The MacBook compromise
The big difference between a MacBook and a MacBook Pro? In my opinion, and the one thing PC users will be quick to point out: the absence of a dedicated video card. The video cards on the MacBook Pros are fantastic, and bring a lot to the table when doing graphically intensive tricks like 3d animation or, say, games. I priced a MacBook Pro to my liking about a week ago, 120 GB drive, 1 GB of RAM, 2 GHz duo. Guess what? A similarly configured MacBook is a lot cheaper, but keep in mind the graphics compromise you're going to make. The proof will be when someone runs World of Warcraft on their MacBook... One thing I'm glad they added back in though: audio input, and they added digital I/O!