Sounds like a 14" Apple iBook would suit your needs down to the ground.

The 14" iBook comes in two flavours.

The first is the 1Ghz one, which has a 40gb hard drive and the second is a 1.2Ghz one with a 60gb hard drive. Both come with 256mb ram as standard, but that can be upgraded, either as a build to order option or self installed after delivery.

On the Apple website, the 1Ghz one is £899 and the 1.2Ghz one is £1049. This isn't particularly cheap, because Apple products aren't cheap. However, you are getting what you pay for. Apple systems have excellent build quality and for my money the best operating system and software around.

iBooks come with the full iLife suite (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand) and AppleWorks, which is Apple's office suite.

On eBay.co.uk, if you're lucky, you can nab an iBook for around £600, which is excellent.

The new iMac is gorgeous and more than fast enough for your needs. However, although it is 2 inches thin and very light, it's not as portable as a laptop, so you'd need to decide how important portability is to you. It's not cheap either (although it is cheaper than the previous generation), but it would last a long time and Apple products have excellent resale value.

wow thanks!

I once heard that there was a second hand apple website, do you know about it?

I;ve not heard of a second hand apple website, but at the Apple Store on wednesdays they sell cancelled and refurbished orders with up to 45% discount.

(Edited by Maffrew 08/09/2004 15:49)

I got a 12 Inch Ibook and it is fantastic. It is a tiny machine and very easy to carry around.