Alright, here's about prices. Dutch prices, that is, our VAT percentage is quite a bit higher than the US VAT. Specs: Athlon64x2 4400 MSI mainboard with nForce4 chipset 4x 1 GB Kingston HyperX DDR400 2x Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM 73 GB Geforce7800 GTX /256 MB Fortron PSU Coolermaster case, 2 extra fans for drives and system. DVD player. No mouse, CRT or keyboard. Purchased the components in December 2005, put them together during Christmas holidays. Price 2200,- (somewhat less than $3000,-) including VAT. It should be possible to put together a comparable system for less than $2500,- in the US. That is, if you're not afraid of screwdrivers and manuals. You could also have the store assemble the machine for you, at a reasonable charge ($50-$100). By the way, a decent flatscreen monitor (19" is quite affordable these days) will have a contrast range that's equal or even better than a CRT. Brightness is better, and power consumption is also better.

The pen is mightier than the sword. But if you literally want to have some impact, use a typewriter

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