WHAT	WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR	POSSIBLE PITFALLS	EXPECT TO PAY
SCREEN	Non-interlaced monitor with dot-pitch of at least .28mm; color, even if it's more	14" too small for serious work	$100-300
PROCESSOR	For PCs, look for a 386 or faster; 25MHz will run Netscape or online software, though slowly	Dead-end upgrade path	$500-1000
HARD DRIVE	Minimum of 80MB, try for 120	Tempting to use DriveSpace, DON'T!!	$75-100
RAM	Minimum of 4MB RAM to run Windows-based software and deal with graphics (8MB for Windows 95)	Older boards use 30 pin RAM which is obsolete	$30-40 per MB
BRAND NAME	Compaq Aero computer	Keyboard takes some getting used to; Required external floppy drive	$650-750
MODEM	Try for 14.4, which should not be too expensive since people are switching over to 28.8; Preferably U.S. Robotics, Hayes	Watch out for serial port problems with 9600+ modems	< $100

NEW COMPUTERS -- OUR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR'S PICKS:

PC: Presario 7180, Pentium-90 processor, 8 MB RAM, gigabyte hard drive, 4x CD-ROM drive, sound card, 14.4 FAX modem/answering machine, speakers/microphone, bundled with 25 software titles. Retails about $1,900. (Doesn't come with a monitor, but we recommend Compaq14SV.) Macintosh: Performa 6200 CD, 75 MHz PowerPC processor (Motorola 603), 15" color display monitor, 1 gigabyte hard drive, 8 MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM drive, FAX modem/answering maching; speakers/microphone, and 17 softwre titles. Reatails about $2,100. Only drawback: Has just a one-year warranty.