Hands-On With the New MacBooks 128
Paige Philuer writes "Macworld has a hands-on article examining the new MacBook and MacBook Pro — not a quickie look from Tuesday's event, but a lengthy, in-depth look with laptops they actually have in their offices. Some interesting observations: No FireWire on the MacBook; the TrackPad doesn't feel like you're running your finger across a pane of glass, though that's what it is; and switching between graphics cards in the MacBook Pro requires you to log out."
Reader Bourbon contributes three links at CNET related to the new models, too: a positive written review (giving a score of 8/10 to the new MacBook), a video review, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the new models are machined.
Am I the only one who thinks (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a huge Mac fan (I'm typing this on an older MacBook Pro), but man, I really think these new laptops are ugly as sin. I really prefer the look of previous model MacBooks and MacBook Pros, though when the Air came out it was probably inevitable that the other laptops would follow its lead.
Brightness (Score:5, Interesting)
Great! The displays are bright.
How about dim? Can they be dim too? My 24" iMac is painfully bright to use in a dark room at its lowest backlight setting. Some people resort to software that puts a neutral gray, transparent window over the whole screen just to keep the pain down at the expense of color resolution. I keep sunglasses by the computer so I can see to work on late night emergency calls while my eyes adapt to the light.
Two separate NVIDIA GPUs? (Score:2, Interesting)
I guess that's so when the first one de-laminates you have a backup. *Bah-dum-bump*
Actually it's pretty cool to have both high- and low-power options. Too bad they can't switch on the fly. But since the GeForce 9600M GT can do CUDA, maybe you could use it as a compute accelerator while you use the 9400 for display.
Re:Am I the only one who thinks (Score:5, Interesting)
The black border isn't that great imho, but it's ok. Same for keys I guess.
But new macbook vs old one? Definitly. Way better than plastic.
Environmentally Friendly? (Score:2, Interesting)
Watching the video, the Mac guys talk about all of the innovations that have gone into making the computer friendly to the environment. But the aluminum machining looks like a pretty energy intensive and wasteful process. Does anyone know if this is a true observation, relative to the process used to make other laptops?
Firewire (Score:5, Interesting)
Even if you get the new display that can fit along with the new MacBooks... it has three USB ports in the back yet no Firewire!
I wonder if it's a power issue...
Re:Am I the only one who thinks (Score:5, Interesting)
But new macbook vs old one? Definitly. Way better than plastic.
Way better than the white plastic MacBook, which looks like a tacky toy IMO. OTOH, I think the black plastic looks pretty good.
I must be the only one who thinks Apple's white plastic products (iBook, iPod, iMac, MacBook) look lame. I like Apple's current move away from white plastic and toward uncolored (MacBook, iMac) and colored (iPod nano) aluminum.