BL> I knew that. At present, I've only got the two PCs, and the old
BL> 100mHz 486 is not really suitable as a Linux box unless I strip
BL> the kernel to the bone. 

DD> Balderdash Bob! 

DD> I am writing to you now from a 486DX66 - with an almost
DD> out-of-the-packet kernel. It runs fine, but not something you'd
DD> want to run a GUI on.... It's my POP3 ans SMTP mail server,
DD> Fidonet mailer/message editor, along with the garden sprinkler
DD> controller, DNS server, DHCP server, SAMBA server etc,etc. 

 I know Linux does not require much overhead without a GUI, and I
can see the attraction of using an obsolete box (not!), but I've
explained this several times...

 I have three basic problems:

1.  My only ISA modem is the Sportster 14400. I'd have to buy an
   external 56K modem, and the $120-odd is more than the old box is
   worth. What I use is a cheap PCI WinModem with a Linux driver. 

2.  How do I network? John gave me two ISA ethernet network cards but
   I'm short an ISA slot in the new computer and my PCI network card
   isn't ethernet... I'd rather use wireless anyway.

 Where do I run the Linux GUI in your scenario? I see nothing but
trouble trying to use the old box as a server, when I can have a
brand-new one for $800 - 2GHZ, 256Mb RAM, cable modem, network, USB,
and run full Linux at the same time.

 What's an Athlon CPU motherboard worth nowadays, with 256Mb and
basic video?

Regards,
Bob
  

--- BQWK Alpha 0.5