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!)
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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!)