Coming a bit late to this discussion, I'll still stick my oar in. If your daughter isn't running Photoshop nonstop or heavy-duty video editing software, the iBook's G3 processor will handle things just fine. The portability of an iBook will probably be an asset. eMacs, though a great bang for the buck, have been fraught with monitor problems and failures. These may have been solved now, but talk to any school IT department if you want an earful on that subject! iMacs are nice, but aren't portable. Personally, I'm not crazy about the 12" iBook - I've worked on one and found the screen too darn small. But screen real estate has always mattered more to me than to some others. Your daughter should try to visit an Apple retailer and have a look at both options. The 12" will of course, leave more $$ for other important add-ons. And as for a PC...eek! The constant virus problems alone should be enough to scare anyone off. This will be her ONLY machine - it needs to be reliable, and she will need it for email - the most common source of viruses. On a Mac-friendly campus, the Mac is the obvious choice, hands down.
Absolutely get a mouse!! Keyboard isn't necessary - or can be added later. For portability, size and convenience, I'd recommend the Kensington Pocket Pro - it is small, optical, has a retractable cord, and has two buttons and a scroll wheel. For cases, the Brenthaven series (Apple sells them, as do a few others) cannot be beaten - they're made specifically for Mac laptops. They are, however, expensive. They make a laptop backpack that would suit a college student well. I have their briefcase one for my TiBook.
And as has been mentioned, the CoolPad Traveler is a very useful addition, though maybe not as crucial with the cooler-running iBook. I've found it very useful in meetings etc. with my Ti - and the Ti of course gets quite hot, so the CoolPad improves the circulation.
And don't fall for the "free printer" deal if it's either of the two lowest-model HP's (3320 or 3340). I just finished researching inkjet printers for my Mom and the user reviews at CNET were uniformly negative (which I have never seen before for any product!). Expensive to run (heavy on the ink) and don't last. The reviews of the low-end Epson printers often offered as "freebies" were similarly negative, though not quite as bad. We settled on the Canon i550 - more expensive, but got very good reviews, and lots of them. Also, it is apparently a cheaper printer when it comes to replacing ink. Again, her usage patterns should help determine which printer is most suitable. The HP all-in-one might be quite useful - or go for one of the better HP or Canon models. Another option would be one of the less expensive laser printers, though they are still quite a bit more than any inkjet, they will be a lot cheaper to run. If most of her output will be print (term papers & assignments) this option may be worth considering, despite the higher initial cost. Many of the cheaper inkjet printers cost LESS than one set of replacement ink cartridges! A toner cartridge for a laser printer can last 3500-5000 pages (depending on the printer) and cost as little as $50 for some models, up to about $82 if you purchase a remanufactured cartridge ($99 for a new cartridge for my printer, the 2100). A typical black inkjet cartridge for an HP printer will cost $26-$30 and only last slightly under 800 pages. (both comparisons are at 5% coverage - ie: printed word). Many color HP cartridges printing at 15% density will produce approximately 450 pages, and tend to cost about $35 new.
