this is going to be my 3rd laptop... being soo fed up with the performance and stability of windows, im seriously considering a mac

macbook (USD 1249 on education discount)
http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB466LL/A?mco=MTkzOTIzOQ

sony cs290 (USD 1069)
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665747992


sony ns235 (USD 780)
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665705537
(its rather heavy for me at 6.4 pounds)

im gonna use it mainly for browsing internet/instant messaging/ watching movies and listening to music, perhaps some homework (im graduating in may though, unless my current laptop decides to die on me before my graduation)... i might also need to use windows only software on occasional bases (eg. arcgis) and i do play pc games

i want my laptop to last quite a while (3 years+?), remain relatively fast (im not a patient person), and be rather portable

which one do u think i should pick?

thanks in advance!!

ha.. u sure are a hardcore apple cultist

thanks for your advice, i was pretty much bought after i talked to my friend who got her macbook last august. just that, i really do need extra push to make me spend that 1200!! grad students are waaay underpaid u know...... lol                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

white macbook sure looks like a pretty good deal, but i always feel like it would become dirty in a short time and the aluminum one is lighter and looks better with its metallic design.

when i was considering macbook before the aluminum ones came out, i still preferred the black macbook.

and like u said, white book feels like an older design, leftover from the polycarbonate era.