I knew you'd suggest that. :-)

I might eventually, but not as the first attempted solution. $30 a month for 3G is better than $50+ for cable internet, plus I'm sure there will be fewer headaches.

If the iPad doesn't work out for her, I can use it. IIRC, her laptop is a Gateway dual-core AMD Vista machine which was astonishingly slow even after I did a substantial memory upgrade. No doubt it would be better with Ubuntu, but not vastly better. And she has several Windows games she plays, so that might make her cranky if they didn't run....

I'm assuming she'll keep the laptop for her Windows stuff and use the iPad for Internet stuff.

I will keep your suggestion in mind. Thanks.

Cheers,
Scott.