Q: I am intrigued by their lightweight notebooks, but I don't know how good Mac is, and how different they are from Windows.
A: Right off the bat, I'll admit I'm writing this reply on a high-end mac notebook, but I'll try and stay as objective as possible. It's a very different user experience between using a mac and a windows that depends alot on experience and familiarity. Pretty much anything you can do on a windows, you can do on a mac (I find the whole compatibility issue is overblown, but more later on that) however everything is in different places for the two systems. I usually recommend you find a friend who'll let you play around with their mac for awhile so you can get a hands-on feel for it. This part is really just personal preference; no number of reviews can tell you what your experience with the system is like. They are very very different on the surface, so take your time. Hands down, creative work such as photos, music, and video goes to the mac. It's just amazing what you can create in 5 or 10 minutes once you're familiar with everything. Games are horrible for mac. No debate. Unless you run both operating systems, you just can't do 90% of all 3D games on your mac. For compatibility, the only files I have found that I can't run directly on a mac are "windows executable files" (".exe"). Everything else can be run with the proper program. There's a surprising amount of free software for mac (ex. versiontracker.com has tons) to deal with different files, and if you really need, there are a couple ways to run windows on a mac ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html or http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/ ). I've done both the above and they worked quite well. Microsoft Office for Mac is pretty much a must for anyone trying to get work done without worrying about what file types to use. Advanced users can use some alternative programs, such as OpenOffice or iWork, but it requires some effort. I won't go into price, because that's not something I can help you decide with if it's worth it or not. Summary: Try one out!!!!!!!!!!! You'd never buy a car without test driving it, so why would you spend hundreds or thousands on a computer without the same? Your priorities choose whether it fits in your lifestyle, and whether you like it or not is something completely up to you.