I come from a family that has been using Macs for over a decade, although I myself preferred Windows computers…up until Windows Vista came out. We had many Macs around the house growing up since my parents use Macs in their office, and I was never really impressed with the Apple Operating System, so I had doubts about the Macbook. But since the Macbook is loaded with 2GB RAM and an Intel processor, you can run BOTH Mac AND Windows operating systems with ease. I therefore figured worse comes to worst, I’ll use my Macbook as a laptop to run Windows XP with. I used it very heavily in college and it served me very well. It’s light weight allowed me to easily carry it from class to class, its included photo and video editing software gave me hours of productivity, and perhaps best of all, it was reliable! I really loved my Macbook and would like to give it 5 stars…but…

My sister, who was in graduate school, also got a Macbook at the same time I got mine. Her laptop fared well, up until the end of last year. For some reason, the laptop started getting buggy…it’d freeze, it would overheat, it became a major nuisance. We’ve reformatted several times, hoping that would solve the problems, but to no avail. I HIGHLY recommend getting the AppleCare protection plan. We regrettably didn’t, and really don’t feel like forking over the money to repair the Macbook since she doesn’t use it much anymore anyway. But our attempt to save money by not getting the protection plan will end up costing us more money now, should we choose to repair the laptop! The experience with our second, identical Macbook, is why I have to give 3 stars instead of 5 for an otherwise strong performance product, that can run both Windows and Mac, that comes bundled with a lot of great software, and that looks really cool (especially on a college campus where almost everyone has Macs!)

A last note…I have more recently purchased the sleeker Macbook, and would like to emphasize that while its construction is nicer, and it doesn’t look as cheap as this plastic one, I still think this is a good deal. If you’re looking to “wow” people and can splurge, get the newer model, but if you are looking for a powerful laptop and don’t care too much about having the latest build, this one is just fine. I still use my plastic one even though I have the newer (cooler-looking!) one.

And then came my Mac. It’s pretty, it’s intuitive, it has features and software that make my husband’s PC look like a donkey with pots clanging around on it. It doesn’t crash. Setting up email was a snap–not a several-day ordeal as with my IBM (that’s right–switching email from PC to Mac was easier than PC to PC). I’ve traveled with it several times, and haven’t had any problems. It did what I needed it to, when I needed it to.

It took some getting used to, but Apple’s site has some great tutorials on switching from PC to Mac.

I’m still exploring and figuring out some features, but I’m always pleasantly surprised. My only complaint is with the Finder. I find it difficult to organize and locate my files, but I figure it will just take some time to get used to the new system. For example, I want to find a document, say with the word “Costumes” in it. I type “Costumes” into the finder, and it pulls every email I’ve ever written that contains that word, which could be hundreds, and I need to find my one costume document out of that mess. But this is probably user error. Even with that, I’m still extremely happy with my Mac.

My mom and her husband are constantly grumbling about their PC and use me as their personal IT person. Neither of them are particularly tech savvy, and I think a Mac would be perfect for them. With a PC, you really need to understand how the machine works in order to troubleshoot. With a Mac, you don’t have a lot to troubleshoot, and everything is so intuitive. You don’t have to “look under the hood” all the time.

If Your going to buy a windows computer don’t even think twice D-O-N-T, in my opinion I don’t like windows.

BUY A MAC.

- it’s a little faster

- it’s a little lighter

- the aluminum finish is more durable

- the all metal body should dissipate heat better

- trackpad is larger and fingers glide easy over its glass surface

- multi-touch gestures make it easier to navigate

- LED-backlit display has better color and wider viewing angle

- keyboard lights up at night

- expands up to 8GB of memory (useful for the future)

- longer battery life

- the matte aluminum finish with black keys is beautiful

For me, these features justify the extra cost, which is why I purchased the Pro — others might not feel they are important. I am writing this review mostly so people thinking about the white MacBook at least consider the Pro version before making their final purchase.

Note, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has two versions. I got the least expensive which has a slightly lower processor speed, smaller disk and just 2GB of RAM. The processor speed of the more expensive model is not significantly faster and the disk and memory can be upgraded later when prices drop (I eventually will get a solid-state drive and 8GB).

There are some rumors floating around that this entry-level MacBook is going to be updated soon. No saying when that will happen — Apple has organized a press event for September 9th, but they may only announce their new iPods then.