macbook review
It has been over two months now that I’ve had my MacBook, and I thought I’d leave some impressions about it. My last computer was was the first 15-inch Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro, so I’ll be using that as a reference point for comparison.
- Screen
This was the hardest decision for me. I’ve gotten used to the 15-inch screen that I’ve been using for years now, and I was worried it would be hard to adjust. Surprisingly, I didn’t seem to even notice the difference at first, but when I started programming a project for the iPhone I found myself wishing to see more code on the screen. It’s livable, but definitely a point against.The new screen is brighter, a lot brighter. It makes other regular LCDs look like they are dimmed. This new screen has a weaker viewing angle than the older matte screens I’m used to, but I feel the contrast and color definition are stronger. Overall, I prefer this screen over my MBP.
- Keyboard
This is the new style keyboard that Apple has been slowly integrating into its line since the 2006 MacBook. I prefer the newer keys aesthetically, but it hasn’t seemed to make a bit of difference to me otherwise. Same basic layout, still works. - Touchpad
Amazing. When they did the system update for the MBP trackpad to enable the two finger right-click and scrolling I stopped using my Mighty Mouse, but this multi-touch trackpad steps up the game even more. The gestures are simple and natural. The three finger browser back/forward swipes and the four finger Exposé and desktop gestures make me smile every time I use them. I feel like I’m piloting the Starship Enterprise.My one gripe with the new no-button trackpad is that the physical click is clunky and a little loud compared to the virtually silent button on my old MBP. I tried out the ‘Tap to Click’ option in the trackpad settings, and I’ve stuck with it. It recognizes a two finger tap as a right-click as well, and it hasn’t really led to any accidental clicking. Now I only need the physical click for drag operations.
- Battery
I never replaced the battery on my Pro, and after three years the charge was hovering around an hour depending on what you were doing while on battery power. I seem to remember getting slightly more than two full hours when I first got the computer. The new MacBook is usually closing in on four hours of use before I spring to plug it in. I’d tend to call my usage ‘general computing’. I’m rarely encoding videos, but have kind of a balance between photo editing, programming, and browsing. Generally, the battery seems very strong considering the higher power of the computer and brightness of the screen. - Speed
Sean showed me some benchmarks that listed better performance out of the higher end MacBook versus the current low-end Pro model. It wasn’t a phenomenal difference, but every little bit helps. I never really felt slowed down by my MBP in the three years I had it, unless I was doing something obviously taxing for the system. To me the performance on my MacBook is an incremental improvement. That said, I consider twice as fast to be incremental (thanks to Moore’s Law). I usually can’t do things fast enough to keep my Mac busy. - Firewire
I have one firewire peripheral, a 500GB WD My Book drive, which recently has been working intermittently (not a good quality for a backup drive). It also is USB 2.0 compatible, and the difference for me is negligible. I could see lack of firewire on the MacBook being a big deal for video professionals, but the screen size would probably be an even bigger issue. So, this didn’t really sway my decision. - Size
It turns out having a smaller laptop is awesome in every respect besides screen size. It’s lighter and more portable, and that is a big win. I take my laptop all over the place, and the size makes it much less invasive to bring along. I actually feel like now it would be a little hard to go back to a 15-inch model. - Sturdiness
Just in case you haven’t gotten your hands on one yet, the new unibody line is really sturdy. It feels like a brick, in a good way. I think I could stand on my MacBook without it breaking. I fully expect it to survive wear much better than my old MBP did.
No buyer’s remorse here. This is a computer I’ll be happily using for years to come.