Secondary storage devices include hard drives， floppy disk drives， CD-ROM drives， and DVD drives. At the very minimum， an office system should have a 40GB hard drive， a 3.5 floppy drive， and a CD-ROM drive or a backward compatible （meaning it will read CDs） DVD drive. ACD-RW （Compact Disk-Read/Write） drive is a good option for cost-effectively sharing and/or archiving large amounts of data.
Video cards determine the resolution， colors， and speed at which images are displayed on the monitor. A 24-bit color monitor with pixels at 28 pitches and a video RAM of 8MB is good standard.
To more efficiently use the notebook computer in the office， docking stations or port replicates may be used. A docking station is a housing unit for inserting a notebook computer so it can be used as a desktop computer. The docking station may have parallel， serial， or USB ports； secondary storage drives； and plug-ins for a keyboard， mouse， and monitor. A port replicate attaches to the back of the notebook computer for plugging in a printer， monitor， keyboard， mouse， or other peripheral device.
Fax machines
Fax machines may be thermal， ink jet， or laser （just like printers）. Thermal faxes are the least expensive， but the faxes are printed on rolled， waxy paper -- not a good choice. Ink jet and laser fax machines print on plain paper. The ink jet fax is somewhat slow， but prints nice quality. The laser fax machine is the most reliable and offers the best quality and speed， although it’s very expensive by comparison.
Memory is an important feature of a fax machine. There should be enough memory to save incoming faxes if the machine runs out of paper -- 512KB will hold about 25 pages.
Scanners
When purchasing a scanner， consider the following features： resolution， color bit depth， interface connection， maximum size of original， automatic sheet feeder， and software. The minimum resolution recommended for graphics and images is 600 x 600dpi. If very high quality for detailed images and enlargements is needed， 1200dpi is recommended. Interpolated resolution is not necessary. It may create additional pixels that help enlarge the scan but doesn’t improve the detail. The key factor is to pay for what is needed in the office. If resolution is not important， 600dpi will be just fine.
Photocopiers
Is it digital or analog？ Digital copiers are less likely to jam or need servicing， they’re less noisy， and have better quality （especially graphics and pictures） than analog copiers and the cost is not always higher！ The mainstay features should still be considered： automatic document feeder， depleting， collating， stapling， and cropping options.
Digital cameras
Resolution-higher resolution is needed only if you’ll be taking long distance photos with a lot of detail -- or if you plan to crop images， and then enlarge them. Lower resolution （minimum of 640×480） will be adequate if the images will be viewed on the computer monitor at normal size.
Electronic document management system （EDMS）
Electronic document management system （EDMS） allows rapid simultaneous access by several users to documents within the company. EDMS may consist of many different formats， such as text， spreadsheets， graphics， and digitized presentations. It’s important to note， although EDMS include records management systems， EDMS doesn’t replace a records management system because it doesn’t allow for maintaining an audit trail of records for evidentially. Also， because the EDMS images analog documents and manages them in digital mode， confusion may exist that an EDMS is an imaging product. Large organizations， or even cities， have implemented electronic information management systems （EIMS） via an intranet or public access of the Internet. The city of Escondido， Calif.， implemented an enterprise-wide EIMS that reduced the number of information retrieval requests to the city clerk’s office by 66 percent， reduced the average retrieval time citywide by 80 percent， and reduced the amount of storage space by 10 percent. The EIMS provided easier， faster， and simultaneous access to information for the citizens and employees of the city.
Multifunctional devices
A multifunctional device has the functionality of a fax， copier， scanner， and printer – an all-in-one office center. There are several benefits of purchasing a multifunctional device for today’s office.
Surge suppressor/uninterrupted power supply
Protect your computer， modem， fax machine， and other office equipment from power surges.
Antiviral software
The new Norton Antivirus software 2001 version is one “must have” for all offices. It contains a Live Update functionality that finds an open Internet connection， retrieves new virus definitions， and installs them automatically. The software also easily scans files and E-mail attachments as they are downloaded. This antiviral software is a bargain that is essential to keep the office free of viruses.
Conclusion
If technology is taking over your office， evaluate your technology plan. Ensure that the technology is benefiting the employees， the customers， productivity， quality， and the bottom line！And if it is， sit back and let technology do the work for you.
【Vocabulary】
automate
v. 使自动化，自动操作
recipe
n. 处方
microprocessor
n. 微处理器
temporary
adj. 暂时的，临时性
floppy
adj. 懒散的，松软的
compatible
adj. 协调的，兼容的，一致的
pixel
n. 像素
peripheral
adj. 外围的 n. 外围设备
thermal
adj. 热的，热量的
enlargement
n. 放大
simultaneous
adj. 同时的，同时发生的
interpolated
adj. 以内差值替换的
format
vt. 格式化，安排格式 n. 版式，格式，形式
analog
n. 类似物，相似体
implement
v. 贯彻，实现 n. 工具，器具
multifunctional
adj. 多功能的
automatically
adv. 自动地，机械地
attachment
n. 附加装置，附件，配属
download
v. 下载
bargain
n. 契约，合同，成交商品，便宜货
retrieve
v. 重新得到，找回
【参考译文】
办公室解决方案
现在我们看一下办公自动化可用的技术手段。
个人计算机
对于特定的计算机设备，没有一个适用于每个办公室的秘诀，但有一些最小化的原则可以使你充分有效地发挥这些设备的性能。
微处理器最小速度应为500MHz（megahertz）。对于复杂的计算机应用，应考虑1GHz的处理器。