help, i need some mac advice!

My lovely flat-screen G5 iMac is dying, boo. It’s about five years old and getting obsolete and very creaky. Basically, I want the same thing, but I’m freaked out about buying something just before the ‘latest thing’ comes out, making my computer almost instantly out-of-date. (That happened last time, I didn’t do my research well enough. Reading computer magazines makes me go cross-eyed.)

So I hear there’s this new OS X Snow Leopard coming out, but no specific launch date. Is it worth waiting around for that? (Anyone know when it might be?) And is there some trick I can use, so my next upgrade won’t cost so much? My friend just bought a Mac Mini and I’m wondering if that’s the way forward. I’d still need to buy a screen this time, but at least that way, I’d only have to replace the hard drive, not the whole thing. But I love the sleek design and compactness of the iMac, and initially, it would cost about the same as buying a Mac Mini and new screen. I don’t have room in my work space for one of those tower hard drives, as nice as they are.

If you’ve bought a new Mac in the last few months, which model did you buy? Are you happy with it?