Hello Chuck,

  CY> When I can go to local computer store and get last
    > years' good machine...that will NOT die in the next
    > year...

Sadly it's been my experience that newer machines (I think
this may be a PC thing especially) can be less reliable than
the gear they're supposed to replace.  Hopefully the newer,
cooler (thermally and perhaps spiritually ;-) processors
along with an ounce or two of design sense and care taken in
building them will help fix this.

  CY> (RAM, Power and cooling are key to the life of a
    > computer).

Kind of: certainly don't skimp on the cooling, but I'd
rather not generate the heat in the first place.

  CY> Sometime you have to pull the plug (says the guy with
    > several Sparcs, an Alpha, two NeXTs and an SGI Indy at
    > home:).

<grin>

Regards,
  - Andy Ball.