I would say even better than taking sides on Mac versus PC would be the idea of getting a recent Consumer Reports and seeing what they have to say about laptops. CR is an objective outfit and they do not accept advertising dollars from manufacturers although they want you to subscribe, of course. Most public libraries have years worth of back issues in stock, so you do not have to subscribe if you do not want to. I use a new HP from Best Buys, which works fine and cost less than $600; it was a CR favorite. For what you are doing a "netbook" would probably be adequate. Macs are great for graphics and they are somewhat better computers all around, but the extra quality and cost is not required for what most people do.