> I am just getting started in this new venture...what is the most cost
effective
> and user friendly programmer hardware - software combo?  There seems to
be quite
> a gamut of different parallel and serial programmers, from $5 to $249 out
there,
> which one is best?

 That is another FAQ!

1. What you pay is what you get (often).
2. Why pay for more than you need?

decide what you want:
- do you want a ready-build programmer, a kit, or is a design sufficient?
- an in-circuit programmer gives a faster development cycle (no need to
take out the PIC, plug it into your programmer etc.) but is somewhat more
complex
- a production-grade programmer is somewhat more complex than a
prototype-programmer (but this is not a big issue for 16x84's)
- will you eventually use other PICs, or is a 16x84-only programmer OK?
- what platform do you use? (DOS, Windows, what CPU speed, mayby Linux?)
- need any special features? (for instance: my programmer can program and
start the target and emulate a TTY connection for debugging output).

On the cheapest side (16x84 only) a few components on a solderless
breadboard will be enough (that's how I started).
On the most expensive side you can look for an in-circuit production
programmer for all PICs for 100s of $.

success,
Wouter.