[G4] Mac mini monitors and other questions

[Joe Sporleder]

I'm thinking of getting a Mac mini as my main home computer, to 
supplement my iBook that I currently use (actually, it is getting ready 
to go back to Apple under AppleCare for that infamous screen problem 
that has plagued the last of the G3 iBooks).

I love my 17" Apple Studio Display LCD on my G4 Tower at work, and was 
wondering if their are any DVI capable LCDs that y'all like that are in 
a similar price range or less than Apple's $699 (US$) price of their 
17" LCD? I'm also thinking of replacing a couple of our older B&W G3s 
and G4's at our small publishing company with Mac minis, that do not 
need a ton of extra memory and expansion beyond what the Mac mini is 
capable of. Although the 20" Cinema from Apple is nice (and now $999), 
that's probably overkill on budget for most of my workstations. I'll 
probably get the 20" when I buy my next G5 tower, but right now I'm 
looking for the best bang for the buck LCD screens in the $500 price 
range, give or take a few dollars. Any third party monitor companies I 
should stay away from as far as quality and or service?

Also, what are your thoughts on using a Mac mini as a simple server? I 
realize that is not its intended market, and that its hard drive is a 
laptop sized 2.5" and runs at a slower 4200 rpm. I'm considering an 
additional Mac mini down the road running MacOS X Server, for light 
email and web serving. What's folks thoughts on that? In my case, it'd 
only have to be fast enough to keep up with a 512kbps at the most pipe 
to the Internet. The main concern in my mind is a heat problem over 
long periods of time, considering all the stuff packed into that small 
space.

Joe