Eric, My opinions: Claris Works 5 is fairly old and may not work on 10.2. Will this Mac (in 10.2 mode) have the capability of opening in 'classic' mode? If so the Claris works will open. If it's an option, Appleworks 6 (what Claris morphed into) will work on both OS's. Has Grandma ever used a mac?? If so the 9.2 might be easier for her since it's more like the older OS platforms. If she hasn't then I don't think it matters much...the biggest 'visible' difference is the "Dock" which you can disable if it is bothersome. There are programs out there that are written specifically for 10 and above. Likewise, many programs that work in 9 won't work in 10.2....That's why I asked about this Mac's ability to open in Classic mode. A lot will depend on how much training you will be able to give her. If most of your software is for 9.2, then by all means, go with that. It will save the time that 10.2 takes opening up the classic mode. Unless Grandma will be running games or graphics intensive programs, I think I would just up the RAM to 256. A good group of Mac discussion lists: http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa?ft=y Also, if you are looking for anything Mac specific, it's easier to search for it this way: www.google.com/mac Hope this helps Peggy