An obligation can be settled by making a payment of $$$$3,000$ now and a final payment of $$$$3,000$ in two years$($Alternative $1).$ Alternatively, the obligation can be settled by payments of $$$$500$ at the end of every six months for eight years$($Alternative $2).$ Interest is $10\%$ compounded semi$-$annually. Compute the present value of each alternative and determine the preferred alternative according to the discounted cash flow criterion.