aron (02/13/83)
My in-laws are in the market for buying a small micro. The main application they want it for is electronic mail communication with us. But they are also interested in using it for getting stock market data, doing personal finance stuff etc. I figure they're mininum hardware configuration is: 48k/64k box *with at least one RS-232 port for modem* 300 baud-modem 1 disk drive The software should include: smart-terminal stock analysis The network can be Source, Compuserve or whatever else is out there. They'd like to keep the price close to $1000 (not including TV) although they are willing to go to $2000. They are also willing to deal with discounters. The problem I face in advising them is that there are at least 5 different micro manufacturers (atari,apple,Commodore,TI,RS) that make myriad configurations that fit the bill. Hence my questions: (1)What can you people out there recommend based on personal experience as a good hardware/software combination that fits the above bill? (2)What has been your experience with the various "networks" that serve personal computer users? Thanks. aron shtull-trauring harpo!seismo!presby!aron