In some ways, it seems like the desktop computer revolution has come full circle. In the early days, many enthusiasts built their machines from kits purchased via mail order. Shortly thereafter, we were presented with commercial desktop machines where the most tinkering you could do was in software, by setting a bulletin board system or writing batch files. Don't pin me to a year, but at a certain point thereafter, with the advent of commercially available upgrade parts, folks started to lose their fear of tinkering with hardware. Hell, we said, I'm supposed to hire some guy to unscrew the cover on my case and swap in a little extra RAM (or disc drive or whatever, place your own epiphany here)? Forget it, I'll do it myself, just give me the parts. A little bit later, a lot of us started to realize that by building our own machines, we could pick the hardware parts as well as the software. And, if we weren't nervy enough to do it, someone in our general area was. That's when we started seeing web sites like our own Tom's Hardware Guide, where you can get information on those parts, how well they work, and how they fit together (I hear music in the background...). Well, it looks like Tom (and the rest of us) had the right idea.

We just Read Reader Survey shows that more people have computers that are "Locally Built" than any other type of machine including Dell, Compaq, and Gateway. And, we're not just talking about home users; locally built machines had the most penetration overall. Machines that were built by the user and those that were put together by local businesses fell into this category. You can see the results of the survey some info in a "mainstream" computer magazine that strongly supports the fact that people are more likely to be working on custom-built computers than anything the major manufacturers have to offer. PC Magazine's 14th Annual . All of you who build your own machines and those of you who put them together for others (for fun or profit), give yourself a pat on the back. As far as PC Magazine's survey goes, you're beating the big guys.