WOAH, looks like i'm a little late on the trigger!
Picking a new computer can be quite overwhelming, and having a support forum like this one is a great resource to help guide you in the right direction. Hearing other peoples experiences and thoughts can help tremendously.
If you are traveling or spending time in 2 different homes, then a laptop is the best choice. it's easy to transport and compact enough to be used in a vehicle. There are some laptops out there that are classified as "desktop replacements" with huge screens, full keyboards with a number pad in the right spot, and enough performance to play some of the latest games. That's probably not what you are looking for, but it bears mention.
The biggest thing to look at for you right now is going to be the shock of switching operating systems. Windows Vista is such a big leap from Windows 98 that you might have some difficulty and frustration. That's why we're here to help. There are still options available to purchase Windows XP, but they are limited primarily to business class systems. I'm not saying that business class means better or worse, just different, and maybe more to your liking. There's not a lot of extra software installed and comparable on price.
Mac VS PC. A battle for the ages. Put simply, there's more software availabe for the pc. pricing is less for the pc in most aspects versus the mac, and replacement parts are readily available. WAL-MART even has replacement parts! I go there when i need something quick.
I am authorized to sell both Dell and Acer products. Both of them have great laptops and desktops available for really good prices. All the big manufactureres have computers still availabe with Windows XP, you'll just need to order it and have it shipped to your home.
I'm not going to try get you to buy from me, I just want to help you make the best choice.
Now with all that said, I'm guessing that your not what they call a "hard core gamer". So the high end stuff is out. It seems like you want decent performance, and a relatively large screen for editing letters and playing games. You didn't mention about traveling so I'm again guessing that a laptop probably wouldn't be your first choice. Since your current computer is 10 years old, I'm guessing that your printer is about the same age or maybe a little younger. More than likely, you'll have to replace that as well. New computers typically don't come with Parallel ports. There are a few that do, but the majority of
printers don't even have parallel ports anymore! Do you have files or software still on floppy disk? if so, you need to specify that a floppy drive be included in the computer, as all but a very few still include a floppy drive by default.
I have gone through Dell's website and picked a system as a starting point. It's on the upper end of the spectrum, but, I'm sure that you will be quite satisfied with the performance and features. Some of the specs are:
24" flat panel Full HD screen
Core 2 Duo processor at 2.66GHz
4GB RAM
500GB Hard Drive
Windows XP with the option to upgrade to Vista when you are ready
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
click
here for the cart, and then click on "forget something" under the Inspiron 530 entry to view the details.
sorry for the long post. I just try to think of everything when it comes to something like this.