Macbook vs PC Laptop for school use

I'm seriously considering purchasing a notebook for the upcoming school year as I think that I will be spending a significant amount of time on campus, away from my desktop. I'm really not looking for a gaming rig, but it would be nice if I could get something affordable that has the potential to run Vista relatively smoothly. Initially I wanted to hold out on getting one until Vista was released, but I'm slowly changing my mind.

My price range is probably around what the 2.0 GHz dual core Macbook sells for with the upgrade to 1GB of ram. This looks like a pretty good machine, but after looking at some Windows only laptops in the local Best buy and Future Shop ads, it's also looking like a worse deal. However I know very little about current computer hardware, especially when it comes to notebooks.

Really, I'm only looking to use the machine for running Microsoft Office, Firefox, watching a movie here and there and listening to mp3s. Oh, well, and probably some BitTorrent (uTorrent). Wireless is a must, but it also needs to have an ethernet port so that I can use the internet in the lab and at home. I'll probably use a USB key or re-writable DVDs in order to transfer files betwen the laptop and my desktop.

I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give. Links to good laptop review spots are also good. One last thing, plz take note of my location - Canada. This means I can't order from NewEgg and have to pay 15% taxes on whatever machine I end up purchasing.

Thanks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I want it to be Vista ready so that I can continue to use it with updated stuff once people stop making XP updates. And you know, it'd be nice to be able to not use XP. I will definitely probably be using Mac OSX as my primary OS if I got the Macbook. If I do get a Macbook, I'd like to purchase it when Leopard ships with it (well, I guess that I could always download the OS and install it myself....). I basically only need Windows because some of my lecture recordings don't work on Macs. Will Bootcamp run Vista?

I'd really rather not get a used laptop.

Ok, so I guess I need some more specific questions: Intel Centrino Duo or the AMD thing - Which is better?

If I decide to go with a Windows only laptop, is Dell a decent option? I know that their desktop rigs are stupidly overpriced, but I know basically nothing about laptops. Would it be better to get a Sony Viao or something from Toshiba, HP, Acer or Compaq?

Another thing - for screen size, I'm looking in the range of 13 - 15 inches; widescreen.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It's not the audio. McGill uses some software that used to not work on Macs. One is called COOL (Course something something something), which I don't think works on Macs because it uses Windows Media Player. I'm not sure if it has been converted to work for Macs yet. The other software is Media Site Live. These two things allow you to watch a video of the PowerPoint presentation in sync with the audio recording. It's wonderful. I use it a lot.

A Mac lover that I know says that the new Macbooks should be out around Xmas. I wonder... I'm hoping that the next line doesn't have integrated graphics because that's basically the only reason why I don't want to get one. I really dislike Windows. I just want to have it around for the rare time when I'll need it for something (perhaps for some software, or to decode a certain video codec that isn't supported on the Mac).

EDIT: Also, is it easy to pirate Mac software? e.g. Microsoft Office, the new version of Mac Os X?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I more or less decided to go Mac with my laptop a while ago, but the Integrated Graphics bother me a shit ton. Also, I'm so used to OS X now thanks to constantly using it in the lab with our G5 and 23 inch widescreen display. I miss the F9 function in Windows. However, I'm still a total Mac noob.

I think that I'm going to tough it out until the next line of Macbooks/Macbook Pros come out. I'd like to get something with the new gen Centrino Duo chip and also possibly avoid integrated graphics.

One last question: re Word 2004, my friend was mentioning something about it being able to record as you type, but he didn't explain. Does it playback an audio recording and sync what I've typed with it or something?

This parallel thing is an OS X program that runs Windows while OS X is running? Won't that totally suck up your system resources?

Davyon: How well does parallel run while using say, Media Player Classic to play a video with one of the more resource heavy codecs?

Also, the free iPod Nano is tempting. I've got an iPod video, but I can't exactly use that while I do cardio since I don't want to destroy the moving parts while I'm jogging. The Nano would be of great use.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Seems like Bootcamp is the way to go for my needs. Thanks.

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