MacBook vs. MacBook Pro: how to pick between Apple’s two $1,299 laptops

I badly need a new computer. The last time I bought one was in the summer of 2011, not long after the MacBook Air’s first (and only) redesign. It was perfect timing: my last MacBook, the white plastic kind, had wiring literally sticking out of it after taking a spill. And Apple had just dropped the Air’s price down to $1,299 — the same price I believe my original MacBook had cost.
It’s now six years later, and Apple is hitting that pricing sweet spot again in a big way. N