The most creative solution for you is to buy a regular laptop or even notebook. Macs are overpriced compared to performance of windows computers(you pay for the name as with a lot of things).If you do not do any designing, just; Word, excel, email then most laptops at sale are good enough. This shouldn`t cost you more then 500-600 CHF.

You could buy an 15.6" HP laptop at Mediamarkt with Office for CHF 777. It is the feature machine in this week's flyer. Details in the link below.

It is a machine you can use all of the time (home and out of home) so you don't need another computer.

You can finance it for CHF 40/month for 22 months at a rate of 13.9% assuming you can get the financing via them. It will add about CHF 100 to the price. I read the details from the flyer so you will need to check details on their website or in store.

The specs on the machine are quite good (see bottom of page) so should last 3+ years.

Link: http://shop.mediamarkt.ch/fr/ordinateur-bureau/ordinateurs-portables-netbooks/ordinateurs-portables/hp-dv6-6c11szoffice-homestudent-franais-i7-750gb/#tab1

Thanks, yes, you're right, except for one thing I forgot to mention.

I don't own a tv. I use my imac for watching tv shows and movies, hence needing a larger screen.

Not that I disagree about the price points of Apple products. Just a factor that I forgot to mention. :)

You could consider buying a seperate screen, reasonable size from 250 CHF or a laptop with a big screen.

could you not buy a relatively cheap dual core netbook and keep your eyes out on here for example for a large monitor screen for when your watching tv.

or buy a tv from here secong hand and also buy a computer, all options cheaper than buying a mac

If you think you might get an HD TV in the future get yourself a laptop with and HDMI port. That will make your life a lot easier.

see, this is why y'all are awesome! I had forgotten that connecting to a tv was an option!

SO:

What sort of ports/hookup should I look for on a tv to make sure it will connect with a laptop?

And would I need additional speakers?

And what kind of connecting cable do I need to go between laptop and tv?

Thank you so much!

I can give you a large screen for free if you want that you can plug a small, cheap laptop into.  Flat screen, 3-4 years old, sitting in the cellar doing nothing.

The laptop mentioned has an HDMI outlet (this is the standard for HD / Flat screen TVs and some newer computer screens) so the connection will be the best you can get.

You would get an HDMI cable from any electronics store (over priced) but if you have one of those cash converter stores near you, they have cheap cables (less than half the price of Interdiscount).

You just need royle (above with kind offer of the screen) to tell you if it has an HDMI input. If not, there are other options, just not as easy and high quality but still good.

I can build you a custom PC or Hackintosh for less than you will find from Hewlette Packard, Dell or other competitors.

I build custom configurations to suit your needs and budget.

I have creative, inexpensive and even free legal solutions for your personal IT needs.

There is no problem to small or any question to stupid!

Not sure if it has HDMI, will have to check, has the normal port obviously, I have cables too.