8086 vs. 286 for DOS/UNIX box

[Joel West]

for reasons I don't totally understand, I'm finally having an itch
to buy an MS-DOS machine.  I vastly prefer my Mac, and I really
can't afford two pc's, so I guess it's just succumbing to peer pressure. :-)

However, I am realistic enough to recognize that my MS-DOS usage
might never amount to a hill of beans, so I could very well end
up using it as a *IX box (where * matches UN, XEN, VEN, PC/, etc.)

What should I do:
	* Buy a generic-style PC.  a friend quoted $700 complete
	  (he's an OEM) or look at all the ads..
	* Tandy 1000 about $1000
	* Or spring for a 286-based machine.
Presumably I would buy a $600 hard disk later, if I needed it.

I see my priorities as roughly:
	Saving money
	Running UUCP mail (preferrably with a mailx-style mailer
	   and the ability to patch in a homebrew router)
	Using MS-DOS software
	Other UNIX applications, including news.
I'm not really concerned with speed per se.  But I know enough about
the xxx86 and 'NIX to know that 286 and later are better for
crash-proof multitasking.

Any advice (by mail, I don't read these lists) would be most welcome...
(Also, tips on a good cheap 'NIX).
-- 
	Joel West	 	(619) 457-9681
	CACI, Inc. Federal, 3344 N. Torrey Pines Ct., La Jolla, CA  92037
	{cbosgd,ihnp4,pyramid,sdcsvax,ucla-cs}!gould9!joel
	gould9!joel at nosc.ARPA