A few months after the mid-2009 MacBook Pro release there was a MacBook release with identical specs.

In 2009 the difference between a professional and an amateur MacBook was literally screen, keyboard mousepad and aluminium vs. plastic.

> I think you're getting confused with the non-Pro macbooks and 'air' line.

The air was more expensive than a pro in the early days.

> I'm wondering what you've been using your mac for if > performance isn't a concern

Writing, researching and programming. I payed for high-quality components and a great form factor, and that has payed off well. It has always had good performance, but for the same price, I could have gotten much faster PC laptops.