03.26.09
Posted in personal, Apple, stuff at 8:23 am by keynesiandreamer
Quite unexpectedly my MacBook Air gave up the ghost. I was in a rut, and after a couple of weeks with my Air at the Apple store I was finally given the option of a new computer due to multiple issues in the course of a year. Initially I was offered another new Air, but I wasn’t so sure, so I opted for a Macbook 2.4GHz, mainly this model due to its nice backlit keyboard. This makes it easier to work on on the bus at night.
While I miss the super-svelte form factor of the Air and the feather-weight portability, the MacBook is FAST, and I have a modern sized hard drive again (more on this later…). Some serious engineering went into MacBook and it does feel like an evolution of the Air, which makes sense.
Stuff I love:
The new trackpad is sensous. The texture just feels right, not slippery not sticky, and the new functionality is much appreciated although I still rarely remember to use it. Something to work on…
Overall finish is spectacular, all the parts just fit perfectly. I have not found one instance of manufacturing “tolerances”. On the older PowerBooks and MacBook Pros, one side of the screen would often sit higher than the other when closed! Not any more with the new edition!
Backlit Keyboard! Although this has been on the Pro series and the Airs, it is a very welcom addition to the consumer line.
Up to 4GB of DDR3 Ram now. Woo-Hoo! (more on this later)
Easy Removal of the hard drive. It was already easy on the original MacBook, but now its just one screw! Pretty awesome.
Stuff I am not so pro on after the upgrade:
Keyboard is just not as snappy as the keyboard on the Air. Perhaps this is Pro/Consumer level differentiation, but its just not quite as tactile and reaffirming of stroke. After testing them back to back here is my interpretation of the action: The MacBook has a lower initial force for the finger to overcome to depress the key. The Air and regular keyboards have higher required initial force but land softer than the MacBook.
Wow that bottom edge is sharp! Perhaps its because of the size of my hands and how I uses the amazing new trackpad, but the leading edge and the corner of the divit in front of the trackpad hurt my palm after a while. This isn’t particulatlry new though. Even my old MacBook Pro did that. From a comfort standpoint I do miss that nice rounded radius of the iBook many years back. Many people complain that about this when typing, but I found my issue to be when I am using the track pad, then the corner of my wrist sits right on the edge. Apparently I am not the only one to have this thought:
Apple Discussions
Popular Mechanics
The Screen on the new MacBook is gorgeous but it looks to have a narrower viewing angle. The black point doesn’t looks quite as good either. I wish there was a factory Anti-Glare option like on the 17″ MacBook Pro, perhaps with time. Besides there are numerous companies that will sell you a skin to cover it. My recommendation is to do it soon as it comes out of the box. That way the screen is as clean as it will ever be, and you don’t get debris in between the screen and the anti-glare film.
I will be continuing my review with some benchmarks after installing the max 4gb of Ram and a nice ginormous 500GB harddrive. Stay Tuned…
Pictures coming soon…
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