Advice on which Mac laptop to buy / Advice about using WIndows on it.

Question

I'd appreciate some advice on which replacement laptop to get for someone in my family who just needs e-mail, the Internet, and iPhoto--something simple, small, and portable, like the iBook or the MacBook Combo. However, he has just complicated matters by saying that he'd like to be able to use Windows on his new computer (yech).
I don't know anything about using Windows on a Mac, not even whether this feature is now built into all Macs or not. A recent post I found on virtualization (February, 2006) quotes Microsoft as saying that Virtual PC won't run on an Intel-based Mac (MacBook), though it will on the iBook and the Powerbook.
Here are the questions I'm trying to answer: (a) Is running Windows on the MacBook Combo an issue? If Microsoft doesn't make virtualization for the MacBook, are there other companies who do? (b) Are there features/lack of features on a MacBook that mean it makes more sense to get the least-expensive iBook instead or vice-versa? Again, simplicity and ease of use are the goal here, not state-of-the-art technology. (c) Can you even buy a new iBook or Powerbook any more, since the Apple website seems to feature only the MacBook?
Thanks in advance for suggestions about any of this!
Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   15"

Answer 1

For what your
family member want to do the 1.83GHz MacBook will be
just fine. Just be aware that if they want to write
DVDs at any time they will have to purchase an
external DVD writer.
As for Windows, there are two options for running
Windows on a …
1) Use Apple's software, Boot Camp…
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/
… which provides the ability to use you MacBook as a
Windows computer. Please note that a restart will be
required and only one OS will be available at any one
time. Additionally it is suggested that at least a
20GB larger drive be purchased to accomodate the
Windows partition.
2) Use Parallels…
http://www.parallels.com/
… which uses Virtualisation Technology. This allows
Windows to be used under Mac OS X just like Virtual
PC did with the PowerPC Macs. While this is far more
convenient it's performance does not match that of
Boot Camp although it is still rather snappy for more
requirements. It does vost money where Boot Camp is
free. Again, a larger drive is recommended.
For both Parallels and Boot Camp Windows will operate
at native PC speeds so do not consider an iBook or
PowerBook.
Thanks, that's helpful. One more question, now that I've looked at the MacBook more carefully: We use dial-up for e-mail and the Internet; this works very well for us and we have no immediate plans to change. Since the MacBook has no internal modem, would you or anyone else reading this say the Apple USB external modem works as advertised?
I see that the Apple USB modem gets very mixed reviews--some people say it's fine, others seem to find it slower than the internal version, and several think it's a piece of junk.
Would you (or anyone else reading this) have any experience using the Apple USB modem for dial-up connection? [That's not meant to be an insult. :-)] Would we now have to expect our dial-up connections to be slower than before? Or do we just have to be sure we have the right settings, compatible server, etc.? Or is the problem Apple's product, and would a 3rd-party product work better?
Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   15"