epson 636u, USB ;-)
it's 2 years old, and it's great =) it's my sister's scanner...
i just use the included software for my scanning... i don't do anything fancy...
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any scanner that came out within the past few years will be fine for most users.
some will require certain specializations like transparencies (which require specific scanners since transparency adapters suck)...
as for interface, definitely go USB if you can. high end, go scsi.
go to a site like pricegrabber and price something out. then go here, or chech deja, for any comments on the actual model.
when i was scanner shopping, there was an HP that i was looking at, but it had problems, so, i went with the epson. yeah, it is my sister's scanner, but still, i picked it.