Just picked-up a new 13" MacBook Pro (4GB RAM, 250GB HD model) and a 1TB TimeCapsule.

Nothing wrong with my MacPro or my 1 year old MacBook Pro 15". But my wife and I were sharing the MacPro (multi-user) and it was becoming a pain to "share." The 15" MBP was my "on the road" writing/design Mac. Unfortunately, I really over-spent on it because I don't need the power or large screen to write articles and do basic Web tasks. Plus it was really heavy/bulky to carry around.

So the solution was for me to get a smaller/lighter laptop and make the 15" MBP Janet's main Mac (plus remove her account from the MacPro).

I got the TimeCapsule to not only backup all three Macs with TimeMachine, but also to have a single iPhoto library that Janet and I could share, as well as for her to keep her entire iTunes library on instead of storing all her music on the laptop (which would fill over half the drive).

As far as the 13" MBP goes, WOW!!! These little suckers are nice! I was going to get the MB Air, but I really didn't want to have the slower machine, half the RAM and no SuperDrive and still pay the higher price tag.

I'm a happy camper so far. Setting up TimeCapsule was simple, though I haven't gone through and started the first backup of any of the Macs yet. That's going to take a good long time to do the first backup, so I'm going to do that later tonight and let it run all night.

The smaller screen was a concern for me, but so far it hasn't bothered me at all.

I also managed to get a bit of a "Celebrity Welcome" from several of the employees at the Apple Store I bought it from. One of the guys that works there recognized me from the photo on The Graphic Mac and told a few people who I was. Apparently I have a few fans there. I ended up getting the business discount on my purchase and a good 15 minute chat with a few of them.

Anyway, if you need a really light-weight laptop, I would highly recommend the 13" MBP rather than the under-powered, feature-stripped and overpriced MB Air. The only drawback I've come across so far is that these new touchpads are overly sensitive. I really want to use the "Tap to click" feature, but it's so sensitive that simply brushing the touchpad ends up clicking - all the time.

And to think, we all know you when.

Nice review, that's what started me with the whole fora business years ago. You can read about it, check out the ads, cruise the stores ~ but nothing beats a hands on review. Oh, and congratulations, too.

You'll get used to the new touch pad soon, and then you'll wonder how you ever did without it. Congrats! Time Capsule has saved my butt more times than I'd care to admit. I'll be working on a C-program for school, for example, and totally screw it up beyond all hope of repair, and then go into the Time Machine to retrieve my last known working version of the program. Same deal with XHTML classes. Time Capsule has saved the day so many times because I'm usually too busy and stressed out to back up on a regular basis, and this does it automatically for me.

Edit: Sorry Lea, I was meaning to reply to the other dude.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Congrats!

Glad for the recognition at the store for ya too! Enjoy.

I know offloading the iTunes and iPhoto libraries is the smart thing to do, but...

I have about 15000 photos and about 5000 songs, and they really keep me going when I'm on the road. Living in a motel room for months on end makes the mac very valuable.

For all the reasons you mention, I have often considered a 13" something, but know I need the 15" screen. So, now I guess I'll have to find a 1TB internal flash drive, for a hundred bucks.

Time Capsule is on my shopping list.

I know what you mean, but we won't have that problem. My wife has a 60GB iPod to take on the road, and will rarely use the laptop outside our home. She basically only uses it to surf, email, take care of finances, and mess with her iTunes.

So, set her up with fast user switching when she travels with you, so she can check her email. Just don't DL from the server.

Nahhh. She's gotta have her own "space" - and fast user switching on a laptop takes up too much space. Plus, I don't want her touching MY Mac!!!

Oh, by the way. I worked all day on this 13" MBP on battery (writing, emailing and surfing) - and still have almost an hour of battery life left (according to the battery monitor). I'm thoroughly impressed. Of course, I had the brightness turned down, and let it sleep the few times i left for 20 minutes or so.

Congrats. We just bought the same machine for our daughter for graduation. The couple of times she has let me use it, I have been very impressed. Then I get back on this G4 iMac...

At least I got the iPod Touch for myself. Which reminds me, I have to do the online rebate thingy for that.

Enjoy.