Active Record vs. Domain Model

How do you devise your classes? Which capabilities should they feature? In particular, should your classes be aware of the database? Should they include logic (that is, methods) or be limited to just exposing properties? There are two main patterns you can refer to: Active Record and Domain Model.
In the Active Record pattern, your classes are closely modeled after database tables. You mostly have one class per table and one property per column. More importantly, classes are responsible for their own persistence and their own simple, minimal domain logic.
According to the Domain Model pattern, your classes are aimed at providing a conceptual view of the problem’s domain. These classes have no relationships with the database and have both properties and methods. Finally, these classes aren’t responsible for their own persistence. If you opt for a Domain Model approach, persistence has to be delegated to a distinct layer—the DAL. You can write this layer yourself, but it wouldn’t be much fun. A well-done DAL for a library designed according to the Domain Model pattern is nearly the same as an ORM tool. So why not use one of the existing ORM tools?

 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh456393.aspx