Question from a Mac-ignorant Boyfriend...

Thank you in advance if you bother to read this and provide any advice...
So, I have never owned a Mac and have used them on an extremely limited basis, thus my ignorance. My girlfriend, however, has expressed interest in Mac's in the recent past. Her birthday is coming up and she just graduated from college, so I'm thinking about getting a Macbook or Macbook Pro as a gift. The reason for this is that she has an ancient IBM laptop right now that has given her some trouble. She's starting a grad program and will be earning her PhD over the next 5 years, so I figure she needs a reliable laptop.
Now, I know Mac's are media-intensive computers...she won't need to be doing any video editing or gaming and very limited photo editing. She'll mostly be doing word-processing, presentations, and internet. I realize a PC can do this just as well at a fraction of the cost, but dammit if those Mac's don't look freakin' awesome both in presentation and performance.
So...I'd like to know if anyone has an opinion on the Macbook vs. the Pro. The Macbook seems the obvious choice since my g/f won't need all the extra processing and graphics card of the Pro...but I do not like the glossy display a whole lot and I'm also not a fan of the white plastic casing. Nitpicky, I know. Can anyone give me additional reasons for getting the Pro? I'm basically looking for either an enabler or someone to kick me in the ba**s and prevent me from throwing money away.
Any and all opinions are more than welcome. Thanks in advance!!!

John,
You might be overlooking what is possibly the most powerful factor in all this...
You mention that you have fallen in love with the physical design of these Mac portables, but have you actually used one yourself for any length of time, and to do anything of substance?
Once you purchase one, regardless of which one, and both you and your girlfriend use it a bit, you will have truly experienced what it means to have and use a Mac. Put simply, you're going to fall in love with the way it works. Most of all, you will want one for yourself.
What will you do then? How will this possibility figure into your decision regarding your first purchase? I recommend that you take this into consideration.
Nevertheless, I also think that you should find out which one she would prefer to have. Perhaps she would prefer a Macbook, in which case the problem is solved for you. If so, and if you do decide at some later time to get one yourself, you could go with the Macbook Pro. Between the two of you, you would then have one of each, and either one of you could use the machine that is most appropriate at any given time.
Speaking from my own point of view, my wife currently has a G4 iBook that she uses much as you report your girlfriend will use hers: internet, word processing, email, etc. I am the one in my family that does all of the "heavy lifting" such as video editing, etc. It's not that her machine can't do it, but that mine can do it much faster (17" Macbook Pro).
This last may be important for you; that her much less powerful, and aging, machine can do almost anything that mine can do, just not as fast. Applied to your situation, this should indicate that the Macbook will be robustly "future-proof" for quite some time, even if not as long as a Macbook Pro. I really don't think you should consider this as a deal breaker.
However I will say that my wife, if asked about the Macbook, would claim a preference for the Macbook Pro. Not because the Macbook wouldn't work well enough to suit her needs, but becasue she prefers a bit larger display. On this score, much will depend on your girlfriend's preference in this regard. Make sure she will be happy with the smaller display! If so, there should be no barrier to getting her the Macbook.
Scott

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    Yes.
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