Round 6: Software

No matter what laptop you buy, you'll get a Web browser, a media player, and a few simple programs (calculator, text editor, and the like) bundled with the operating system. But most manufacturers add in a few more apps--ranging from antivirus to disc burning to productivity suites--to their software bundle so that you can get to work (or play) right away.

In addition to Windows XP Pro, the TravelMate 8200 comes with CyberLink Power DVD for watching movies and NTI CD & DVD Maker for burning discs. Aside from those, there are just a handful of helpful, though basic, Acer utilities for launching applications and managing system settings. The TravelMate 8200 lacks even a scaled-down productivity suite, such as Microsoft Works, or photo-management software.

Apple, on the other hand, includes more than your standard package of software with the MacBook Pro. The laptop comes preloaded with the excellent Mac OS 10.4, which includes the Spotlight embedded search tool as well as the useful Dashboard, a flashy interface accessed via hot key and populated by single-purpose mini applications (known as widgets). The Boot Camp utility also now comes standard, though you'll need to shell out for a copy of Windows XP to run it on your Mac (also note that Apple does not provide technical support for Boot Camp or for installing Windows XP on a Mac).

Apple throws in some great multimedia and productivity software in the form of the iLife '06 software suite, which has applications for burning discs as well as mixing music, editing movies and photos, and building Web pages. In addition, you get Front Row media center software that lets you browse videos, music tracks, DVDs, and photos from one program. Finally, there's QuickBooks accounting software and the OmniOutliner organizer app. In other words, the MacBook Pro has pretty much every piece of software you'll need right out of the box.

Winner: The MacBook Pro, which includes hundreds of dollars of equivalent PC software, easily takes the round.