If you're in the market for a new computer, you might consider defering that decision for a month or two. Doing so could save you a wodge of dosh, land you a better deal, or both.

We're heading for Christmas so the pressure to buy is getting stronger, but here's a few reasons to resist;

A weak US dollar means imports are cheaper. Bear in mind that Christmas goods are ordered well in advance. In wholesale circles April, May and June are the busy months for Xmas orders. And the US dollar was doing particularly well at the beginning of that period.

Kiwis are feeling wealthier. Feelings don't necessarily equate with reality of course, but try explaining that to the tens of thousands who are utterly convinced they'll soon be able to retire on the profits from their property purchases. The key point here however is that retailers have been stocking up to accomodate them. In some cases over-stocking.

New technology is on the way. Buying hi-tech gear always means drawing a line in the sand but recent developments in dual core processors and multi-processor PCs means the baseline is about to jump dramatically. Okay, you don't need all that grunt now, but applications and games currently in development will. Call it future-proofing. Or consider the words Bill Gates himself once uttered; "640K [of computer memory] ought to be enough for anybody."

And here's the clincher. In a word, Vista. It's a one-in-five-year event. When Microsoft finally release their new operating system, all the PCs in all the warehouses in all the world will devalue by hundreds. Why? Who wants a new machine with an old OS? The only way resellers can respond is to dish out free upgrade coupons or cut their losses and ditch their kit at a discount. On top of that many machines won't make it. Sure the minimum Vista specs are modest, but take it from me, you need to double, treble or preferably quadruple those requirements to get anything like reasonable performance.

So you might like to hold on to your wallets and your credit cards and wait for the post-Christmas sales. I suspect that PC buyers who do will start off having a very happy New Year.