I vote for a MacBook. I have one (have had for a while now - over a year? I think?) and I love and adore it. My only complaint has been that I've had to replace the power cord twice. (I liked the magnetic attachment thing, that's nice, since my kids keep tripping over the cord and yanking it out, and the magnetic attachment ensures that nothing goes "snap." But the wire just beside the attachment gets bent and frays and... replaced it. Twice.) Otherwise, I loooooove this thing. It's lightweight, very quick speeds, sharp images, and very hardy - I've bashed it around Europe and the States and it's always come through beautifully.

I have an external hard drive for movies and such, but that said, I can store a TON of crap on this baby - and I do.

Anyway, that's my vote.

I'm voting for the Macbook as that's what you seem to really use (given the current state of your iBook) I only have laptops as that's what I really use - no point to me to be forced to sit at a desk.

If you can - save up some more to buy the bigger HD on the Macbook.

If your iBook was still behaving properly, I'd say go for some desktop version with a big drive on it ... you can have it doing misc. whilst traipsing about. (Mine has played dead a handful of times too, but rarely. I had assumed it was due to the extreme cold ... I've had to haul it around even in this weather.)

I mean, I've still got a Pismo that's hanging on there by a thread (erm, if you're new to Mac at the iBook stage then, lemme see ... that's about an 8 or 9-year old Mac PowerBook) and it definitely has power management problems that basically make it impossible to use as a true laptop, but with a replacement power cord and a USB drive, it does okay ... and the kids make great use of it.

For lower-end Mac desktops, I've used and quite like both the current iMac and macMini ... solid OS and cheap. I've got one mini doing work 24/7 and doing so brilliantly without fail. I bought the iMac recently as a recycled demo model, so got a few hundred knocked off the retail. It was still new enough to qualify for AppleCare, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a great 'risk'.

You're welcome. A couple other things to add:

1) Yeah, re-use your LCD if you're going for a mac Mini ... why not? They last forever. The Mini was basically designed for PC users making the 'switch' who had all these wacky peripherals that Mac folks haven't needed pretty much forever. (Again, you being 'young' on the Mac scene, you're probably not aware that the joke about the huge launch on Windows '98 was "Windows 98 ... Mac 88." ;-) You can hear a lot of bafflegab sales crap from PC-only guys, but most of that is either built-in or irrelevant on the mac side ... but you already know that by now. *g*)

2) I've had key problems on this one too because yeah, I use this baby for everything at home, work, etc. (woot for the disabled using off-the-shelf tech!). One thing that helped a lot was getting a silicon keycover. One, it keeps grit out of the keyboard when you're schlepping it around, and two, it helps hold the semi-broken keys in place. Since the new laptops all have those funky push-button keys you might have trouble getting one at Westworld, so check London Drugs (always a good source for Mac stuff and LD guys are not on commission, unlike anyone else). If you still can't find one, I've got one here somewhere that isn't for quite the right model but did okay for me until I found the right one ... definitely better than nothing.

2a) You can get replacement laptop keyboards at Westworld ... I forget what they cost because my "safe sex" ;-) keyboard cover did the trick in the end. Whatever the cost, you can bet it's a lot cheaper than getting a whole new lappy if you can avoid it.

3) My Pismo was one of the two highest-end laptop models available at the time ... and as I mentioned, it's still running decent enough if I don't need it to operate off battery (oh, and it's DVD drive has gone wonky and usually won't recognise disks). My point is that this relatively bargain-basement priced iBook (same vintage as yours) was so astoundingly 'better' than my once top-end machine that I'm honestly convinced I won't be shelling out for the top dollar again. (Just to give context: the Pismo cost just shy of $5,000, so getting the iBook for less than half felt like a dream come true ... and prices have gone down from there more or less.)

That's not to say I wouldn't buy the top-end Mac laptop or desktop in the future ... but I'd keep an eye on getting a trade-in machine. I've known heaps of people who've bought used macs with very few problems (nothing worse than found occasionally on new ones). And even here there are plenty of people who are bringing back last month's shiny model for this month's ... nothing wrong with the machine, they just have penis issues. *evil grin*

4) Back to the Mini ... I use mine to record video security feeds, so it literally works 24/7. Originally I bought a PC-based device for that purpose, but found the damn cooling fan drove me nuts to back to the store it went. The Mini is whisper-quiet, plus small, so it's convenient as all get-out for setup. Your external HDD may well be larger. ;-)

5) Phew! Really? There is no point five.

(Sorry to rave. I'm over-tired and yeah, I've been on Mac since forever and that's when the light of insanity for tech fandom bleeds through *g*. And yes yes yes I've worked on lots of Windows and even other OS-es (hey, I'm old!) but nothing compares. And with OSX? Open Source software is serious geek love!)

I've tended to use AppleCare, yes. With a laptop? No question -- a screen problem alone will be at least $1,000 (last I checked) and the AppleCare is well worth it, in that instance.

I would also want to have it (or company warranty) on any re-built/used machine. I'm geeky, but not so much so that I can reverse the polarity on the sublight engines just to make things work. ;-)

Brand new? I think you've got up to a year from purchase before you decide for sure.

I guess it all comes down to your comfort zone--I've used macs forever, know other people who've used them forever, etc., and sure, the occasional hardware failure does happen, though in my experience very very rarely. Not really an answer, I guess. Flip a coin? *g*

--
One thing I really love about the iMac is that it is so damned *light*. The thin-screen is great, and having the entire computer integrated into it is very elegant. Easy to move around, too. *g* I use it for desktop computing and watching films. Lovely!

I was going to suggest a Mac Mini (which I desperately covet to replace my 7-year-old G4 tower and its 40 GB hard drive that has been making horrifying grinding noises and scaring the crap out of me), but then you'd have to buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Unless you could use the PC's monitor or something? Keyboard/mouse combos aren't very expensive...

Normally I'm all in favor of laptops over desktops, but at work I switched to a crummy laptop (new office is only on laptops, old office is only desk tops) and I'll take the tower and non-portable but powerful desk top any day now. So if you're okay with the lack of mobility, then I'd go for the option that gives you a lot more power.

My MacBook is pretty hardy. I pretty much take it everywhere I go. I've had it for 8 month now with no problems. It's as good as new.

I should put you in contact with Charlotte or Megan. They use their MacBook for both work and play. I don't know how often they replace them though. I'll ask.

I just think that the portability is more useful to you.