Ed Farias wrote in to tell us about his product, Arcade in a Box, an all-in-one arcade console with computer guts built directly in the controller that can be plugged directly into external video sources. It's a great idea if you like the feel of proper controllers but you want to utilize your big new plasma or fancy projector as the display, or if you don't want or have room for an arcade cabinet.
If you decide later on that you'd like one after all, Arcade in a Box fits right into Mameroom's Ultimate Arcade II Cabinet; it's 100% MAME compatible so you can play every game out there, and it should also work with PC games that let you reconfigure their controls.
You insane DIY people can buy the PDF plans for building their own Arcade in A Box for just $12.50, while lazy bones like us who want to play not build can purchase a complete working system for $1,199. IIf you'd like to build some but not all of it, there's the AIAB Kit, which comes with computer parts for $399 or without for $250.