New Macbook Pro: To SSD or not to SSD?

Hello All,
It has been a while since I have been in the market for a new computer. I've managed to hang on to my 12-in. PowerBook G4 since 2003! Alas, it's time for an upgrade, now that the new 2010 line of MBPs have been released.
So far, I'm leaning towards getting the 15" i7 2.66 Ghz, with an 8 GB RAM. My dilemma is whether to stick with the 500 GB HDD that it comes with or "upgrade" to Apple's stock Solid State Drive. I'm not a techie, but I've been reading a little bit about the pros and cons of SSDs. It's a pricey option (especially for the top-tier 512GB), so I thought it merited further consideration.
I'm particularly interested in your thoughts about the longevity of these drives (decay, degradation?), SLC vs MLC drives, and whether or not Apple's stock SSD drives are a good value overall. (Anybody know which brand(s) Apple uses?)
The salesperson with whom I spoke at the Apple store didn't seem to know much about the machine's internals. I've had much better success searching answers in these discussion boards, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Your experienced and thoughtful insight is always appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Cheers!

I have the 13" 2.53 Macbook Pro with SSD configured from the Apple Store (I think I paid $600 extra). It is only up to you to decide whether an SSD is worth the price for you. Frankly, given my usage I don't know how an SSD makes things better other than:
1) Making me feel secure moving the machine when using it or using it during turbulence in airplanes ...
2) Instant open of applications
Would I envision today buying a computer without an SSD? NO. To me, the level of comfort from the two advantages I listed above is worth the expense. I am not sure I would pay some $1350 extra for the 512 GB though. But I might.
The SSD supplied by Apple was a Samsung. Could other brands be less expensive? Perhaps. But I don't see how any other SSD could be faster +for my needs+. It is not that I keep writing huge amounts of data to my disk all the time. You can think of it that way: An SSD is at the very least an option that improves the overall experience and comfort (including a sense of security) and in this respect, given certain usage patterns (mine), the ones Apple uses are good enough.

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