My first Bernina was a 440QE. Loved it! Prism99 is right. You can sew without it being hooked up to the computer. It is the embroidery that requires that. I would recommend learning your way around the machine for regular sewing first, then learning the embroidery would be easier. I agree, if your DH got the machine from a dealer, they should offer mastery classes. I took them for my 440 and when I upgraded to the 730 I took them for that machine. You learn so many little tips. If you go to the Bernina website, there are some videos and I found some on youtube also.
Just did a search and it looks like there is a Bernina dealer in Albany, NY. Is that near you?