Ripping is scary on a ras.
Rough crosscutting is easier than on a tablesaw. You hold the [10 foot
long] board still and move the saw, much easier.
I use a sled to cross cut wide boards on my tablesaw. you are limited to
about 16 inches of crosscut on a ras anyway.

Probably do well with a basic [cheap] mitersaw for rough cross cuts and
spend all you can afford on a tablesaw.
Oh, and buy a router, dont bother with the ras for that.

Got mine [old sears, heavy] for 125$ with a nice set of drawers underneath.
use the drawers more than the saw...

Cheers
Dave
"takashi" wrote in message
...
Hi, I just started out woodworking. I am looking for a power tool which
is the most versitile of all. Some people recommended that I should buy
a table saw first, but others say that I can do more things, using a
radial arm saw. For example, a radial arm saw can be used to do both
cross-cutting and ripping. With some attachment, it can also be used as
a router. Since I can only buy one power tool at time, I am hoping that
somebody could give me a suggestion. Are the things that I said about a
radial arm saw correct?
Thank you in advance.