I got my first iBook just a few weeks ago to use in my consulting business. I travel all around the country conducting interviews and psychological analysis, and so I need to enter information, write reports and give information on the go. Internet accessibility wherever I happen to land, as well as multi-media hookup, is also necessary for me.

I couldn't be happier with the iBook.

First of all, a note on numbers: most Windows computers have Pentium chips with high clock speeds (the Megahertz you're always hearing about), but what those computer makers don't tell you is that Pentium's business plan includes producing the highest clock speeds possible, no matter what. Their idea is that ignorant consumers would only pay attention to the clock speed number, and not wonder at all about how well the computer actually performs.

Pentium's PC chips turn out to be quite inefficient. The upshot is that although most PCs are running at just a bit above 1000 megahertz and my iBook is running at 700 megahertz, my iBook actually performs faster.

All of Apple's Macs are sold with the new operating system X these days, and my experience with it has been nothing but grand. It does all the things that Windows XP does, without any of the awful system incompatibilities problems that XP has become infamous for. OS X also has a lot of nice little perks, like the function that allows the user to create a PDF file from any file in any program.

A lot of folks worry about transitioning their old operating system 9 software to OS X. I was too, but was pleasantly suprised to find that the computer automatically starts operating system 9 whenever I ask it to open a document or application that's native to the old operating system.

The battery power on my iBook is very solid and predictable: about 6 hours for one battery, as long as I'm not watching a DVD. Then it's a bit shorter, maybe four hours.

As for portability, well, all laptops are portable, but very few are as eye-catching as the iBook. I've noticed there's a kind of panache to having one in firms that deal with the more creative side of business: advertising firms are filled with them.

Far and away the top reason I had for buying an iBook instead of a Windows XP computer is that I don't much want to be spied on. Unfortunately, Mr. Gates and his minions over at Microsoft appear to be up to their old tricks. Windows XP requires users to sign up for the Microsoft Passport, which tracks people as they use software, request customer support, and worst of all, as they surf the Internet! In order to use a Windows XP computer, you've got to agree to let Bill Gates collect information on practically everything you do on your computer. Thanks, but I don't want to go there today.

That's just one of the many insulting new features of Windows XP that has persuaded me to go with Apple and buy an iBook. It's not just about user-friendliness. It's about respect for my privacy.