So far the only computer I have access to is the family desktop PC, it's old, slow, & apparently the hard drive is about full but getting everyone who has photos etc on it to delete stuff they dont want seems to be a non-starter. So I want one of my own.
But I know little about computers beyond posting on forums, ebay, & an ipod & the more I try to find out by surfing about (& looking through this very section) the more I realise I dont know! Can anyone point me in the direction of a website/book etc that will cut the crap so I know what I'm looking at & mabye even workout if someone's trying to pull the wool over my eyes? I got the PC for dummies book which seems good in an effort to learn a bit about the computer we have but it's for Windows Vista where we have Windows XP so I hav'nt read much for fear of it confusing me further! I've a feeling once all the jargon & terminology explained in a way I understand it's all a lot simpler than it first appears!
For reasons of space & general handiness I fancy a laptop but it'll only really be used in the house so it's not critical.
We have BT business Broadband so can I use that in parallel with the old computer or should I be looking at getting my own setup?
It'll be used for general surfing the web, forums, ebay & managing music for my ipod etc. How well do things like the BBC i-player work? Catching up on the few bits of TV I try to watch when it suits me does appeal but do you need a fast broadband connection as I'm told ours is pretty slow due to being so far from the exchange & way out in the countryside?

Sorry that some of you will see this as covering old ground but it's all your own fault for being so good at sorting almost anything on this site!

NObody knows anything really. Call Dell or somebody, and buy a great big huge external drive (1 terabyte) to hold all the pics and music etc to go with it.

I built my own PCs for over 10 years before shelling out on a Dell.

Its the best PC I've had, cheaper than buying the bits to build one, super quiet, stable etc.

Deals abound, check out HotUKdeals I got mine through a deal on there, much cheapness

Re broadband speed - I live on the edge of Sevenoaks (not a tiny town) and apparently it's still far enough away that the absolute maximum possible broadband speed is 3Mb/sec. I am on Business Broadband too, which limits it in practice to 1Mb, and that is fine for watching programmes on iPlayer.

To check your actual broadband speed (as opposed to what you provider says the maximum might be ), go here

As others have said, Dell is a good source of PC's. Well priced reliable machines...

And only get a laptop if space or a travelling PC is a must. For your money, the PC will be SO much better than a laptop.

Beware Dell have been known to advertise one price then when you try to order you get another higher price and they are also known to sometimes clobber people with delivery charge.

As long as you are not buying a PC for the ultimate games machine then you don't need to spend much money you can buy decent end of line, ex-demo and reworked fully warranted pc from http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk but check the spec for each pc carefully -- they are a very reliable company that I have been dealing with and recommending for past 20 years.

The main thing to watch out for when buying a PC is that it has enough memory with Windows Vista 1gb is the true minimum 2gb is about ideal.

With digital photos it is vital to back them up to external drives --- preffereably with archiving to CD/DVD rom.
Maplin always have some very attractively priced external USB hard drives on special offer.

We found best deal for us was from tesco direct for a gateway.

Apart from vista bein a pain (now on ubuntu for a day ) its been great, came with wrong dvd drive from spec listed when I found out after 6 months they changed it no bother.

But we got ours without a monitor as we had one..

As for the stuff saved get it on disk and then hit delete or get an external hdd incase computer decides to go kaplouie. Otherwise they will loose everything anyway!!!

Get a mac. The imac desktops are great. Got mine 18 months ago and I've never looked back. For what you say you want it for it would be great. They are fast, naturally work well with apple ipods and look great. You can even run windows on them if you want to or if you need it for some obscure program. In fact you can have both running at the same time. The laptops are a tad expensive but the desktops are reasonable. Rumour has it that the desktops will be updated soon (Jan/Feb).

Thanks fellas, I think I'm over complicating it really, as RK says I'm finding most people know very little, just how to make it do what they want in one fashion or another! I'm just the kind of bloke that likes to understand the whats & whys of something rather than just accepting that's how it is!
From what I hear from others I've asked & yourselves on here I should either go for a saving in price by buying on-line from the likes of folk you've linked me to or pay more with a local specialist who will help me when I get it wrong. But to avoid buying from PC world, Comet etc on the high street.