I still use my 2006 Macbook Pro for live recordings! It was the first version of the Intel based MBP's so it is the Core Duo 2.0GHz (not Core 2 Duo), so it does not run the later 64bit version of OSX. Last year I replaced the MOBO because it had started to freeze when any sort of graphics intensive apps were running (videos). When I opened it up, I noticed that the silicone grease between the CPU GPU and heatsink was all dried up and cruddy. So that means my laptop was probably overheating for a few years and probably caused the Graphics problems. That was something these first gen laptops were prone to. Anyway, after I replaced the MOBO and applied fresh silicone grease, it has been running fine (and cooler) ever since. I am running OS 10.6.8 on it with ProTools 9 and I only use this laptop nowadays as a mobile recording rig. I have been able to record 32 audio tracks simultaneously at 44.1kHz/24bit for hours over a single USB cable driven from a digital console. It amazes me that so much information can go through USB, but then again I never bothered with the bandwidth math since it works flawlessly. From the laptop perspective we record entire shows (like 4 hours of up to 32 simultaneous tracks) without a single glitch. So yes, they do last a long time (7 years and counting!). I would definitely buy another MBP. BTW, I do all my mixing and post production work on my hackintosh and that thing just flies with ProTools no matter how many FX I insert. I used to do mixing on the MBP back 3 years ago but don't anymore since I have the hackintosh.
Hope this helps
