Do not plan on using PCs based on 286 and 386 microprocessors. These machines simply do not have  enough  computing  power  to  handle  DTP chores   efflciently. Monitor— You will need a high-resolution 19- inch  monitor.  When  doing  desktop  publishing and  design  work,  laying  out  pages  on  most standard  12-inch  and  13-inch  screens  can  be tiring and difficult. The monitor and associated graphics  card  should  be  at  the  IBM-standard video-graphics array (VGA) level or better. Secondary    storage—  Large  hard  disks  are essential   for   DTP   work.   Desktop   publishing files  tend  to  get  very  large,  and  you  will  soon accumulate many active files on the computer’s hard disk. A minimum of 500 megabytes of hard disk capacity is recommended. Hard drives with 850 megabytes to 2 gigabytes are even better. Mouse  or  trackball—   You  will  also  need  a mouse or trackball pointing device to move the cursor position on the monitor screen. Printer—   Although  the  dot  matrix  printer  is inexpensive and capable of printing graphics and letter quality text, it is insufficient for many DTP applications. A laser printer is the better choice when  it  comes  to  preparing  quality  text  and graphics. Scanner—  With  desktop  publishing  systems, you  will  naturally  want  a  desktop  scanner  to capture  photographs,  art  work,  clippings,  and other forms of art work. More and more DTP functions are being added to word processing packages. For some applications, this will  eliminate  the  need  for  separate  DTP  packages. However, you will still need a scanner, a mouse, and a compatible laser printer. UTILITIES Software utilities further enhance your computer’s capabilities  and  make  it  run  more  efficiently,  whether  it be a mainframe, mini, or micro. Once a computer user like  yourself  becomes  familiar  with  the  system  and applications software you are working with, you want the  system  to  do  more  and  do  it  faster  and  more efficiently.  Utilities  can  satisfy  some  of  this  need  for more  computer  power,  overall  performance,  internal security,   file   and   data   management,   and   backup capabilities.  Utilities  strive  to  fill  some  of  the  voids  left by applications or operating system software. For the most  part,  utilities  are  meant  to  work  in  conjunction with your existing software. In the past, an individual had to be a technical expert when   it   came   to   setting   up   the   necessary   control parameters  for  a  particular  utility  program  (a  sort, merge,  selective  print,  and  so  on).  Quite  often,  they were complicated to run. Some of these utilities were stand-alone programs occupying a niche not filled by applications   programs. The   traditional   mainframe utility  programs,  such  as  sort,  merge,  and  print,  have given way to desktop organizers and file managers that are   now   geared   for   individual   use   on   a   personal computer. Today, most microcomputer users initiate a wide variety of software utilities and are not even aware they are doing so. Some of the more popular utilities have been incorporated into the disk operating system as well as applications programs as commands. DOS   includes   such   utilities   as   COPY,   SORT, FORMAT,  BACKUP,  RESTORE,  TYPE  (to  print files),  DIR  (to  list  files  in  directories),  RENAME  (to rename files), CLS (to clear your monitor’s screen), and many,  many  more. Utilities  such  as  spell  checkers, dictionaries,  thesauruses,  and  grammar  checkers  are often  included  in  word  processing  packages.  Many applications   programs   include   keyboard   enhancing programs  that  allow  you  to  store  frequently  used  words and sentences you can then access with either a single keystroke  or  combination  of  a  few  keystrokes  (also known as hot keys). Then, there are mouse utilities that allow  you  to  program  the  right  and  middle  mouse buttons for particular tasks. While utility programs are getting easier for us to use,  selecting  the  best  one  to  accomplish  a  particular task can be somewhat difficult. If you look around to see what utilities are available, you will find there are thousands  of  various  types  on  the  market  to  choose from. To introduce you to the types, we have organized the   various   utility   software/programs   into   eight categories: keyboard enhancement, desktop organizer, backup, file management, file maintenance, DOS shell, printer,  and  virus  utilities. Keyboard Enhancement Utilities Keyboard enhancers, as the name implies, enhance the   function   of   the   PC   keyboard.   These   programs (which are usually RAM resident programs) translate a single keystroke into user-defined  macro commands. A  macro  consists  of  one  instruction  that  represents many instructions. For example, Ctrl-Alt-C keystrokes 3-17