[iBook] iBook advice

[david]

In the order asked:

The so-called combo drive reads CDs and DVD and burns CDs. The so-called
superdrive reads and writes both.

Panther isn't perfect but it is the most rock-solid OS I've ever used...and
as a 20 year veteran of the business, I've used a lot.

If you have Word you can open any Word documents. TextEdit and AppleWorks
can read simple Word documents but I wouldn't want to depend on either.
OpenOffice is also available.

Whether AppleWorks is a full word processing package depends on your
definition of full. The OS X version of AW has had its problems since its
release and Apple has done little but fix the worst of the bad bugs since.

How worthwhile Airport is depends on where you will use it. My home is old,
the walls thick and plaster on lathe. I wired part of the house when we
redid some remodeling five years ago but the upstairs and basement isn't
wired. Airport lets me use my computers where I want, not where wires let
me. And, I must say, I love working outside.
 
How best to transfer files will depend on your access to stuff other than
your current computer and new one. Worst case is email them to yourself.
When I made a similar move several years ago I had a SCSI CD burner which
made it simple.

david