Decaflon

It really depends on how you will be using the computer. What all do you plan to do with the laptop?

graphic design, running adobe apps, writing code.

I think you will be okay with a MacBook, though I would recommend a MacBook Pro, mainly because Adobe apps are memory and processor hogs. But if you are talking the basics then I certainly think that you will fine with a MacBook.

Writing HTML, CSS and whatnot should be a breeze on a MacBook as well methinks.

I would personally buy a MacBook before I bought a comparable Windows notebook, but that is just me.

I run photoshop CS3 on my macbook but the types of graphics I design are usually reasonably small and never bigger than 1600 x 1600.

I'd say get a macbook as they are far stabler than windows based laptops though a tad bit pricier I think its worth it.

You may want to hold fire as I have read recently they may be bringing out UMPC apple laptop soon but nothing has been confirmed, however I guess you wouldnt want one of these for design work (but i thought id mention it!).

Well for instance I can get Hp notebook with twice the ram and similar processor for about $800.

I recently switched to Apple this summer and I can honestly say I will never use a PC again. And I'm not an Apple fanboy. Took a while to convince me.

While you may be able to get a cheaper HP, there are some really wonderful things about the mac that will make more than worth your while. From the general UI looking 1000x better and not making you want to hurl (I used to not think this was a big deal but really enjoying the aesthetics of your work environment has been a big boost in getting things done) to the apps that are available for the mac (CSSedit is far and away the best CSS editor available).

There are also a lot of nice time saving features in Leopard, in particular, Spaces, and I think to some degree stacks. You could sort of mimic stacks in Tiger but Leopards use of it is fantastic. Very easy to navigate your whole system and find exactly what your looking for quickly.

You can also get some cheap memory for it from zipzoomfly.com. 2GB for around $90.

with twice the ram

Here's a tip... DO NOT add RAM through Apple. Buy it third party and either install it yourself or have a tech do it.

Look at the price for an identically equipped laptop. If you're ok skimping on some things to save a bit of money, by all means get a PC. Most of the time though a Macbook is very fairly priced when compared with an equal windows notebook.

I work on a mac at work and used to own a powerbook until i lost it. lol

And now its time to shop around, for a new laptop. I don't want to bang out 2500+ for a macbook pro, but a macbook sounds very reasonable. Just wanted to get some opinions.