I'd suggest Walmart. Some pretty decent utilitarian models there to be had for about 400 dollars. I just got a 1 terabyte external storage drive on Amazon for 99 dollars. I had to return the first one as defective. A week later I noticed a 79 dollar Toshiba 1TB drive at walmart. I should have checked there first. I also got a 16gb usb drive at walmart for 9.95 that day. For computer nuts and bolts basics walmart's not bad. And the returns are so much easier than the web. The way I've been computer shopping for the last 13 years is to spend 1000 dollars every five to six years. That's the sweet spot for my needs. It's astonishing how much more you get each year for the same dollar spent. I do some CAD and quite a bit of HTPC (home theater PC) so 1000 dollars is about the ball park for me and I'm due to upgrade in a couple of years. Your description sounds like 300 to 400 would give you something more than adequate for your needs. Don't let sales people or computer "enthusiasts" talk you up in price or needs. If your needs are simple, you'll discover that todays entry level machines can do extraordinary things. One caveat to that is speed and storage capacity. Obsolescence can sneak up on you when connectivity and web content continues to get more labor intensive for the CPU. My 10 year old Toshiba was retired to the family den for light browsing and email use, and I finally upgraded the harddrive to 40gb as an absolute minimum requirement for today's browsers, utilities, and common programs. It runs like the day I bought it, but that's saying that it generally just can't keep up any more when web connected. I'd call it a "dial up" class notebook. Most laptops in your price range will be set up adequately for today's needs. But if it comes down to A vs B at similar price, look closely at the quality and speed of the central processor and the storage capacity of the drive. They're the best indicators of future proofing a computer. You also might want to ask around among people you know who own Apple computers. Asking such a question on the web is just an invitation to information overload. But odds are good that someone you know uses an Apple and they may be a good source of encouragement or discouragement. My hunch however is that if you aren't excessively into social media like facebook and others, wireless file transfers, printing, and connectivity with cell phones, automobiles, etc,etc (good lord) all the latest gadgets and utilities, etc ,etc, a PC would be the more user friendly for you as a basic computing tool.

I pre-ordered my Fire when I first heard about it. I have had my K2 for nearly two years and love it. I had a little difficulty at first since I am techie challenged (!). Once I was told about getting a stylus, I went straight out and bought one, and that really made a 100% improvement getting around the Fire-no problems since. I have both my email accts loaded on it and I love seeing all the covers of my books etc. in color-the color on the Fire is really good. For Fire owners they offer an Free APP each day, a really big variety of Apps and 100 Free ones, plus the ones you can purchase. I am hooked on Words With Friends which I play with my DD who lives in another state. I also am hooked on Angry Birds-my family couldn't believe that when I told them, both of these Apps were free. So anyone that is thinking & hesitating about getting the Fire, I do recommend it. I participate in a Kindle forum and have learned so much and also got loads of freebies to read! I know people rave about their Ipads, but it has far more features on it than I would ever use, plus it is so pricey Pat

@dsg2015 -- I had the exact same choice 1-1/2 years ago. I did switch in the end and it has been an excellent decision for me. Our girls always touted Apple to us. I stubbornly stuck to PC and Android. Then we had to get DH an iMac for the accessible features -- he has low vision and it was recommended by the Lighthouse. So I had to learn to use it in order to adjust it for him. It's been excellent. So when my last PC started wearing down, I went to Apple. I like a desktop as I do a lot of photo editing. I got an iMac with a fusion drive which means it boots up super quickly and is very fast. It is, hands down, the best desktop ever. I did need to reorganize things and I do have my quibbles. But overall there is no comparison. Plus I don't need to keep spending money updating software and adding internet protection -- those are included! I did have an iPad in advance of the desktop and loved it. Didn't put much focus on the ability of those to synch up but it's come in very handy. So when I went to get a new phone at the end of '14 I took a hard look at the Iphone 6+ vs the Samsung. Everyone I spoke to with the 6+ loved it. I went for it. Like the desktop, it is by far the best phone I've every had. Easiest to use, 0 audio issues, almost no dropped calls. If I take photos with the phone they transfer over to the desktop library. So now I'm a convert. I still have a PC laptop that's been lightly used. It should have many good years as it's not used all that much. But when it goes, I'll get a Mac. Sure, Apple support varies from store to store. But it's worlds better than the nightmare overseas non-English, nonsense support I experienced in the past.

maddie, the Truecaller website doesn't spell out how it works. As a guess, maybe there's a database of numbers of user reported calls that get flagged? Or it could be something else? It hasn't eliminated all unwanted calls but the volume is way down since I installed it a month or so ago. In the reviews on Google Play (the Android version of the App store), some people are complimentary, some are disappointed. Where the truth lies is hard to say. But for me, not much thought is needed for apps that are free or only a few bucks. I download them, try them, nuke 'em if I don't find them useful and keep them if I do. It's not much of a commitment. This one in the Basic version is free.