<p>the laptop the school is suggesting should be a top of the line computer… that said there are a number of people who use macs, and I am one of them. I like them better, and find them more reliable. As for which kind to get… the new powerbooks (they are no longer called powerbooks) are awesome machines, but an iBook should serve you fine. I’ve used macs for my whole life and I’ve never had them serviced. That said, it would probably be harder to get a mac worked on, but there’s also probably somebody at school who could do it, finding them would be the issue.</p>