Silvan writes:

$2500 was always about what it took to get a new computer of any quality.

I guess maybe it still is, but I can't imagine anyone *needing* what $2500
gets you these days. The Wal-Mart after Thanksgiving cheapass piece of
crap computer this year is a 2.7 GHz Celeron with 256 MB of RAM, a 40 GB
hard drive, and a 17" monitor. Eghads. That's what a $498 computer looks
like today?

It makes my head hurt. I got a new computer about 6 months ago. 3 gig Pentium
4; 1 gig of RAM, 120 gig hard drive. Same old monitor. The thing has some
extras, fast CD burner (no DVD: save that for later, when the prices are down
in the CD range), I had them add a floppy drive, something like 6 USB 2 ports,
modem, network card, couple things I'd have to look up. $1700. For the original
$2500, I think I could have replaced my 19" monitor with a 21" or gotten a good
19" LCD. I got this because I was doing more and more digital photography, and
the loads with the older machine were eating on my nerves.

My wife got my old 1 gig Pentium 3. That has only 3/4 gig of RAM. I've found
over the years that the best and cheapest speed-up is adding RAM.

The youngest kid got the machine my wife had been using (300 mHz?).

Keep it in the family and recycle.

I built both those older machines, so they were a lot cheaper. This time
around, I let George do it.

Charlie Self

"If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would
promise them missionaries for dinner." H. L. Mencken