First Mac, Am I making the right choice

I am a long time windows user and am now going for my first Mac. I have the macbook air on order thru a local vendor and its backorder til March. I wanted to get input on whether I should go for it or the Macbook Pro. Price is not an object (work is paying for it)
The reason I like the air was for portability and uniqueness. I am looking at the new macbook pro and it has triple the hard drive space, double processor speed but its 2 pound heavier.
I know this is all personal preference but is it (the Air) a good starting place?
Do the macbook pros start as fast as the Air?
Thanks in Advance
Mark T
Chicago

I have had a MBA for about two weeks now and have been using it as my only computer. So far, fingers crossed, it has really done the job. I travel a great deal and the lower weight made it ideal for me. I find it incredibly usable, with only a few exceptions. The multi-touch trackpad (also now available on Pro) is simply awesome. I sit on an airplane and watch the poor sods with their Dells and HPs working on those tiny 1" square touchpads and I just chuckle. Yes, I was one of them until recently.
Troubles: I've seen this discussed elsewhere in these forums, but the lack of USB ports is a more serious issue than I think Apple gave it credit for. At home, where I have a nice, fast 802.11n network set up it's not as much of a problem. But here in Paris, in my hotel room, I have a couple of CDs I purchased that I'd like to rip onto my Air to load on my iPod for the flight home. The Superdrive only works when connected directly to the Air (right?) but there isn't wireless network in my Sheraton hotel room. So I have to choose which to connect to my sole USB port, the superdrive or the ethernet cable so that iTunes can get track listings automatically. Also, I use a Blackberry and like to sync it with my Mac, but I once again have to disconnect from the network before I connect the USB-tethered Blackberry to sync. Also, I have to travel with the superdrive because I can't rip or listen to audio CDs or DVDs using RemoteDisc.
Are these issues that make it unusable? No. I still will use this as my only machine for the foreseeable future (although the new Macbook Pros call to me at night in my sleep.... ) But the simple addition of 1 more USB port would have eliminated my only complaint.
By and large, I'm so pleased to have left Vista behind. Life is too short to spend so much of it dealing with the nonsense that Windows Vista serves up. After nearly a year of moaning and complaining I've finally left it behind and will never go back. The Macbook Air works very very well as my sole machine.
dave

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I'm buying my first Apple laptop in the near future (probably tomorrow as I like to buy things in store and not online and I live roughly 75 miles from the nearest Apple store and am heading to the mall it's located in on a shopping trip tomorrow, anyway). I currently have a 3 year old Dell that has no battery life at all (it has to be connected 24/7 to an outlet, the mouse clicky button doesn't work, it overheats, and the hardrive has already been replaced not once but twice) and I don't use it for anything other than school, facebook, watching movies via netflix, skype, and listening to music. I've been doing months of research and all has lead me to Apple.
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I've also read that people continue to prefer the pro over the air but I am not a fan of the pro just as it is so much bigger.
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Listen to us, Lovekate!
We know you're eager, but hold out just a little longer--maybe a week or two--for the update! Please! It's the smart thing to do because it may give you options you can use. Kate! Look away from the machines. This way! This way! You can do this. If you don't, you'll feel buyers remorse and that's not good. Hold off. You'll be happy you did...also, don't forget, when you do buy, you get a student discount.
From what you say, you've found the computer you love and don't need any encouragement from us. But here's advise for what you can say to your friends:
(1) To those telling you to get the Pro--you are not going to buy more than you need. With Clouds, and online mail and external hard drives, there is no need for you to haul around anything made heavy with a huge hard drive you'll never fill up. And the Air can do anything a Pro can do excepting update to a bigger hard drive (which you've just explained you don't need--like you don't need the CD drive). And the 13" actually has a longer lasting battery than the 13" Pro.
(2) Why should you get a computer you don't love, and therefore is no fun or joy for you to work on, rather than a computer you love, which you will love working on? Apple rule, "Always get what you love."
(3) To your Dad, you are buying something very like a car. And like a car, if you buy one cheap, it will cost you if it breaks down, needs repairs, or needs replacing. Needing to buy a new cheap car every other year can add up to the same cost as buying a new car that will last you ten years. You are buying a computer that will last you, be reliable, and not need repairs thus interfering with your productivity (by the way, get Apple Care--adds two more years warranty for a total of 3 years--trust us on this. If you can't afford it now, you can hold off buying it till the end of the first year, but do get it!). Apple computers also have good resale value.
In short, as much as it costs, it will be worth it.
Hope that helps, and remember...hold out! or if you've already bought it--you have 14 days to return it.

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You already know what to expect. Max out the RAM, and you should be set.
Peace
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