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Western CO | I run one of the new aluminum Macbooks, and my kids both have white Macbooks. The new one has a few features which are nice -- the new multi-touch mouse pad (you can use many of the same user interface touches that the iPhone and iPod Touch use ) plus a couple of new ones (four finger swipes to access the desktop or expose') Also the new models have higher speed processors, more ram capability and better graphics (most but not quite all of the capabilities of the Macbook Pro). And they are slightly smaller -- like about every new laptop that comes out it seems. The screens are 13.3" on the Macbook or you can get 15" or 17" in the Macbook Pro. I think the aluminum cases are probably going to be quite a bit more durable over the long run -- we have one white Macbook that has a bit of a catch in the plastic when you open the screen (not been a problem yet but could be).
I've switched everything over to Macs -- we have a copy of MS Office for the Mac and iWork. If I had it to do over I would skip Office I think -- the apps in iWork (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) all can open and work with Office files. You can buy a multi-user license of iWork for less than a single copy of Office.
As posted above some of the reason for the lack of viruses is the fact that the numbers of Macs versus PC's is less -- but Apple is growing at a record pace currently and will probably cause an increase in viruses. The OS is much more robust however and makes it a bit more difficult for viruses to propagate.
I can't think of anything that is more difficult to do on a Mac, they have always had the upper hand from a user interface standpoint.
Dependability -- My iMac on my desk runs 24/7 and the only time it gets rebooted is to install upgrades that require it. I know the later versions of XP got better but generally you can't touch that kind of dependability on a PC.
About the only cons I can think of is if you have PC specific software -- ie precision ag apps. For those you can always use a Virtual Machine package with a copy of Windows installed in it and run them in a window on your Mac desktop. I know there will be some replys that are going to say why own a Mac if you have to run Windows on it -- Well for my $, I would rather run a Mac as a Mac 95% of the time and then have the capability to run Windows apps when I have to. If you are in a business that requires you to run a Windows only app 95% of the time then it would not benefit you to run it on a Mac (unless you are running Vista and want the fastest laptop to run it on ;-) -- as tested by one of the PC Mags...
For the most part choosing a Mac vs. a PC is a lot like the arguments for what kind of tractor/combine do you run or what brand pickup do you drive -- everybody picks something that fits them for one reason or another (performance, style, value, service, or that's what dad did ;-) I run Mac's, a Challenger, CIH combine, a 900 KW, and drive Ford pickups -- most everyone can find a reason for not picking all of those or any of them for that matter. So if you think it fits your situation, I'd say give it a try. As for new vs. refurb. I can't really tell you which way to go there -- it does seem that used Macs don't fall in value quite like their PC cousins -- so we have stuck to buying new and getting the initial warranty/service that goes with that.
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Mac laptops
