HP is good; both my husband's and my desktops are HP as is his newer, high-end laptop as are both our printers. My laptop is an older Dell Latitude D600 and I haven't had any problem with it.

I would try something inexpensive and see how you like it and think about something bigger and better in the future as prices drop and technology changes. I put most of my "files" online, on my Web sites so when one of my computers breaks, I don't lose everything or have as much of a hassle starting up again with a new computer. So, I don't need a whole lot of space, speed, or power; I don't do any online gaming and my graphics are mostly online, etc.

So, a simple computer is what I'll buy next; the HP store has their <a hrerf="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Usage&v1=Everyday+computing&series_name=C700T_series">Compaq Presario</a> laptop starting at only $500 and it comes with a good warranty, phone and Internet tech support, etc. It's probably the sort of computer I will buy next when I get tired of this laptop. I've used HP's support before for my desktop and it worked well.