I have no problem with new divers buying a computer IF they are taught how to use it properly. Many are not. They are sold a $1000 piece of technology and then given little or no instruction on it's use. Read the manual they are told. Ever try that. Except for Shearwater the computer user manuals I have seen are exercises in frustration and might as well be written in ancient Sumerian. Unless you are a lawyer or engineer forget it. Especially for the people who have just been trained using material designed for 8th graders. And not very smart 8th graders.
I read mine! However, I'm an engineer so never mind.
The computer I have was pretty easy to figure out. Only a handful of features were not immediately obvious. However, I dove with another diver who had spent $1k on the same computer and had never even looked at it. He had it in guage mode and didn't know what that was. Since he'd already dove that day it was locked out and I couldn't set it back to computer mode. Since he had a brass spg, he just dove until he ran low on gas, then came up. Coincidentally it's the only diver I've ever instabudied with who has run OOA. Lucky for him he breathes enough gas that NDL's aren't much of a factor yet.
Back on topic. When I first got certified I dove analog gauges for the first 10 or 15 ow dives I did. Used the naui tables to plan. Then I bought a computer. I continued to use the naui tables to plan, but would dive the computer's recommendation. On the rare instances that I dove a very square profile they weren't that far apart from one another. Now days I use the "plan" mode in the computer and dive computer only. It's easier, and as far as I can tell is safe. If the computer fails, end the dive and surface.. no big deal other than a lost dive.
One of my favorite features of computers is the downloadable logging. I enjoy coming home from a dive and downloading the data. Then spend some time examining the dive. It helped me improve my diving in several of ways - the first off the top of my head is how much gas I was wasting overfilling (and then dumping) my BCD descending and getting neutral.
You might get more traction on your question in the DIR specific forum instead of the basic discussion one with all the extra post restrictions.
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