[American Dreamer]

Wow! Thanks for such good info! I think we will end up going with Dell, but it will be a few weeks. Now, since dial-up is going the way of New Coke, I'm assuming a cable connection is the way to go? Any specs there?

[AFreeBird]

Now, since dial-up is going the way of New Coke, I'm assuming a cable connection is the way to go? Any specs there?

Well, your cable provider may have their recommendations. I have a Toshiba cable modem which I installed myself after getting the Comcast quick start kit at CompUSA. I prefer to own my own equuipment rather than rent if from the cable company.

What ever cable modem you get, I would also recommend a switch router (4 port ethernet switch such as: Linksys Router/Switch) which also has a built in firewall. I use that firewall in addition to Zone Alarm on the PC. The 4 port switch will allow for up to four PC's to share your cable connections. You may not have more than one PC now, but you might in the future and the firewall is worth the investment by itself.

[jdub]

I shopped and shopped for a new machine, and was either going to go with Dell or Micron. The problem is that you keep adding in just a bit more stuff, and you end up spending big bucks anyway. I finally bought Best Buy's new VPR Matrix, they make them themselves. One reason I liked doing it that way is I have a place to bring it if i need service. For $850, I got a 100GB hard drive, DVD drive, FAST CD-RW, 256K DDR RAM (on a single chip, on a Dell you get 2 128's, 1.6 GHz processor (plenty fast enough), 6 USB ports and lots of expansion slots. You definitely want some USB ports in front, for plugging in digital cameras and stuff.

Since you aren't a computer person, I would also recommend going to a local shop and having them build one for you.

[Aliska]

Have you bought your new computer yet? Just set up our new Dell and so far it is wonderful. Got a refurbished, 4400 series, 40gb, 512 ram, 1.6 ghz with a 17 inch monitor.

Had it all set up and running in less than an hour. Runs right out of the box. Still have to transfer data and am looking for the easiest way.

Thanks to people on this forum who sent me to Dell. I don't think I'm going to be sorry with this one.

Does anyone know how to get their mouse wheel to double click? I've tried everything I can think of. Maybe I will need to run my Intellipoint software or get another mouse.