Apple offer refurbished (current) models at reduced prices, same guarantee as for new machines. Also worth checking out used models. Most Apple users look after their expensive new machines, so they'll still be in good order a couple of years down the line. Even a ten-year old G4 Mac will happily deal with internet, word-processing, etc. You might need something more recent and faster for music-production or graphic processes.

Whatever machine or operating system you go for, I would heavily recommend the appropriate manual from the "Missing Manual" series or something similar. The Apple "help" facility is extremely frustrating to use - unless you come up with the identical phraseology that they have used, your chances of reaching the information you need are small - much the same as I have found with Microsoft products - strange, that.

Ross