The Tanner family was growing by leaps and bounds. Dj was going to be in high school soon. Stephanie was now going into the third grade and soon little Michelle would be entering school. Becky and Jessie had done the attic over and now lived in their own apartment upstairs.
But DJ had approached Dan with the prospect of getting a computer. Now that she was going to be attending high school a lot of work could be done from the computer. But a computer was very expensive and Danny knew that there could be trouble with teenagers when they go on a computer. There were men out there who were known to contact young girls. There were also sites where he didn't want his young children to have access to.
DJ wanted to be able to work on the computer where she could have some peace and quiet . One of the problems of having seven people living in one house was a difficult thing. She wanted to study in quiet and Danny understood this.
It was finally decided that there was an area under the stairway that could be used. It provided DJ or whoever was on the computer some privacy, but Danny could keep a sharp eye on what was being worked on. DJ and Stephanie were not thrilled at the idea, but they accepted the terms.
Now it was time to look into the different computers of the time and what type of computer the family should have. Danny and Becky used computers at the station where they worked and were familiar with the workings.
Now it was time for the family to get together and look at the different computers that were out there. The Tandy was a good solid computer that was made by Radio Shack. It was cheaper and had many new improvements. Radio Shack was a good company and had good reviews. But it was not highly rated by different computer users. Among more hard core users the Tandy was not recommended. The Tandy was an option though as it was half the price of the other computers that were out there.
He then looked into the IBM computer, but it was so expensive and he was going to have it be used by young students. There was not good support either and for the most part you had to be careful and learn on your own.
As Danny and everyone else in the house went over the computers and the best computer for the family the decision was made. The Tanner family was going to have a new Tandy Computer. The computer was just under one thousand dollars at base price. Then there was the printer the paper the ink for the printer . Without a printer DJ or anyone would not be able to bring their work with them without. But the programs the instructions the warranty the line to put the computer in and then the purchase of an internet provider Danny walked out of the house with a smile and over two thousand dollars gone.
The computer was going to have to be set up on the next Tuesday. They were going to need to have an electrician come out and place an outlet where the computer was going to be and then they needed to contact the phone company. There was going to be needed a phone outlet. Then Danny had another sticker shock. If someone was on the computer and someone tried to use the phone. This would disconnect the computer from the internet. Also when someone was on the computer the phone would ring in as busy. This would mean that no one could call the house either. With a family of seven and one computer Danny was sure that the computer could be in use for hours at a time.
So on Monday morning Danny called the telephone company and added a new line to the house. He paid to have a jack installed. The cost of that was to be 9.95 per month for the phone and forty dollars to have the jack installed. The internet was 19.95 a month and the man from Radio Shack to come over and install the computer was 79.95. The total cost was way over two thousand five hundred dollars and the phone and outlet could not be done until the following Thursday. it had been a nightmare from the start.
Every night when Danny got home he looked at the box with the new computer in it. It was rather large and DJ had been right. They now needed a special desk for that computer. As Danny went to the home office supply store he cringed as he put out another one hundred dollars for a desk and chair. He truly was finding out how much this new piece of technology was going to cost.
Finally the following Friday the man came and installed the computer. He showed the family what the computer could do. DJ couldn't wait to try it out for a school paper and Danny wanted to show her how to do it. Zip the computer crashed and Danny made good use of the tech support that he had bought. Within a few days that number was on speed dial.
To everyone's dismay it turned out that DJ 's friend Kimmy was a computer whiz and she could fix most of the problems that they would encounter. The computer was a headache. but was to become a part of the family. She was very talented at working the computer and her number became a member of the speed dial on the phone too. But Kimmy was good hearted about it and usually would come right over. Indeed a new era had begun.