I feel for you, Kathleen! To stick my two cents in, if you're doing a lot of photo stuff and if you can afford it,definitely get an Apple. It's more expensive in the beginning, but in the long run, well worth it (whether you're getting a desk top or a laptop. Not only do you not have to worry about viruses (thank God!!) but it's much faster. I had a Dell and Gateway lap tops before joining the "cult of Mac." Now, I would never go back.
Look into refurbished macs, also. You get the same warranty as a new one. 4gb of ram should be enough to run Gimp and/orPhotoshop.
Hope you find something, hon!