Mac ibook advice needed for my son

[jess_g]

My 8 year old son is going to start using a laptop at school for writing assignments and to learn to type on. I am trrying to decide what to get him. The school has an old alpha smart which is not working very well. I would like to get him an apple ibook but am not sure which one. I can get him a used one for half the cost of a new one, but will it be suffiecent for his needs? He just needs to type and do word processing on it, but if could play some educational games that would be great too. Has anyone bought a used ibook? Is it better to just buy a new one? I am looking on craigslist for one that is local so I can check it out before I buy it but don't knwo what I am getting into. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Jessica.

[Davids-Coco]

I wouldn't buy one through an ad... but part of my reasoning for that is because people don't clean them off. If they have illegal music, etc, I would be concerned about it coming back to bite me.

That said, Apple does have a section of their store that sells certified refurbished macs. There aren't any macbook/ibooks available right now. But it is worth considering. I believe you get some warranty too.

[kijip]

www.lowendmac.com has some good information and links to reputable mac resellers. I would totally get a used iBook rather than buying new. You will save money and recycle at the same time. An older machine will be a-ok for your son's needs.

We purchased an older iMac for my son. It is 6 years old or so, but runs OS10 fine and is fine for word processing, games and web browsing.

DO NOT buy a 14 inch iBook that was made in 2002- the first 14 inch iBooks had a serious malfunction with the motherboards (I say this as a January 2002 purchaser of a 14 inch iBook :) ). I would stick to the 12 inches or the newer 14 inchers.

[KBecks]

www.lowendmac.com has some good information and links to reputable mac resellers. .

Cool site!