I definitely agree with Dicho's comments about Dell. Good stuff for good prices. I have one of their notebooks (Inspiron 3800) and it's a neat little machine. I would have no qualms about getting a Dell.

My desktop is a Pentium II, 350MHz, 9.4 GB hard drive, with 128 MB RAM and a ViewSonic 17" PS775 monitor -- built for me in fall of 1999 by ACI Micro, a "screwdriver shop" in north Seattle. It has a fairly big case with lots of bays that are still empty. I planned it that way. The advantages of having one of these shops build a computer for you is that you can get exactly what you want made up of off-the-shelf (not proprietary) parts that are easily replaceable and easily upgraded. Any time I feel it's necessary, I can take it back to the shop and have a Pentium IV 1.5 GHz chip, another bucket full of RAM chips, a 40 GB hard disk, a hotter soundcard, and a new motherboard (if necessary) stuffed into it.

I've heard that computer sales are pretty soft right now, and this reflects itself in the currently pretty low prices. I paid about $2,000 for mine, but I could replace it now with a computer that would blow it's socks off for less that $1,000. But it wouldn't be as easily modified and upgraded. So far, mine does everything I want it to. Check the "screwdriver shops" (usually listed in the Yellow Pages as "computer manufacturers" -- but you'll note that they're local). But if you don't want to go that route, check Dell. Good hunting.

Don Firth