Thanks to all who responded!  I've received tons of information, and hope
to be able to start looking at Macs this weekend (I'm slowly recovering
from bronchitis).  I did get the children's old 486 working (limping
along?) last night, so the time pressure is off.  And yes, I'll be waiting
for the Mac announcements in January before making a final replacement
decision.

And to those of you who recommended BeOS on either Intel or Power PC (but
not on the iMac or current Macs), I found a friend who is running it and
who will give me a demo this weekend, but from your descriptions, his
description, and the ZDTV.COM pages you referenced at:

http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/showtell/story/0,3656,2311973,00.html
   and
http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/showtell/story/0,3656,2215195,00.html
   and
http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/answerstips/story/0,3656,2310486,00.html
   and
http://www.be.com/

   or for AOL users,
<a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/showtell/story/0,3656,2311973,0
0.html">
(rave review) </a> and at <a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/showtell/story/0,3656,2215195,0
0.html">
(why it is great, why it is doomed) </a> and at <a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/answerstips/story/0,3656,231048
6,00.html">
(how to make it look like Windows, Mac OS 8, Amiga, etc.) </a> and at
<a href="http://www.be.com/">(Be website)</a>,
 it looks very interesting.  Wow!  What a file system!  Journalized and
all!  Unfortunately, while BeOS looks very interesting, and I may try it, I
don't think it will do for the children, at least in its current state
(virtually no software for children).

Again, thanks everyone!

John
--------------------------------------------------------------
John Korb                            email: [log in to unmask]
Innovative Software Solutions, Inc.

The thoughts, comments, and opinions expressed herein are mine
and do not reflect those of my employer(s), or anyone else.