mac home studio

[lozone]

I want to set-up a home studio around a platform of a apple ibook.What are some suggestions on the basic hardware/software

[cmchamp]

Iozone:
How many channels are you looking at working with at a time and how many are you going to want to record and at what resolution?

With that in mind, you've got a few options.

Digi002 which also doubles as a control surface and format converter (I think).
Digi002 works best with ProTools LE. Another user tried it with Digital Performer and had a few issues.
MOTU 824 or 896 firewire solutions that come with AudioDesk software. AudioDesk is a simpler/ audio only version of DP, though if you're doing any work with MIDI, get Digital Performer.
One external FireWire drive for recording, and another for backing up your projects.

The drive in the iBook is only a 4200 RPM drive and will not be able to keep up. In addition, you should always record your audio to a dedicated audio drive(s)

Get the fastest processor you can and as much memory as you can. You'll need it. If you can swing your thinking into getting a Mac with a G4 processor with the AltiVec engine, you'll be much better off if you're looking into using lots of plug-ins or soft synths.