[larryiskewl]

Well I own a 15" Powerbook G4 and my mom (had) my old HP laptop. She would like another laptop Apple of course! What iBook would be best for a woman in her mid 40's and just for internet (wireless) and email she wants panther. We can't pay too much for this iBook so it will probably have to be G3 but what do you guys recommend?

[discotronic]

I recently gave my mother my iBook G3 700 and I upgraded to the G3 900. She just turned 50 and loves it. She is doing the same thing that your's would be doing. If she doesn't need a Combo drive I would suggest going to the Special Deals section on Apple's site. They have refurb G3 800's with CD-ROM for $649 or your can get a G4 800 with CD-ROM for $749. Out of everywhere I have checked Apple seems to have the lowest price right now.

They have Panther and should also have iLife 04 minus GarageBand. GarageBand needs at least a Combo drive to install.

If you go used you will probably pay almost as much as going with a refurb. I've seen the iBook 500 going for between $500 and $700 on eBay. It's amazing how these things hold their value.

If you are a student you can get a discount on an Airport card or just get a refurb for $59.

[tooki]

The plural of mother is mothers. No apostrophe!

That settled, I'd say a 14" iBookis probably perfect, because a lot of people that age complain that the 12" screen displays text uncomfortably small.

How about you have her try both sizes and see which she likes?

Other than the screen size, I seriously doubt your mom's needs exceed the base model's capabilities.

tooki

[mishap]

Originally posted by tooki:
The plural of mother is mothers. No apostrophe!

That settled, I'd say a 14" iBookis probably perfect, because a lot of people that age complain that the 12" screen displays text uncomfortably small.

exactly...some people down the resolution of the 12inch model to be 800x600 (which looks like crap), but with the 14" there is no problem...anyone should be able to handle that.

i know the 14" would be the best model for my mom. Unless of course your mom needs the extra portability of the 12"