I have owned a 12" powerbook, and now have a 15" powerbook, and have had the logic board replaced I think, three times, between the two (though um, one of those sadly involved a spilled glass of water...). Apple is still making hardware that can stop functioning for any number of inconvenient reasons, just like everyone else. Not that it does more often than any other piece of electronic equipment on the market. It's impossible to predict ahead of time - you probably have noticed more powerbook issues than ibook issues since you've been planning all along to buy a powerbook and therefore following the powerbook threads more closely. I'd just decide between the ibook and powerbook based exclusively on what you're going to use it for. Plus, I would guess that this latest round of powerbooks are the end-of-lifers before the G5 powerbooks come out. While some might think of this as a bad thing, the last revision of a computer is usually the very best, since all issues have had so much time to be resolved and features improved and tested.
That all being said, please don't really consider staying with your Windows laptop. There are no amount of hardware issues on any computer that could make me want to give up using the Mac OS. A former Windows user (and still occasionally forced to be at work), I can tell you firsthand that using Mac's operating system on a daily basis is a joy. Once you get over the small initial learning hump, it is so intuitive. It is incredibly easy to use yet unbelievably powerful, and oh-so stable. As a Windows user, you will be amazed at how much your productivity level increases when you don't have to deal with inexpicable crashes, pop-ups, viruses, blue screens, lost data, programs you never actually downloaded, anything. I love the aesthetics of Apple's design, but my complete unwavering loyalty is because of the operating system. There is no way the potential powerbook issues should prevent you from experiencing it.
That all being said, please don't really consider staying with your Windows laptop. There are no amount of hardware issues on any computer that could make me want to give up using the Mac OS. A former Windows user (and still occasionally forced to be at work), I can tell you firsthand that using Mac's operating system on a daily basis is a joy. Once you get over the small initial learning hump, it is so intuitive. It is incredibly easy to use yet unbelievably powerful, and oh-so stable. As a Windows user, you will be amazed at how much your productivity level increases when you don't have to deal with inexpicable crashes, pop-ups, viruses, blue screens, lost data, programs you never actually downloaded, anything. I love the aesthetics of Apple's design, but my complete unwavering loyalty is because of the operating system. There is no way the potential powerbook issues should prevent you from experiencing it.
I LOVE the great battery life for when I'm in a WiFi spot, or something like that.
