Advice, Anyone?

Well, things have certainly been shaken up around here since I set up my new PC. First, I had to update my printer driver to get it to talk to my PC. That worked for a bit, but I guess the printer had second thoughts, because after a very average (if such things can be called ‘average’) paper jam yesterday, it had a conniption and refused to print further, claiming (despite an extreme lack of evidence) that the ink cartridge was jammed or unable to move. I did all the ‘do-it-yourself’ things on the HP support site, to no avail. I chatted online to a very nice service person, also to no avail. Both she and Step #7 of the self-help page came to the same conclusion: "Upgrade (i.e., replace) your printer”!

That would seem straightforward, and indeed, I have found a similar all-in-one with a *flatbed* scanner for a reasonable cost ($130.00 + GST). Enter part 2 of the situation:

Today I thought I’d try downloading photos from my camera to my PC. I installed the Canon hardware as instructed, and all was bliss till the installation wiz got to the actual driver. Turns out my camera (a 5-year-ld Canon PowerShot A40) and it’s transfer-to-PC driver are not compatible with Windows Vista. Sigh.

To keep my camera and transfer photos, I have to get a ‘third-party card reader’. So. I looked on the Canon website and found a fax/copier/scanner ( not a flatbed) with a digital card reader, all-in-one – for $400 + GST.

However, I also found a 5 mp PowerShot Camera that’s Vista compatible, for about $120 (on the BestBuy site, where they also have the HP printer/flatbed scanner/fax I originally looked at).

So...what do I do? Keep my camera and by the printer/scanner/fax/card reader for $400? Or buy a new camera and printer/flatbed scanner/fax/NO card reader for $250?

Given the price difference, it seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? But then how do I get my existing photos off my existing camera? And will I have to buy a new camera every time I replace my computer? If I’m on the planet another 30 years, that could get expensive!

Advise, please!