I went up to the Apple store yesterday to check out the new MacBooks. The first thing I noticed was a crowd of people around the table displaying the MacBooks. Every demo unit was occupied, and there were still more people looking over their shoulders. If this is any sort of gauge, the MacBook is going to be a big seller.
Having bought a MacBook Pro, there weren’t really any surprises, so I’ll just run down the stuff I noticed.
- The glossy screen. I don’t like it, and I think it sucks that the matte finish isn’t an option. I cannot imagine using this screen in anything other than a completely dark room, or perhaps one dimly lit with diffuse light. I know that some people like the glossy screen, but I’m not one of them.
- The magnetic latch. It rocks. I wish my MBP had it.
- The lid hinge squeaks when you open or close it. This is terribly irritating. I know it’s a small thing, but Apple usually pays attention to stuff like this.
- Two-finger right click. If you haven’t already heard, putting two fingers on the trackpad and clicking the button will right-click on every MacTel portable… except the 15″ MacBook Pro. It’s a cool feature, and I sure hope I get it on my system soon.
- The size. They’re a bit thicker than the MacBook Pro, and they feel heavier. I’m not sure why, since they’re slightly lighter. Perhaps they’re just a bit more dense. They feel pretty durable, though.
- The keyboard. Feels a bit strange at first. The key travel is shorter than the keyboard on the Pro portables. Give it a try to see if you hate it.
- Black. I love that they have one in black. The design seems much cleaner, since it hides the presence of the iSight and IR port. I do not love that it’s $150 more, and the matte finish seems a bit weird. It will not match your black iPod in the same way the white MacBook matches a white iPod.
Other miscellania:
- 512mb ram (stock) is pretty low for an OS X machine. Furthermore, it comes on two 256mb SODIMMS, so you’ll end up paying more when you upgrade it. And you will need to upgrade it, to at least 1gb. In contrast, I spent ~$120 on a second 1gb stick for my MacBook Pro. Double that if you want 2gb for your MacBook.
- The integrated video. It uses shared memory. I’m sure it’s fine for web/email/video type stuff, but don’t expect Quake 4 to be a pleasant experience on these systems.
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