If you ask people to install AOL's instant messenger, together with their crappy spyware, just so you can chat with them on your Mac you will be doing them a disfavor. If you need to chat with anyone on a PC, it seems anyone has Windows Messenger which is great and supports video chatting. Plus, other users on PCs must use AOL Instant Messenger, which sucks for them.My ancient Intel webcam blows the iSight away for video chat. The iSight quality, while great if you're looking at it on the computer you're using, is poor when it arrives at the other person's computer even on a fast broadband connection. I can't see a benefit for going with a Mac in your position.If video chat is your thing, I'd say go with the Thinkpad unless you'd only be chatting with other people on Macs. At any rate, my question boils down to this - while I'd get a certain visceral pleasure out of simply using a different platform for a change, given the similarity between hardware configureations, what real benefits would OSX have for someone in my position? While not an avid gamer, I would like to have the option on a new laptop, which makes me a little leery of the nonpro macbook.

the trackpoint, which I confess I do prefer to the trackpad. I have to confess, I see little difference between hardware configurations - mainly the iSight vs. I've been debating between a thinkpad t60/t60p and a macbook/macbook pro. I've had a thinkpad t22 with a 900mhz pIII and 512 megs of ram for 5 years now, and find it to be finally time for something new. As i live abroad, my laptop also plays duty as dvd player/entertainment center, for what that's worth - while I work in photoshop regularly, I'm pretty far from a poweruser. These kind of posts seem to be reasonably popular here - as a regular ars reader but first time poster, just thought I'd toss my own little conundrum into the mix - View image here: -I'm a graduate student in philosophy - needless to say, my main use of a computer is simple word processing and email.

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