Go with the Powerbook...sleeker, sexier, and more..ahem..durable than the iBook.

Dump the Dell. Apple is the original prototype, and dammit...they just do it better!

I have an Apple iMac and a Dell laptop. I used PC for many years and then decided to "switch" to the iMac. The "switch" wasn't all it was cracked up to be for me. I like XP and MSIE and that's what I use at work every day. If your lady llama switched years ago and digs the Mac then go for it. If not, the "switch" is a pain in the ass that she might never really cotton to.

Never had a Mac but from reading Protein Wisdom, they don't appear to be very good conversationalists.

Once you go Mac, why the heck would you go back? Macs rock because of the following:
1. Less virus prone.
2. Rarely crash like windows programs...based on Unix.
3. I had a Toshiba and a Dell, and they both totally died on me within the space of a year. The Mac has been going without a wink (knock knock) for almost two years.
4. Microsoft Office is compatible, and get the student edition because it's hella cheap and they won't verify student status.
5. Powerbook is made from titanium and infinitely durable...won't survive a LLama stomp, but within reason...i've dropped it down a flight of stairs and still working.

So Mac isn't perfect, but worth the extra bling bling. At least check them out at the store...

Haven't used a Mac since Reagan was president. It is like anything else; once you learn a system and know all its little tricks, it's tough to learn a new one. To me, Win 95 brought the PC to near-apple like ease of use, so there was no point to ever switch back.

Another thought: what is the industry standard software for book indexing, and does it run on Apple or PC? Ultimately the software makes our decisions for us.

Froggy is clearly trying to be funny. Nobody actually likes Internet Explorer. Nice try, Froggy.

I guess it's the acme of foolishness to point out that posting your Christmas gift deliberations on the Internet for hundreds of millions of people to read kinda spoils the surprise?

(Definitely go with the Mac. I've owned both iBooks and PowerBooks, and while the PowerBooks are highly prized for their wide screens, the iBooks are nothing to sneeze at.)

Congratulations on switching to Mac! Rocket Jones sent me over here to talk to you. I'm an avid Mac user (I have an iMac and a G4).

For your wife's business, I'd strongly suggest going for the PowerBook over the iBook if funds can permit. From an aesthetic point of view, the sleek silver of the PowerBook speaks volumes over the white iBook when she's taking the computer on the road for presentations and/or on-site work.

But it goes so much deeper than that, of course. With any Mac, you're looking at a nearly virus-proof, fail-safe machine. I've had my iMac for six years and that damn thing is still going strong. Macs are easier to self-service, too -- PCs really require a geek squad to figure things out when they go *poof*, but anybody with half a brain (self included!) can poke around in a Mac hard drive and figure out what's going awry.

My only caution would be to examine what kind of software she would need to be using as a book indexer, because the rest of the world hasn't caught on that Macs reign supreme and the software may not be compatible. You can always, though, get one of those nifty programs that makes your Mac run Windows, so you'd get the best of both worlds. But in sum, the Mac is the better investment -- it fixes itself, it updates itself, and its programs are integrated (e.g., your Office suite and your address book and your instant messenger program are intermingled, as are many other programs). I have design software and would never think of putting this expensive and wonderful package on a Windows machine. :)

Anyway, if you buy the Powerbook and your wife doesn't want it, I'd be glad to give it a home. ;)