Hi Holbgshutterbug. Welcome to PR.

I'm not going to assume that you have an unlimited budget to buy or build a dream computer, so ultimately, what you get will depend greatly on your budget.

Second, what you get will depend on what you're comfortable using. Some will tell you to buy Macs, others will tell you to buy Windows. Someone might even try to convince you to use Linux. Before you just blindly buy a computer that has a specific operating system, make sure you try it out to see if you like the interface and find someone who can support it in case you have problems.

Most computers now days come with Windows. You'll have a choice of Windows XP or Windows Vista right now - if you go with a Windows machine, I would strongly recommend that you purchase one with Windows XP as Vista is still too new to really be useful.

If you're interested in getting a Mac, find an Apple Store and try out a Mac. Macs are very different than Windows machines, and since you're familiar with Windows, there will be a learning curve, and you don't want to invest in a computer that you're not happy with.

I would personally stay away from anything you can buy at a box retailer like Best Buy or Staples. Yes, they may offer cheaper systems, but they are also of lower quality. I would especially stay away from eMachines computers as they are built with poor quality power supplies that usually die after a year and take the motherboards with them.

Personally, I am a fan of Thinkpads (built by Lenovo) and Dell. They both build quality systems to your specifications.

Here are some things to look are:

In laptops, a Core 2 Duo is essential. It has the best combination of power usage and processing power for portable computers. If you buy a desktop, get one that has an AMD dual core processor as AMD provides the best combination of cost, power usage, and processing power.

Your system should have at least 1 gig of RAM. A lot of photo programs run more smoothly with additional RAM, especially if you plan to have multiple programs open.

If you buy a windows machine, get one that comes with Windows XP professional pre-installed.

I wouldn't worry too much about hard drive space. Most laptops come with at least 40 gb and desktops twice that. Brent already stated that the price of external drives are falling, and if you purchase a desktop system, internal drives are easy to add as well.

And finally....unless you buy a laptop, don't get a computer with integrated graphics on the motherboard. This will make it harder to upgrade later on if you need a better graphics chipset (for gaming or Windows Vista).