P-C,

the way I think of it is: where will your sister be using the tablet mostly? If it is Wi-fi enabled areas, then I think a WiFi ipad is fine and suitable. I use mine quite a bit outside of wifi enabled areas (or I periodically go through spurts where I do so). There was a point where I was only using the ipad at home and work and I didn't need data.

monthly you pay for data and you can cancel at any time. so it isn't like a phone in that regard.

refurb apple is where I go to first. they all come with warranties.

Hmm, maybe it is the scriptblocker. I don't have a smartphone and am either on my netbook using current Firefox (with the blocker) or (a lot less often) at work on Chrome.

I'd say disable the scriptblocker for debugging and go from there. You can always enable it later.

The scriptblocker is basically just so I can read the New York Times without paying for it. Maybe I can find another way to do that.

flea,

but do you need the scriptblocker for every site?

Well, it's browser-level. I've disabled it for Google Calendar already, but maybe it's messing with it anyway.

And refurbished Apple stuff is pretty good, I hear?

All of my personal Apple stuff (except maybe my old iBook) are refurbs, and they have been gold. My original iPod mini, which I bought in 2005 as a refurb, still works. (I don't know where it's disappeared to in the depths of the house, but when I last saw it, it worked.)

flea,

so this may help you. [link]

I googled for it.

monthly you pay for data and you can cancel at any time. so it isn't like a phone in that regard.

Oh, that's good to know.

refurb apple is where I go to first. they all come with warranties.

And they all come with data, so that makes that decision moot anyway. It's looking like the refurb iPad3 is my best bet, thanks, guys!

macworld has some pretty good starter guides for ipad. if she has an iphone, she's like 80% there.