potential new Mac user

Agreed with the above.

As for spreadsheets, I do some quite large ones and 13" is fine for me. As Hellhammer says, it depends on your needs.

Office 2011 (for Mac) is very good and comes with a native version of Outlook that is almost as good (if not as good) as Outlook 2010 for Windows. Mail, however, is really very good but has a more simple look. The version coming in Lion is apparently even better.

 

I would recommend getting MS Office for Mac.

Unless you want the absolute basics, the default Mail app sucks. Outlook is the way to go. Or give Thunderbird a try, it's free.

Also Open Office is also free, and a decent alternative to MS Office. I still recommend MS Office though.

 

I did the switch a few weeks ago when the new MBP's came out and the thing that stung me was exporting contacts from Outlook into the OSX equivalent.

It takes a little getting used to for the fields and formats. If you are an iOS user, also make a decent backup of your device before migrating.

Calendar export I am attempting tonight, so will let you know if I get hit with another sting.

 

I replaced the standard 5400 drive with a Seagate 7200 drive... then put the 5400 back in.

While booting the laptop was noticeably quicker with the faster drive, I don't think it was worth the extra and noise. The other factor is the drive is right underneath where you rest your right hand, and you can feel it vibrate while you type. Not good. I'm sticking with the 5400 until I can afford to put an SSD in.

 

My thoughts

I went from a Toshiba Tecra 15" to an MBP 13" and found it comfortable - only gone up to 15" because I'm getting old and so are my eyes!

Go for Office 2011 with Outlook - otherwise you will take ages to be comfortable with either Mail or Thunderbird, as they are so different from Outlook.

If you travel a lot worldwide, the 3 year guarantee is well worth it, otherwise just normal insurance, but do get a separate Hard Drive and save to Time Machine.

That's my two penneth!