Mac Book – Shiny White Knight.

Ok, I have finally succumbed to a new toy. After using a G4 powerbook for almost four years, I decided that it was time upgrade to the Intel platform and see if all the rumours are true. Yes, it’s faster, yes it’s better, yes …

Well, to my surprise -it totally rocks. Why didn’t I do this 18 months ago?

MacBook vs MacBook Pro
I purchased a MacBook as opposed to a Mac Book Pro for a couple of reasons.

1. Weight – Whilst there is little difference between the two (2.27 KG for the MacBook, 2.45 for the MacBook Pro) – when you are on the road all of the time, it add’s up.
2. Size – A smaller cleaner package – Easier to carry. – What about screen size? Well, as my profession deals in several areas of the IT industry, from network admin, support to design work, coding and so on, screen size is not really a concern. The majority of the support and network admin work I do is on the road, where as most of the coding and design work is in the office. Currently, I have a 19inch monitor hooked into the MacBook for the screen real estate that is required for design/coding work.
3. White vs Black – yeah, everyone loves black – as do I. But, for the $200 saving, I decided that a 3rd of an additional monitor was worth a small colour change. The more I work with the white, the happier I actually am. I’m a pit pedantic when it comes to computer cleanness, so white helps me to keep my environment clean. Works for me.
4. More information is available here: http://www.apple.com/macbook/

So, how does it compare?
Well, first a couple of bad points about the MacBook. I purchased the top of the range MacBook:

• Model Name: MacBook
• Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
• Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
• Memory: 1 GB
• Bus Speed: 800 MHz

As I wanted the best performance for the best price. The only complaints to date.

1. The keyboard layout is different. As it comes with Leopard (which is awesome) – the top row of keys are different in function and the second enter key is no longer (replaced with another option key). No big deal.
2. Overall, the G4 powerbook is built better (as it’s metal) and the keyboard is a lot better as well. It’s taken me a few blogs to really get used to the MacBook keyboard.
3. The trackpad button on the board has a slight gap under it, giving it a scence of looseness. Not a big deal, but slightly annoying.
4. And, there is curently a minor Fan buzz. (Might need to go back to Apple on that one).

The exceptionally good stuff.
Without giving you another “why Leopard rocks” review, let me say that there are several things that standout for me.

1. Two finger scroll – should have been thought about years ago. Fantastic
2. Stacks – very useful once you get the hang of it
3. Spaces – been able to do this on a Mac for a while now (using 3rd party software) – but Apple has made it exceptional and very useful
4. Finder – much better and easier to use
5. Quicklook – cmon guys – this should have been thought about decades ago – sensational
6. Speed – very cool – go the 64bit architecture.
7. Mail – about time – coupled with iCal, Apple are finally getting the office, productivity environment together.

Overall – Leopard us a worthy upgrade within itself. Coupled with my new shinny white knight, it’s a productivity powerhouse.

For those of you who are thinking of upgrading, I highly recommend going Intel for Apple and Leopard. Overall, it’s a step in the right direction.

Warm regards,
Scott Malpass
Director
Aquafruit Media.