should i actually take the opportunity to buy a new desktop?

what i'm replacing is my typing pc. and, how did i even get to this point?

well, i initially had my 90s desktop for this purpose, but i ended up homeless, and i switched to my laptop, which was the only machine i had at all. i've been using the laptop in my bed ever since.

...but it was initially supposed to be the old machine that i used for this reason.

nowadays, i'm using it as an access point, for the reason that i know that my connection is monitored and i want to keep my data off the network.

what i'm thinking is that i've learned that laptops are much harder to service and prone to breaking in ways that desktops aren't. i'm a little bit apprehensive about buying another one.

i do want to have a laptop that i can take from a to b, but i can use the vista laptop for that reason.

as an access point, i don't need a really heavy duty laptop. i just need a sufficient amount of space and enough ram to stop firefox from crashing.

i should do this one thing at a time. but, i'm probably going to buy a large amount of inexpensive gear rather than a top of the line new machine. it's just going to get me what i actually want, better.

first thing is the access point, and if i can get more for less with a desktop then i should do that, instead.