last year or so, we had a discussion with lots of opinions on strategies for novices to buy a project micro; i suggest buying a big, roomy first micro like erik recommended because you can grow it for new projects and there are less restrictions to bump into (you'll need to know the limits before you do real projects - but they sometimes get in the way of those just learning about micros.

i'll try to find the topic if my comments haven't already been deleted.

duh