Re: PC versus MAC
PC vs. Mac
Pros:
-Touchpad controls
-Better experience with the software/hardware combo
-Much less chance of getting a virus
-Stylish design (There are pretty cool Win laptops out there too but still)
Cons:
-More expensive
-Some apps may not work on Macs (like Quickbooks)
Verdict: I started using a Mac beginning of this year. I got a great deal on a 2 yr old 15" Macbook Pro. Once I started using it I fell in love with the touchpad that these guys come with. I also get connected to infected networks and do a lot of testing. With this platform I feel less vulnerable of getting any infection. I also use lots of unix based utilities which come native to the *nix based OSX.
For Windows only apps I use Vmware based virtual machines, which works out well for me.
Macbook Pro vs. Air: I switched to Air when they came out with a model that would upgrade to 8GB memory. Its much much lighter than my 15" Pro and comes with SSD standard. With the i5 and SSD my Air just flies. The battery lasts forever (approx. 5-6 hours on a full charge) and its pretty much always on for me (I just close the lid and it just waits to roar at a moments notice).
Price is ofcourse more. I compared the Air with other Ultrabooks (windows based) out there, upon displeased requests from one of the guys on my team. But there was something or the other that wasn’t quite right with the 4-5 models that I considered. My criterea was weight, speed, features and invulnerability. Plus I wanted to be more adept at a bigger variety of platforms. With MacOS (based on *nix) and a Win7 VM, i thought I have a complete system.