The Computer

The curent low price "budget" computers available are far more robust than they want you to believe and are a good value for the money. As of this writing (June 2007) a good "budget" computer can be had at any retail outlet such as Best buy, Staples, etc. for around $500 - $600. (NOT including the Monitor). Hopefully you will choose a model with a DVD Writer. I suggest that you purchase a 19" LCD monitor or larger. Do NOT get a LCD monitor less than the 19" because a 17" Monitor at its "native resolution" of 1280x960 will make everything appear very small on the screen.

System for the latest high performance Games:
3.0 GHZ or faster processor
2GB Memory (Ram)
250 Gig or higher SATA Hard Drive
DVD-CD-ROM Player
DVD - CD Writer
256MB - 512MB Video Card
19" LCD Monitor -- or larger

Printers

At the time of this writing a good deal for the money is arguably the HP Deskjet Series.
The Photo quality of certain Inkjet printers is now quite impressive.
I suggest that you some homework via the internet before your next inkjet printer purchase.
A nice HP Deskjet can be had for $150 or less.

All in one units

Those all in one units (like the HP Office Jet) do everything ... Copy ... Scan ... Print ... Fax ... and work very well.
They do save space but I still prefer stand alone units. I will concede that they do fax great but the main drawback for myself is that if one part fails you are left hanging while the unit is being repaired. Actually, what you will find is that these units are priced so as to be disposable. For what it will cost to get it repaired you will just add a few more bucks and buy a brand new unit.
My BEST advice ... Steer away from these All in one units unless space will not allow otherwise.

Scanners

If there was any one computer goodie that is an absolute waste of money for the typical computer user I would have to give that distinction to scanners specifically. There are advanced users who do serious desktop publishing or web work and have a real need for a scanner and for them it is an indispensable tool.
However, for the typical 19 out of 20 computer users they are nothing but a "toy". The Epson Perfection is a great scanner and is what I own.

Digital Cameras

A Digital camera is very useful and fun and I wish that everyone owned one. While only the more advanced users will be able to use the photos on the web or with Desktop Publishing programs even a "computer dummie" can take decent photos and view them on the computer and many know how to send a photo to someone via email. I STRONGLY recommend that in addition to the typical LCD screen that your camera come with a Viewfinder. You will find that using the camera in bright sunlight with only the LCD is near impossible.

A decent camera with fairly good resolution can be bought for around $150-$400.00. You should buy a memory card of at least 512MB.

Please note: Taking a photo at 8 megapixel setting does NOT mean that the quality of the photo is better that a 3 megapixel setting. You're just getting a much larger photo which you might want intentionally IF you plan on printing out big 8X10's. Otherwise even a 3 megapixel setting will normally yield a photo that will fit your monitor resolution well and not take up so much file space for each photo on the camera memory stick - more pics per stick!

Before you buy, call me and I'll tell you some secrets "they" don't want you to know.