Macbook Pro Vs. Macbook Air?

Yes, Macbooks really are worth the money. My old Powerbook G4 is now 7 years old and still running as good as the day I got it. You should expect your Macbook to last up to 5 years on average. It should easily last your entire time at college and then some.

I would recommend the 13inch Macbook Pro for the simple reason that it has up to 9 hours of battery life. This could be crucial if you spend all day in classes. The Macbook air has 7 hours on the 13" model and 5 hours on the 11" model. You also have to consider the memory and hard-drive storage where the Macbook Pro has better options. Whichever one you choose, make sure you have at least 4Gb of main memory. OS X will work ok on 2GB but 4GB and higher is the sweet spot. Remember too that if you want to use CDs or burn DVDs then you will need to buy a USB external drive to do that. The benefits of a Macbook Air are that it makes no noise (great for library work), takes up little room in your backpack and weighs a lot less. However if you want to install Windows as well for the odd game, then the Macbook Pro will be better.

"1st question.. Are Macbooks really worth the price?? And will a macbook last longer than 2 years without it sh!tting all over me?"

Yes they're worth the price IMO. It should last a long time unless you get a lemon. It happens and when you do get a lemon it usually a lemon for life. Most Macs aren't lemons though.

"Secondly, The new macbook air literally just came out today, and it's cheaper than the macbook pro (13 inch) . Considering my lifestyle, do you think I should purchase a macbook pro or a macbook air?"

Macbook Pro.

It has a better, faster processor (1.4 & 1.8 Ghz C2D Air vs 2.4 & 2.66 Ghz C2D MBP) and a SuperDrive (external optional for a MB Air = $$$).

2 GB memory Air vs 4 GB for MBP.

Better battery life according to Apple (7 hours Air vs 10 hours MBP).

MBP has a firewire 800 port, Air doesn't.

MBP has built in ethernet (may or may not be useful), Air has an adapter that is sold separately.

MBP has an illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor, Air doesn't.

These specs are for 13 inch models.

Look at the comparisons from here for other size models. Scroll down a little for the Compare button.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/fam...

I use a macbook pro for 2 years now (2008 unibody model... looks same as you see in stores today design.... but slightly older specs... ) and it hasn't had ANY issues. I also work in IT using only windows.... i have a windows machine, 3 servers, and windows running on ALL my macs (2 macbook pros, and an iMAC).

the windows machines .... windows 7... .is MUCH better than vista. it has NOT crashed. nor had any issues. but that's also cause i am in IT..... i can say at this point windows has improved a lot and i can depend on it just as much as my macs....

that said... i STILL prefer mac. the OS is easier and friendlier and so much cleaner to just browse and do basic tasks. when i'm doing heavy coding and complex work related tasks that are windows only... then i use windows. everything else? writing a document.... resume.... email.... browsing web... mac anyday.

get a mac. install windows. be happy.

oh yeah... and if you are ONLY doing docs and web browsing and research online... but need portability to travel... i'd go with the 13 inch macbook air.... (assuming you don't care no dvd drive)... many people these days don't. i haven't used a dvd in years.... you could get external one if needed.... just saying. i'd rather have the portability if all you want is to check email and write documents and browse the web or watch a movie here and there on youtube or itunes...

I've got the Macbook Pro, and I lurrrrve it! It's easy to use and fast, and it's cheaper then the air!!! I think the air is not worth it because it only has 1 USB port... I think, and doesn't even have a DVD drive!

On the other hand, it is somewhat lighter and sleeker. State of the art thing. If I were you, I'd get the Macbook Pro 13 inch, because it can do so much more like, an example is that the processor is much faster.. Whereas with the air, you pay more for a smaller size, it's more of a show off thin.

So yeah, my opinion.

Know exactly what you mean.. Just never seems to work when you need it. I reckon it is worth paying the extra for mac.. as you are paying for quality/design and usually works all the time and plus no viruses.. And if you really dont like the mac os you can even install windows on it. I would go for macbook air, but i would have a look on the apple site and compare the two models and work out what you really need..

To be honest, with your requirements, a regular MacBook is enough. The computer I'm typing this on is a 5 year old MacBook. It still works exactly like it did on the first day, except the battery is a little worn down and needs replacing. I've had no trouble with it losing my documents, no trouble with it shutting down randomly, no problems with it getting slow, no problems with viruses. Is that worth the extra investment? What do you think?

Well Windows 7 is far better than vista, much more improved.

The main difference from a PC laptop and a MacBook, is that the Apple computers are more overpriced.

MacBook Air doesn't allow you to insert discs, it has less storage for files (max is 256GB I believe?).

-- Here's a quote from this website you'd might be interested to read more on:

http://hubpages.com/hub/MacBook-Air-vs-MacBook-Pro...

Finally, the MacBook Air adheres to the general rule that you pay more for smaller size. Even though it isn't as full-featured as the MacBook, it costs $300 to $700 more than Apple's consumer-level notebook, and for only $200 more you can get a much more capable-but larger and heavier-Mac Book Pro.

THIS ONE IS BEST ACCORDING TO YOUR REQUIREMENT

Apple MacBook Pro MB991LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

*2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor

*250 GB hard drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive, 4 GB DDR3 RAM

*NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics, 13.3 inch LED Display

*Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook-MB991LL-13-3-I...

Or

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?...

I actually have discovered this outlet store and acquired one there. Not quite remarkable regarding the delivery speed but does save around 72% and content to find this discount. The quality is really fine and till today not find any issues.

the pro. the macbook air keyboard sucks and is to stiff, has no power, but the pro is perfect