this report today has a more realistic description of what you can see with an inexpensive backyard telescope:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/...dmBHNlYwM3NTM-
This would be a great setup for a practical joke. Get one of those Mars posters from the mall, the ones about 2 feet across
and hang it in a window at a friends house about 2 blocks away. Then invite someone to come over and 'see mars' with your backyard telescope :^)
extra points if you coordinate, and have mars catch fire, or explode, while your guest is watching it through the telescope!