I too, went kicking & screaming into the Mac world. I got a baseline MacBook about 6 years ago and I still have it. Had one hard drive failure about 6mos ago (so, after 5+ years) but had a wonderful external backup. $150 later, I was back up & running completely (and with a larger hard drive!).

We will be Mac users for life in my house!

Apologies for the double-post, but thought I would also through an additional plug in for Apple. The Genius Bar at the Apple store is...well...genius! The fact that you can go sit with a LIVE person and get help for free is wonderful! They have all sorts of classes you can take to get you on your feet as well.

The other thing I love is that my 70 year old Mom can go in there and they do not talk to her like she's a moron. Which, she would be the first to tell you that she IS, in fact, a moron when it comes to computers. :)

Haha oh, ok. I thought that because you mentioned Best Buy and geek within the same sentence that you were referring specifically to their Geek Squad. I think one of my friends actually used to work for them anyway (and while I think he's one of the smartest people I know, I wouldn't call him a geek :) ), so maybe I'll ask him.

And what is the difference between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air (besides size, weight and price), that would relate to my needs in a laptop?

(Btw.. I should have also mentioned that while I'm very good in dealing with the software side of computers, when you start talking about things like RAM and GBs, I need you to talk to me as if I'm a 5-year-old)

That would be perfect for me! Lol

The only real difference is that you don't have any drives. If you don't plan to use any CD-ROMs or DVDs, then you shouldn't have a problem. I've never looked to see if it has a USB drive. (I would think it's too thin for even that.) BTW, HP is getting out of the laptop game.

Thank goodness. I had an HP that I bought in 2001 that I loved, but the one I got in 2008 died just after the 1 year warranty ran out. The computer ran a bit hot (which was normal according to HP support) but it ended up frying the motherboard. Same thing happened to my husband's. We've both switched to Macbook Pros and we're ridiculously happy. We got the Pro for the aluminum body, DVD-ROM, and USB and memory card ports. It took my husband about 2 days to get used to it (he'd never touched a Mac before, aside from one at elementary school in the 80s). We'll never switch back.

At my office, we just purchased Acer laptops that we dock during the day. It's a bit heavier than my Macbook, but I've been happy with it for the past 3 months. I switch back and forth between the Mac and Acer with no issues.

I believe the MacBook Air does have at least one USB port—and the good thing there is that if you really need more than one when you're at home, you can get a decent USB hub to plug into it. I have a hub for my MacBook Pro 13" because two USB ports isn't always enough for my mouse, printer, external hard drive, iPods, and my Droid phone. :o

My mom had the same experience with a Dell. She got one for her birthday. Took a long time to boot up. Never worked well. Ran hot. Fried the motherboard. They actually replaced it. After a year, it died again. I think my dad bought her a different one and bought more than just the basement model. I think she barely uses it now between her iPhone and Kindle.

That's impressive. It's pretty dang thin!

I use the term geek with only the most love and affection. As an honorific if you will.

It's got 2 USB ports and a Thunderbolt, as well as an SD card slot.

I was shying away from the MacBook Air because it didn't have drives--but this is sounding better and better. :)

I've only known one person with an Acer and she wasn't impressed. It wasn't a bad computer just everything (the OS, the speed, the display, etc) was mediocre. After the pop and sizzle of other computers, mediocre = torture for her.

In a lot of ways, you should consider the MacBook Air in the same vein as a netbook ... unless you're a "power user" you'll be using it in basically the same way.

Like most Apple products, it's smooth as hell though.

I prefer Dells and Acers to other brands personally. I have a hard time dealing with Macs at all. I am firmly a Windows or Linux person but that's due to familiarity, I'm sure. I just don't know how to do anything on a Mac and I don't find it intuitive. If you need to interface with a work system, be sure that if you do decide on a Mac, that you can do what you need to do for work. Lots of people I worked with at my last job were very upset when they spent $1500 on a Mac to find that they still needed a Windows based laptop to work from home.

I'm a very, very heavy user and my Dell laptop is doing phenomenally.

ALL laptops these days run hot. I was told that's why they started calling them notebooks. You cannot use it on your lap or on a soft surface because you'll block the air flow for the fans for the processor and it will fry. Fast processors are hot, that's life.

I have always appreciated that they do not treat me like a moron when I go in with a problem of some kind. I have always been a windows advocate but the change over was really very easy.

DaffyKD

I'm both a mac and PC user, and only have portable machines. I have had one problem with my Mac in the almost three years I have had it, and it was fixed quickly & easily. I had a Dell laptop from 2005 that the Mac replaced in 2008, but picked up a Dell netbook with some crazy rebates & deals about a year and a half ago for about $100. I have a monitor, wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse I can use with both machines and swap them out at home depending on what I'm working on.

I love the netbook for traveling, especially in the field as space and weight are a concern. As mentioned it has no CD or DVD drive, and I didn't purchase one as I can just use my portable hard drives to transfer anything by using another computer, even my Mac. I figure since I paid so little for my netbook, if it gets broken or lost I've gotten more than my money's worth. They keyboard I use is also great for portability, it is the Microsoft Arc, which is very light and flat, comes in a little case, and is great if I want to work elsewhere.

The reason I have both is the work and research I do is easier to accomplish with both machines. When I'm manipulating and cleaning up images, the Mac is amazing, but for some GIS uses PC is the way to go. I'm constantly using MS Office programs and documents between the two with no problems, but I have easy access to the newest versions due to my University affiliation.

The one really dumb thing on my netbook is the port for the monitor cable doesn't have any holes for the screws to attach, so I only use it on my little stand. I use the same stand for both machines, it doesn't fan capabilities but it keeps it cool. I love having dual screens for working, and my biggest issue is keeping my cats off the table/desk. I know quite a few people who have netbooks and think they are the bee's knees, and they actually stream netflix to watch movies. I had both the netbook and Mac hooked up to my television before I bought a new DVD player & netflix streamed through it fine.

Last thing I thought of, make sure to get a good case when you buy it. If you plan on toting it around, I have found Built NY bags/sleeves to be great, and though they have a high price point I found mine on sale at Staples, and REI, and I've seen them in discount places like Ross & TJ Maxx. I'm a huge fan of The Hoodie as you can slip the cords & such in the pouch and there are no zippers. I did get a great one from our campus store, but that was just because they had a sale, a coupon, it was the last of the older style, and it was VANDALIZED.