Melanie,
I agree that the Velleman is not very versatile and only programs a few of the many pics available. But.... if one is experimenting and creating only a few small prototype projects it will work OK.
My very first programmer was the Velleman kit, and to date, it has worked well. Of course, I only program PICS occassionally and only stick with designs that I can program, but there's enough that I can do with this programmer to keep me busy for a long time considering I only do this between work, family, and every thing else I need to do around the house.
Having said that, a more versatile programmer would be better, but so far, my projects include:
1) Automatic remote flash trigger for my digital camera, 12F629
2) Heart Rate Monitor with output via RS232 to PC or Palm using the 16F627
3) Voltage and current 4 digit LED display (multiplexed) for a desktop power supply using the 16F819
4) Accelerometer using an ADXL202 with PWM output and the 16F628.

Of course, the invaluable help available on these forums makes things a lot easier!!!

Again, these aren't very complicated, but not bad for a weekend programmer and a very limited selection of PICS.