I can understand wanting the instant visible results, for sure. Is he aware of his tendency to focus on details rather than making goals? It could be a lifelong thing to work on as it has been for me - I wish I had known that earlier, though.

Looks like there's no FreeGeek in Idaho. Too bad. If you ever go to Portland, though, definitely drop by there. Cheap but good computers and computer geek heaven. Is there a special reason you have to wait to his birthday for him to have his own computer? Every kid has one nowadays, so it almost seems like a hardship. Of course he needs to do his homework before playing on the computer too much.

Craigslist sometimes has free computers. I don't see any on the Boise craigslist right now. (In the free category.)