computer help needed

[jorodopo]

My mother has decided to come into the computer age. She will be using this computer to receive pictures of her grandkids (See it is related to the Photography Board ;) ) and maybe using the internet to do some shopping/mapquest/research. I don't really see her using it on even a weekly basis. What do you think are the minimum specs I should look for when getting her a computer for Christmas? Not that I don't want to be a good daughter and get her the top of the line model but :rolleyes1

[Scottwdw]

I bought my daughter a Dell system last year and it has performed flawlessly. They are having a sale today (who know if it'll be there tomorrow, they have new deals all the time) where they have one at $299 (with a $50 mail-in rebate, of course ;) ).

Dell Basic Desktop Sale (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_basdt?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs)

[extreme8]

This suggestion is highly dependant on your tolerance for shopping pain - Walmart will have a laptop on sale Friday for less than $400 that would be more than adequate for what you need. Best of all, when Grandma isn't using it just fold it up and stick it in a drawer.
If you're not the type to head out at 5am on "Black Friday" the computer industry magazines say that several manufacturers will offer sub-$400 laptops before Christmas.