I agree, don't bother with SATA yet as it's really not worth it.
I also don't know how badly you need a computer right now but if you are going to spend that kind of money you might as well wait for a while since everything is going to 64bit technology.
Those are some good choices. Sounds like you are a big Zakk fan or is it just coincedence?
If you like that straight forward hard rock you might want to check out Alabamba Thunderpussy and Sixty Watt Shaman. Looks like it would be up your alley....... and if you want something heavier you...
Atlantabiolab,
Animals also haven't caused extinction, pollution, nuclear bombs, guns etc. Just because we can rationalize does not mean we are better than them....just different.
I wouldn't worry too much about HIV going airborn. I'm scared something like Ebola will become airborn in which case things will get really messy. Depending on the strain the death rate ranges from about %60 to %95 percent give or take.
Dial_Tone....I could be wrong here but how would Linux be affected and not Unix? They basically work on the same principal and just like Unix these kinds of programs would have to be run as root.
This is also a known problem if you have EZCDCreator or whatever that POS program is called. Their is a fix on their website but it doesn't always work.
If you are running 98 I would suggest reformatting and reinstalling at least twice a year to keep the os running smoothly. I used to do it at least every 3 months and would always notice an improvement in speed even though I always cleaned the registry etc.