So it's one of the Core 2 Duo MacBooks, correct? I couldn't understand from what you described.
Heck, any of the models they have are quite nice. the Intel GMA graphics chipset is decent enough for normal use, but don't expect it to perform as well as dedicated graphics chipset like those from ATI and NVIDIA. Even still, I would purchase a MacBook if I couldn't get the MacBook Pro.
As for the effects, I believe you're referring to Exposé which allows you to switch between applications in a very cool way. If you hit F9, all apps zoom out and you can view all of the apps you have open and switch among them. if you hit F10, then you view all of the windows open for the top-most application (or rather, the active application). F11 will swipe all windows away to allow quick access to the desktop (like the Show Desktop button in Windows, but much cooler
).
As for maximization, the way it works in the Mac OS is that the application maximizes to it's optimal setting, not necessarily full screen. This is mainly because of the design of the Mac OS in that it uses the universal menubar as opposed to a file menu in each window (file manager or application). The universal menubar changes depending on what you have active, and the name of the application is listed next to the Apple icon at the top left. Although some people would still rather have a fully maximized application window (there are third party apps that will do this for you, but I don't remember the name), it doesn't always work for the way the Mac OS is designed to work which is to allow you to drag-and-drop and interact between applications (such as dragging an image in your web browser to an open window in Photoshop, for instance).
In the end, you'll notice that the maximize option depends on the application's developer. Some do maximize to full screen, some only maximize to the optimal size of the document being viewed or modified. Hopefully this inconsistency changes, as even for a veteran Mac user like myself it's a pain to deal with since it wasn't like this before OS X.