If I was shopping today, I would TRY to find a scanner that did everything else AND was networkable. This would allow multiple computers to use the scanner, compared to USB which means moving the scanner or cable around or trying to software 'share' the scanner.

I have found it handy to be able to scan directly into my iPad or even iPhone using the VueScan app which works nicely with my networked Canon MP990 all-in-one.

A useful trick with VueScan is to 'scan' a page using the iPhone or iPad camera. Works a little better than dealing with regular photos of pages.