My PowerBook has survived my students spilling softdrinks on it, not once, but twice, and it even survived the kid who tripped over the cord, yanking it hard off my desk to the tile floor. (The edge of the Titanium frame is just the least bit bent now, and I have to use a mouse rather than the trackpad.) My previous laptop, a mid-range Dell, died just after its warranty expired, without apparent cause.

It’s likely that you’d find uses for a PowerBook years after you’ve upgraded again. I’ve owned eight Macs and always gave them away in working condition when there was no longer any reason to keep them. Truth to tell, the IIE I gave my mother many years ago still works. That gift was a mistake, in fact, because for years she thought as long as she had a working computer, she really didn’t need another. Aaargh.

I do like a thing well designed and made. For me, that’s a Mac. Fact is, as long as you avail yourself of the tools you need to do what you want to do, there’s not really a wrong choice. Anything one buys now will be trumped in two years anyway! Good luck with your decision.