This topic is somewhat debatable but for the most part it is good to lay out the facts first. As of the moment people are choosing between the Apple computer and the Windows IBM computer. Apple is, for the most part, a slightly more simple computer to use. On the other hand, it does not have as much options and freedom as a PC. Many people will buy an Apple computer because they fear getting a virus on their PC. There is little reason to worry about this if you do not participate in any peer-to-peer file sharing.

Follow up:

I would like to getting into the PC/Windows side of things and help you decide what type of desktop, or laptop computer is best for you.

First off, we need to consider what you will be using your computer for. I assume that you are not a gamer, so we will tackle this consideration first. Let us say that you are someone that uses a computer for emailing, surfing the web, watching videos on youtube, and may play a simple game here and there.

With this information, we need to look at hardware. I could just tell you what computer to buy but then you wouldn't know why. Lets look at memory first. Computer memory or RAM is basically what your computer uses when a computer program is open. Unlike hard drive space it does not store stuff long term, it holds it for a moment so programs that are dynamic and change data quickly can use it. If you were to liken a computer to a person it would be the memory of what you are thinking right now. The hard drive memory would be memories from that past that you are not thinking about.

Depending on the OS or Operating system you want, you will need to choose different capacities of RAM. Windows XP, which I prefer, will not need as much memory as Windows Vista. For Windows XP you will need at least 1GB of ram. "One Gigabyte of RAM". As for the Vista OS I would recommend at least 2GB. Having plenty of memory means that you can do a lot more at once more efficiently.

The next consideration is much more simpler to determine. It is the hard drive and its capacity "space". In other words, if you do a little math you will see that Windows takes up some space. Somewhere around 5gb depending on some things. I would recommend that you consider at least 250gb of hard drive space. One, is because it is cheap. Two, you might decide you have a lot of pictures, movies, or music to store.

The CPU "processor" is a debatable option to consider also because there are two major brands that people go with. One is AMD and the other is Intel. I have found that AMD runs smoother in video in some what better than Intel but I was probably comparing two non-comparable CPUs. They are both solid CPUs. Most people will go with Intel. I did with my laptop but I would like to support AMD because Intel needs to keep its competitor.

Aside from the brand, it is important to consider the core speeds. AMD will label their CPU speeds as 4000+, 3500+, and so on. Intel will label the GHZ of their CPUs. In this day in age, a dual core CPU is not that expensive. It was once a dream but it may be good for you to get one. So I would recommend that you get a dual core CPU at least.

The more interesting part is about to begin! We now talk about my biggest concern for people that buy computers. And it is all about integration. You may have heard phrases such as "integrated video" or "integrated sound". Theses terms can sometimes be red flags! What this means is that you video card or graphics card is going to barrow the CPU's resources and the RAM's memory to give it power. This is not a good idea if you plan on working with video. I would not recommend that anyone get integrated video at all because you may decide you want to do some video editing with some program like Sony Vegas.

You should consider a fairly good video card regardless if you will use it for gaming. There are different video card brands, one is ATI and one is Nvidia. I like Nvidia because I have had more success with it than ATI. I have not be pleased with ATI but it is the cheaper choice. So lets skip into deciding the video card. Nvidia will label their cards by series. Such as the "6600 GT" or the "9800 GTX". I would recommend that you get at least a 7 series meaning a 7600 GT. There are a few types of video cards you should consider. The GT is somewhat for gamers and the GS seems to be for conservative video intense computers. So maybe you need a GS. Remember NOT to get integrated video for a computer and I would recommend an Nvidia video card.

We mentioned integrated sound. This isn't a big deal because most people do not do any sound heavy processing with programs like FL Studio. So don't worry about integrated sound.

Other computer parts you may think about is a DVD burner. Get this! You might need it.

The last thing that you should look at is the fans. Make sure that the fans are quiet in the computer. I like dead silent computers. HP offers some. Do a little research into this you will thank me.

There are many more aspects to consider when buying a computer. Hopefully this gets you on the right path. But if this is a big deal to you, explore the web a more and see what other people have to say.