marks.dk
Review: The new MacBook 2.4GHz
Just some general notes on my new MacBook.
I chose the 2.4GHz version of the new aluminum MacBooks. Not because it’s that much better, but I’ve been carrying a 1.83GHz with me for the past two years and wanted some more increase in the CPU than just 0.17GHz. And it has a backlit keyboard, which is actually quite handy.
Precisely aluminum-bodied unicorn is what Apple calls could have called the new aluminum case, which is the biggest difference from my trusty, old white MacBook. I’ve been craving for the option for one and a half years, and finally I have it. It’s beautiful to look at, I don’t worry about the case getting cracks (like the plastic one) as it seems very solid (unlike the plastic one).
Glossy screens are all the rave a Apple now, and I can understand why, though I also get the arguments put forth by the anti-glossy people out there. It is very glossy (especially with the brightness turned down low), but with the birghtness turned up and a HD-movie playing, you’ll notice just how awesome the LED-screen is. Furthermore, the black edge around the screen was the only negative thing I had to say about the design before actually trying it. Now, I’m very happy about it – it soothes the eyes when sitting in front of the screen for a long period of time.
The increased CPU is a big treat, especially when coming from a two years old MacBook. The separated graphics card from NVIDIA is also giving the overall use a much-needed boost. I put on a 720p HD-trailer from Apple’s website, and the CPU barely noticed, which can be a product of hardware acceleration. I’m just happy that I can watch movies now without the noise from the fans going crazy.
The keyboard is black now. A lot of people don’t like that change, but I love it. It makes the letters stand out more when I glance down at them to see whether or not I’m hitting the right keys (that’s the problem of buying a Mac in the US – the Danish keyboard layout is a bit different). Furthermore, they are now made of a softer kind of plastic, so your fingers don’t “slide” so much on the buttons. Very nice feeling when typing.
I’m very interested in Human-Computer Interaction and how we use our computers. Therefore, touch screens may seem like the perfect thing for a guy like me, but I don’t think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Apple’s new touchpad (and the gestures that comes with it) on the other hand, are. The feel of the trackpad is perfect – they’ve spent months trying to perfect the feeling of the glass, and I must say they did a very good job. It doesn’t feel too rough to drag your finger across, nor too slippery. Just perfect. Also, the three and four-finger gestures plus the ability to rotate images are very nice to have. The only thing I need is being able to zoom by pinching with my fingers – hopefully they’ll add that in a future software update (and I use control + two fingers for now).
FireWire is gone from the MacBook now, and I’m not crying over that. I don’t use FireWire for anything, so it’s really not a loss for me. The people talking about losing the option to migrate their data from the old Mac to the new one should go out and buy an external hard drive instead. This way they can make a Time Machine backup of their old machine and restore it on the new one. That’s what I did, and it was easy as 1-2-60 minutes. (Oh, and when you’ve bought the external drive anyway, you can now use it on the new Mac for backup!)
Conclusion:
All in all, I’m very happy about my new MacBook. It seems like Apple took a lot of the problems I had with my old Mac and made it just a little bit better on almost every single issue. I still see an 11″ or 12″ MacBook without CD/DVD-drive as the ultimate portable for me (the Air is waaaay too expensive and underpowered for me), but until then, I’ve found my new favorite tool.
— Comments —
1
I’m not much of an Apple kinda guy – the only Apple product I own is a 3rd gen. iPod Nano. But I’ve been thinking about making “the switch” for some time actually. The new line of MacBooks sure hasn’t made me want it any less!
If I’m going to get an Apple laptop, though, it’s probably going to be the new MacBook Pro (I don’t care what you say Mark, I think I need 15 inches 
).
Unfortunately they aren’t free. And I can’t help to wonder about being able to get into OS X – I don’t think that it would be much of a problem, but still.
2
You are one of the guys I’d call tech savvy, so you won’t have a problem at all. Obviously, things are different, but it’s usually for the better.
I’d like to dare you to write a blog post with the 5 things you are worried about before making the switch, and I’ll try and answer what OS X can do just as good or better
3
Hi Mark,
Congrats with the new addition to your collection of Apples.
I too appreciate the looks and feel of the new macbook, and found your short review – although I know you are at least slightly biased – interesting and informative.
I’m still waiting for news about the Mini, whether or not a new model is comming or if the product has reached it’s end of life(cycle).
I read that some predict a new mac mini which would sort of replace the current one and the appleTV too. Have you got some undercover-mac-rumor-sites you could share some links to?
/Peter
(who is by the way going to the 1st IBC Reunion Party to night)
4
Thank you, Peter.
Yes, the Mac Mini didn’t receive an upgrade, but a hosting company recently said that they have heard from some sources that they’ll soon be upgraded. The best place to follow stuff like this is without doubt 9to5mac.com – never have I ever seen so reliable predictions as the ones that they’ve come up with in the last months. Furthermore, try appleinsider.com which also has some pretty sweet articles.
Oh, and I hope you had a great night with the old colleagues. Would like to grab a beer once I’m back again!
5
I’m not actually sure what exactly it is that I “fear”. I guess it’s just because I’ve always used windows and know all the weird shortcuts and other thingies.
To be honest my worries are probably mostly imaginary . As you say I should be geeky enough to be able to figure it out (not that i actually think that you need to be geeky).
I’m really liking the new MacBook (have tried one), the trackpad and keyboard are really nice!
6
It’ll take you a month, and you’ll be fluent in Mac-shortcuts (I still find new ones, though)…
So, if you can, borrow a Mac for a day or two to get a feeling of what OS X is like (maybe Wemind can help you here?).
7
Hi Mark,
Thanks, I’ll ad 9to5mac.com’s feed to my rss reader…
Just give a shout out when you return, the beer is on me!
By the way if you need to preach the gospel from Infinite Loop, you could let people know that a virtual machine for vmware player is available for download through the torrent networks. An easy way to experience Mac OS x on a pc…
/peter