So...I really like it, I've been waiting to get one until 3g and gps came along. But how will this work with a family plan? Right now, by adding on to my family account I get a phone with text package for $20/month. What kind of rates will I be looking at to add on an iphone and data...and more importantly, will my whole family have to be locked in for 2 more years? If they did it could be a deal-breaker for me...I hate being locked in for that long and I'm pretty sure my family wouldn't be up for it either.

I bought a 15 inch desktop replacement Dell going into college...and wouldn't do it again. I ran an ibook for my last 3 years in college...and while I thought it would be too small...it was near perfect. I ended up using an external keyboard (ergonomic) for my longer papers. For my last year, I got a used G4 powermac ($400) to run bit-torrent applications and general in room media server. I'd say the best bet is a Macbook and a used desktop when the money allows. I sound like a Mac fanboy, and that's because I am after the college network would quickly gel up my Windows machine even with full anti-virus protection.

I would listen to some classical, a bit of country, and oldies.

Personally, I've found that the free software available for the mac is better than for windows. You can get a lot of crappy programs free for windows, but you can get an excellent program for free for the mac. It's actually a selling point for me for the mac. Try to find a free windows program that can replicate what Handbrake does.

...How does this show anything? While I can see the disc on the left is scratched, the fact that I can't see any surface detail on the disc on the right means I really have no idea how it stood up to the treatment...