new laptop -- i need recs

[devohoneybee]

My thinkpad is starting to make "I'm old and creaky" noises, so I'm thinking it may be time for a new one. Also, my service agreement runs out in September. Several people have suggested getting a Mac, for, among other reasons, Vista avoidance. Here's my questions

-- If you were buying a new laptop now, what would you get?

For the Mac users, how hard is it to switch between Macs and pcs (which I would continue to use at work)?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[kadymae.livejournal.com]

For the Mac users, how hard is it to switch between Macs and pcs (which I would continue to use at work)?

Would you like me to bring an (older) Mac Laptop to Escapade for you to play with?

The switch isn't very hard, but if you're running office you'll need to buy Office for OS X or get Open Office for OS X. (OO is a free download.) I have never had a problem opening a .doc created on a Mac on a Windows machine and vice versa.

How much money do you want to spend? (Can you get any kind of an education/government employee discount where you work?)

Is this laptop going to be a "write papers and surf the web and play DVDs and listen to iTunes machine" or do you need something that's multi-media content creation?

---

My last laptop purchase, ironically, was a Dell e1450 -- but that's because the eventual plan is to set it up as a dual boot and throw Linux on it.

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

yes, i'd love to play with your mac. thanks for the offer! :)

and yeah, i do get a government rate, i think. haven't taken advantage of that, yet.