Have had my unibody macbook for about a week now (this will be my first Mac).
First impressions:
-quick boot up and shutdown compared to old Dell PC.
-easier and quicker access to all files and programs once you're familiar with Snow Leopard (which took me about a couple hours to get familiar with). Although I'm sure that there is alot more to it to explore and learn, the basics took almost no time to master
-love the new LED screen, in one word Awesome
-as far this scratching and dirt issue on the white body, none to speak of yet and I do plan on getting a hardcover once they are available, but in the meantime, I had these small rubber feet that I stuck on the bottom (6 of them actually) to prevent any dirt/scratches from developing on the bottom.
-on that issue of being "easily scratched", I had a 6 1/2 year old Dell that looked as new as the day I bought it, so I think that it will depend on how well you look after and treat the laptop that will determine if the surface gets scratched.
-the battery is incredible. Was skeptical about the claim of 7 hours, but after the first full charge, I would say that I got over 6 1/2 hours out of the battery and this includes the data transfer and setting up/customizing. Wow!!!
- incredibly comfortable keyboard. Much better than any other keyboard I've used in the past.
So far my impression of this laptop is that (from my perspective at least), it's worth the $'s that I paid for it.
Very impressed with the speed, Mac OS ease and features, the looks ( have always had a thing for the white Apple laptops ), the 6 1/2 + hour battery, the LED screen and so much more.
In short, love the Macbook.