I bought my G4 iBook and 4G 20g iPod with this deal last year. Remembering conversations before I made this purchase, Apple makes this offer on a yearly basis beginning in late summer and going through early fall. It's a promo to get students to jump on the Apple laptop deal for school. And a good promo IMO!!! I'd say wait for it to come back around...
edit: you asked for details. Hmmm, I can't recall if I got the $200 off right away or if it was a mail-in rebate. I'm almost sure it was a mail-in rebate. Plus they have printer deals where you can usually get a decent HP printer FREE after rebates.