MacBook or MacBook Pro

[Pumpkin King]

I'm set on buying my first mac and am hoping for some advice on buying a macbook or macbook pro.

I'm a consultant and travel nearly 100%. I have a work laptop, so this would be the 2nd laptop I'd be traveling with; therefore it's between a macbook and the 15" macbook pro.

I'm a photography enthusiast looking to devote a lot more time to my hobby. I can pour through CF cards like water, so it would be nice to add a laptop to my kit. I'm also looking to get into web design although I' be a complete n00b.

Although the bigger screen would be nice, I view both as small and would do most photo editing on an external screen when I'm home. I'm most concerned about how well a macbook will handle photoshop, dreamweaver and maybe a few others later on. Is it excruciating or workable?

Thanks!

 

[CalBoy]

I think a macbook would be able to handle what you want OK, but the mbp will do it better. However, I recommend the macbook pro for two reasons:

1. Matte screen. This is very precious to me, and if you are going to be traveling a lot, I'm sure you can appreciate how no glare can make a big difference.

2. It looks more professional. The macbook looks like it is a "college" computer. If you ever want to have clients look at something on your Mac, the mbp will be a much more impressive tool to have.

Add to that all the little niceties like a bigger trackpad, better speakers (I don't know if you care about that), a useless but fun backlit keyboard, and an extra FW port, and you see why I suggest the mbp if you have the money. Also, the weight difference is negligiable, so the mbp gives you more "computer" for the same weight.