dumtom, if you get an Altaire 8800, do yourself a favor and don't try to daytrade with it!.. it's way too slow imo you need to flip about 100 switches just to place a simple market order, and the interface with TWS is just miserable.
here is an inexpensive solution to your problem, if you dont mind using a womans computer.. http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_jun2001/CompuGirl.jpg -qwik
and this is why Aphie has to use a different screen name and beg for another computer.. sheesh man, it didnt place the trades for you.. http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_mar2001/CalmPC.gif -qwik
If you can hold out til Christmas I let you have my old VIC 20, my son has been using it and complaining.He finally convinced me to upgrade to the Commodre 64.I can't wait.I'm even getting the floppy so I can throw in the cassette player.
i've got a Packard Bell i might let go for a song.... it was so reliable in it's heyday....hell, can i pay you to take it???!!!!
Until recently, I've been trading on a Timex/Sinclair 1000 along with my b/w tube Philco 12" TV set. Works great! Problem is, when the family wants to watch TV they can't. The reel-to-reel data storage gets a little cumbersome at times, too. I just got a state of the art Trash-80 Model 1 and that cassette tape just flies! If you buy my TS/1000 I can save up for on of those new 160k floppy drives. Imagine - 160k on a single disk!
Whats wrong with going to a goodwill store you can have a computer cheap, many people upon upgrading donate used ones. You can expect to pay $25 or more depending on your location. The only thing people will give you free is a hardtime. For this price you only have to work 1 day at McDonalds and its yours.
I picked up a good used USB scanner for 5.00 at a local charity outlet store. All it needed was a power cube which I already had and it works. Not a bad way to fiind some gems.