If you can wait, the IBM PC AT with its super-duper 80286 processor is just around the corner. Its protected and real modes of operation should make your investment last a lifetime. A Highly Philosophical Question Mr. Carpio, you've got a well- manicured piece up there. It is a classic. I get a bit philosophical whenever I'm praised.
Computers are sometimes like that.
They don't necessarily mean to confuse their owners but the dawning of symmetric multiprocessing, timeslicing, multithreading, and IP addresses in the 4 billion range has overwhelmed even the mightiest of processors to give our home computers a certain degree of forgetfulness reminiscent of my grandmother's sporadic memory. I'm sure he won't mind another copy. This forgetfulness is usually harmless. Ironically, the only alternative in ensuring the timely delivery of our messages is to rely less on computers and instead unlock the hidden powers of the mind that tap into the unseeable ether. I am furtively writing a book on how to do this.