Hello All,
New Apple products were announced yesterday and here is my take. Unless you are a gamer, photographer, or into heavy image editing or manipulation, get a Macbook Air. Apple reduced the price of the 13" model, the one you should buy, down to $1199. This machine is lightweight, quiet, and has between 5-7 hours of battery life.
The 13" Macbook Pro is also $1199, which is a heck of a deal for the money. Compared to the Air you get a faster machine, a DVD drive, a larger hard drive, but a much heavier machine. If you want the portability though, the Air is impossible to beat, and if you do not want the portability you should buy an iMac and get a faster machine for about the same price.
If you are any of those people I listed to start this article I would recommend a 15 or 17" macbook pro. Either the 2011 model on clearance, or the 2012 models are both solid, depending on your budget. MacMall is blowing out 2011, 17" models right now, but the rest of their prices on last years models are nothing special. I would check Apple Refurbished before you make a purchase, here is the link for MacBook Pros, and for MacBook Airs.
Lastly, check with the local college if you have any affiliation. They usually have a fair number of the last years laptops for a big discount, and you get a free printer/scanner/copier when you make an educational purchase.
Good luck,
John
