Cable!!!! Woohoo!!!!

[copycat]

I also didn't know how good Win98's ICS was.

Not that bad, in fact it only stalled a few times and I don't think it was the ICS's fault, so it's really not a bother.

But don't forget, the pc that's used as a server has to be on when the others want to surf.  Electricity-wise, I don't think it's that expensive, but if you shut down often, the hassle of having to turn it on all the time might be just as bad as a dial-up user having to dial up.  Of course, with a router any pc on the network can use the net at any time.  

You seem to be forgetting a tiny little detail in your comparison pc-router, and that's the fact if any client wants to connect to the internet, the router has to be on too, just like the pc has to be. Maybe a router is a bit less energy-consuming than a pc (and only a pc, no monitor or anything else, just a pc with Windows98, ICS, and a shared hd, and also a shared printer, meaning we only have to turn the server if we want to print, and not yet another pc), but the maximum number of times the server has to be turned on (if it was tunred off after the first time) is twice a day, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.