Some seriously irrelevant advice being given here methinks, given that Whirly asked to keep the techie side out of it. The Mac pushers really should tell her how much new software she's going to be up for, shouldn't they?
Whirly, from a non-guru, if you have somebody you know and trust who will set it up for you and provide after sales service on a personal and local basis, my strong advice would be to use him. There are thousands of alternatives which will do the job for you, don't lose too much sleep over the precise details.
As you have noted, even the basic entry level computer will be streets ahead of what you have now, so sit down and have a talk to him, tell him what you need and what you want to pay, and let him make the decisions.
Good luck