Computing is just like any other hobby. You get the basic equipment needed to get going and captivate your interest, and then once you have the bug (pun intended!), you start scouring the advertisements and shops for what to invest your hard-earned cash in next. Trouble is, unlike more traditional hobbies, there is a never-ending stream of boxes, plug-ins, plug-ons, plug-outs - well, you get the picture. Put simply, there's too much around to choose from, so just what should you get first? This question is probably the one asked most of all.

Electron owners are not as well off as Beeb owners when it comes to extra goodies but this is changing as more companies are beginning to release items for the Elk.

Obviously, the biggest factor in what you go for first is the amount of money you have to spent. Let's start at the very top of the scale and say that money is no object(!). As an Electron owner, I would put buying a Plus 1 right at the very top of my list. This gives you immediate access to a whole range of extras as it provides a joystick port, printer port and cartridge sockets.

As a Beeb and Electron Plus 1 owner the first thing on my shopping list, without hesitation, would be disc drives.

Disc drives are at such a low price now that single drives can work out cheaper than a reasonable tape recorder, i.e. under £50. Even dual drives which work in either 40- or 80- track mode (definitely the best, in my opinion) are now very competitively priced. For example, Viglen were selling such drives at the Acorn User Exhibition last July for only £180, and Watford Electronics were matching this at the Christmas show.

Of course, to make use of a disc drive you will need a disc interface fitted. The BBC B+ and BBC 128 have these fitted as standard, so no extra cost is involved. On the Model B, you need only pay a further £50 to get the new Acorn double density disc interface. So, in the worst case for Beeb owners, you're looking at about £230 to get yourself a disc system.

There are many other different disc drives and interfaces around and these have their merits - so, before you decide which one to go for, consult reviews in back issues of Acorn User, the pertinent one being the July 1985 'Disc Special'.

The choice of disc drives for Electron owners is a bit more restricted and is split between the expensive Acorn Plus 3 (£229), the cheaper Cumana disc interface (£115) and the cheaper-still Solidisk system (£59). The latter two are simply interfaces which plug into the Plus 1 and connect to normal drives. I have used the former two and both are recommended, but I haven't seen the Solidisk system yet.

The next thing on my shopping list would be a ROM/RAM board and, for BBC B owners, a Shadow RAM board. The virtues of these were covered in last month's First Byte, so I would refer you to that. Expect to spend about £100 for the two, though, and again look through the reviews (Chris Drage has covered this topic extensively over the last year) before making your choice.

It might surprise you that I've waited until now to suggest a printer. But really, unless you have a positive need for one, i.e. for business or writing purposes, you can get by without one. Printers also tend to be expensive bits of kit. The last issue of Acorn User contained a round up of what's around, so consult this and the individual reviews by George Hill that have appeared over the last eighteen months.

The final big cash cost would be a monitor. If you are using a TV set, they are worth considering, especially if you are spending more than five or six hours a week at the keyboard - you'll find the display much easier on the eyes. RGB monitors are, without doubt, the best and you can even get monitor/TV combinations so that it can double up as a portable television. Chris Drage's roundup in the November '85 issue contains an excellent guide to what's around.

All the items I've mentioned come under the heading of major expenses - the sort of things you'd usually have to plan for. However, we all like to buy things on the spur of the moment: at shows, or simply in fits of impulse! By far the most popular cheaper, serious add-on is the ROM. This simply plus either inside the computer or on a ROM board and can provide you with additional star commands, or even new languages. For example, the most popular ROM is the wordprocessor (for the uninitiated, this turns your computer into a very sophisticated electronic typewriter, allowing you to type letters, reports and book manuscripts with the minimum of fuss). Of course, you need a printer to get the final result - or do you? On paper, yes, but there's no reason why you can't post letters or reports to friends as a file on tape or disc. Providing they have a similar wordprocessor, they can load in your file and read the document!

If you're getting bored with Basic, you might like to try one of the host of other languages now available for the Beeb and Electron in ROM cartridge format. They include Forth, Pascal, Lisp, Comal, BCPL and Micro-Prolog. Some languages are more complicated than others. Comal is similar to Basic in many respects but is very much better. Pascal is very popular, but I prefer Forth. Again we have featured many of these in past Acorn Users, so consult your indexes first; read about the languages which interest you and then see what's available.

If you like programming in Basic, there is a wide range of utility ROMs around to assist you. The normal term for these is Toolkit or Toolbox and they generally add about twenty commands or so to your micro's vocabulary to help you in your program writing. Others are more specific. For example, Acornsoft's Basic Editor is a must for regular Basic programmers and Beebugsoft's Sleuth (BBC only - reviewed on page 189) is a very useful tool as it allows you to single-step through your Basic programs so you can locate any problems that might not be obvious.

There is also a range of what could be called 'serious' or 'business-biased' ROM software available. This includes databases - suitable for keeping records of just about anything - and spreadsheets for processing financial matters. Although business-orientated, they also make useful additions to the 'home office' for accounting, address book and club record purposes. Examples of each include Viewsheet and Viewstore from Acornsoft, Intersheet from Computer Concepts and Ultracalc from the BBC.

Most of the ROM-based software mentioned above can be found in disc or tape format which is certainly cheaper but often not as useful as it eats into the micro's memory.

The mouse has become a very popular peripheral for the BBC Micro over the past year, the AMX version in particular. This strange device is hand-held and can be used to move a pointer across the screen by physically moving the moue across the desk surface. Three fingertip switches are usually incorporated in the mouse and items and actions can be selected from a menu presented by the mouse software on the screen. The mouse has a variety of uses and the AMX version comes with a very good art package.

The tracker ball operates in a similar fashion to the mouse except that it remains stationary within its base and the ball itself is rotated around. Depending on your choice, you can expect to spend between £60-£90.

One thing the computer boom did was to give the book industry a short-lived peak. I imagine that more books dealing with the home micro hobby have been produced over the last five years than all other hobbies put together. A sad fact is that much of what has been published has been appalling.

However, there are still some excellent books around but you have to look carefully. You can usually tell a lot about a book by flicking through it. A well-produced book is often a good one. Avoid tatty-looking books printed on what often looks like toilet paper. They may be cheaper but they are, nine times out of ten, not worth even the few bob being asked. Of the computer magazines Acorn User probably has the most authors with books to their credit. The list is impressive: Joe Telford, Martin Phillips, Simon Williams, Simon Dally, Ian Birnhaum, Jim McGregor, Alan Watt, Ferguson and Shaw, Dick Harrison, Jacquetta Megarry, John Coll, Alen van Someren, Paul Beverley and Bruce Smith.

If you read Acorn User regularly, you'll be familiar with the style and approach of the authors and know what to expect. Of course, there are other books worth considering - for example, books published by the BBC are, in my opinion, always worth investing in.

To summarise: before parting with your cash for new bits of kit, stick to the golden rules: decide on what you want to get; look at adverts and shops to see what's available and how much it costs; read at least one review of the item(s) you are considering; and, last, try it in the shop for yourself. If the item passes all these tests, the chances are that you will be happy and satisfied with your purchase and get real value for your money.