more on online banking, see "The ABCs of Banking Online," Moneywise, this issue.)

The wealth of information and resources available via the Internet has been of great use to the family. "When we were planning to buy some Disney stock for our children, to tie it in with an upcoming trip to Disney World, I got the name of a discount broker and other pertinent stock information from the Net," says Anita.

Perhaps most importantly, the Johnsons' two oldest daughters, Danae, 6, and Monica, 4, are getting an early exposure to the benefits and capabilities of technology in their everyday lives. They both have the freedom and knowledge to turn on the computer at any time and put in one of their favorite CD-ROMs. Their parents insist it is an experience not to be underestimated. "The computer has definitely facilitated easier and faster learning for our children," says Daniel. "The best part about it is that they don't realize that they're learning. I recognize it absolutely, but they're content to `play' on the computer."

Danae reads well enough to pick out her favorite interactive book, Imo and the King, an African folk tale adventure, while Monica chooses favorites such as Winnie the Pooh by color. The Johnson family library also includes interactive encyclopedias, such as Grolier's and Compton's, that help give the entire family a wider base of knowledge.

The Johnsons are reaping the rewards of being a computer-literate family and believe that it is imperative for all African Americans to be similarly in tune with the technology. "We would encourage all families to get a computer in their home if they can, because without the proper familiarity with computers we [African Americans] will be left behind in the coming years," says Daniel. "Once you get a little involved in the technology, the uses and benefits of it are so overwhelming that you'll get increasingly more involved," adds Anita.

HOME PRODUCTIVITY

Danny and Pamela Creed of the South side of Chicago agree. They also have two home computers. Danny Creed, 39, an electrical engineer, works as a technical manager for AT&T/bell Labs. Pamela, 43, is a vice president at the Hollins Group Inc.--an African American-owned retained executive search firm.

The Creeds have had a home computer for the past seven years. It's become such an integral part of their family life that Pamela says, "I couldn't imagine doing many of the things we do manually, without the ease of a computer."

The main system the family uses is an IBM-compatible 486 DX4120 machine with a double speed CD-ROM drive, 14.4 kbps data/fax modem, a hand-held scanner and a deskjet printer. Their semi-portable second computer is used mainly as a backup or on vacations. The Creeds manage everything from doing their taxes to planning road trips on their home system. To keep track of their finances, the Creeds use Quicken Deluxe 5. The software allows them to maintain their checking and savings accounts as well as keep track of their credit card expenses, and it even prints checks. Using a program called Medical Matters, the Creeds also keep a lid on medical expenses and monitor the actual dollar amount of the coverage they receive from their insurance provider. The software allows them to enter doctor visits and track the money they've spent on doctor bills in one year compared with the amount that was covered by insurance. "With this program, we can find out where every cent was spent and evaluate our insurance plan more effectively," says Danny. Like the Johnsons, the Creeds use Turbo Tax to keep track of their income taxes and returns. It allows them to input the data from the previous year into the current year's tax form, saving time, effort and accounting fees.

To plan road trips and vacations, the Creeds have two programs that can get even the most misdirected travelers to their destination safely. AutoMap gives the quickest route possible for a long road trip given variables such as average trip speed. It also takes into account such things as two- or three-lane highways. The second program, Street Atlas, delineates exact directions to and from any location in the U.S. given the street address of the destination. "Recently I took a trip to an aunt's house who is notoriously bad at giving directions," recalls Danny. "With this program, I was able to pinpoint an exact route to her door-step."

When planning trips to more exotic locations, he routinely accesses the intended vacation site on the World Wide Web to get a good feet for the destination and to plan their itinerary. Information obtained from the Web regarding nearby hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and special events help to make their vacation more enjoyable.

Both husband and wife dial into their offices daily via modem, but for Pamela it is a necessity. She works from home two days a week so she can keep a close eye on her three young children, Alexandra, 6, Joshua, 4, and Christina, 2. Danny, too, has been able to spend more time at home because of their home computing facilities, though both he and his wife admit it is not as much as they would like.

In this household, Danny is the resident techie, says Pamela. But, as she quickly learned, it doesn't take a technical genius to take advantage of the benefits of home computing. While she still uses the computer mainly to interact with her office, Danny spends equal time doing work for the office, handling home applications and Net surfing where he has found that he "can ferret out any piece of information, from trivia on Jackie Robinson to the Million Man March, just by entering the right keywords."

Of course, having three different Internet access routes is a big help. The Creeds can reach the Internet through Danny's work account at AT&T, an account with CompuServe and a local African American Internet service provider called NetConnect http://www.interman.net). In fact, he has upgraded and debugged much of the family's software directly from the Internet. Says Danny: "I've found that it's often easier to get into a Compuserve forum on the appropriate software title to get solutions for problems than calling the support lines included with the software." In this way he bypasses the technical help lines that are often busy or improperly staffed.

THE TECHNOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE

Like the Johnsons, the Creeds agree that it is imperative for African American families to have access to a computer. "Without access to computer technology, our children will be at a disadvantage the day they enter school," says Danny. The cost is often the same as any other high ticket home appliance, such as a large-screen television, but the return on the investment is almost immeasurable. The educational and financial applications alone will likely offset the initial cost.

For those who cannot afford a high-priced, state-of-the-art multimedia machine, the message should not be lost. "It isn't important that you have the very latest and best technology money can buy," says Daniel Johnson. "However, it is utterly important that every family--especially the children--have access to some computing facilities."

Many public libraries and schools offer online access for free, and local papers often carry advertisements by people who are looking to sell a working system because they have upgraded, adds Anita. Ideally, access to a computer should be in the home, where its wonders can be discovered at leisure. To this end, computer companies are racing to provide low-cost Internet access computers with enough software and hardware for surfing the Net, and many should be available later this year. That will lower the cost index of home computing facilities a great deal, bringing it into range for many who previously thought it an extravagance.

Whether we welcome them or not, computers--and technology in general--are already an important part of how we live and work. The Johnson and Creed families have taken the initiative to stay in step with the latest that technology has to offer, not out of an infatuation with new gadgetry, but out of the realization that computers will soon be as commonplace as television sets--but much more productive.