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I Chose a New MacBook
Tip: New MacBook Trackpad Usage
The FireWire Firestorm
Review: New MacBook Puts Style Over Affordability
MacBook and MacBook Pro Dual Review
I Chose a New MacBook
The Apple Blog's Tom Reestman says:
Fellow TAB writer, Charles Moore, wrote a great article about why it's a good idea to seriously consider the "mature technology" of a refurbished Mac as soon as a new generation is announced. I won't recount the details in that article, but his reasoning is very sound, and it's solid advice.
So solid, in fact, you might almost wonder why it makes sense not to take advantage of the especially good deals that can be had as soon as a new model comes out. Well, I thought I'd look at it from the other side - or, at least my side - and describe why I took a different path and ordered a brand new MacBook......
For the full commentary visit here:
http://theappleblog.com/2008/10/22/i-chose-a-new-macbook/#comment-122901
Tip: New MacBook Trackpad Usage
MacFixIt says:
The MultiTouch trackpads on the new MacBooks do not have separate clickable butons; instead, the entire surface acts as a button. While this new design has been well accepted by Macintosh users, some potential buyers may have concerns and a few new users may have to get used to the new trackpads having touch surfaces on the button mechanism.
In contrast to Apple's advertisements and popular belief, the new trackpads are not true "click anywhere" trackpads. They are mounted on a springboard-like hinge system that is connected to the chassis along the top edge of the trackpad opening. This means that while the trackpad can be clicked on the majority of the surface, as users click towards the top it will get harder to press down. At the very top edge of the trackpad it will be extremely hard to press the button down....
For the full tutorial, visit:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20081021221010669
The FireWire Firestorm
MacObserver's Ted Landau says:
Although I would prefer that FireWire remain an option - for all the commonly cited reasons (such as maintaining the capability to connect FireWire hard drives and FireWire-based camcorders), the complete demise of FireWire now appears inevitable. It absence from Apple's MacBooks is just the harbinger of what's coming down the road. So we might as well start getting used to it.
....this ought not to be a big deal.
Except there is one big deal here and it is a critical one for me: Target Disk Mode. As a troubleshooter, I am loathe to give up on this feature......
If Apple could deliver an alternative to FireWire Target Disk Mode (allowing the mode to work via USB or Ethernet, if that's possible), I would not think twice about getting a MacBook sans FireWire. Without such an alternative, I won't be buying one, at least not until I have no other choice.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.macobserver.com/userfriendly/2008/10/22/re-the-firewire-firestorm/
Review: Aluminum MacBook Core 2 Duo/2GHz and 2.4GHz
Macworld's Jonathan Seff reports:
In the two and half years since the first MacBook model, Apple has tweaked and improved its consumer-level laptop line three times. But the latest (fourth) version is a giant leap for the MacBook, compared to the baby steps of the earlier updates. With the latest design (both inside and out), the MacBook has become a lot more like a MacBook Pro mini.....
Even though the case is made of metal, the MacBook didn't get hot during my testing. Typing most of this review on a 2.4GHz model resting on my lap was not in the least bit uncomfortable and the fans didn't kick in once.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/136236/2008/10/aluminummacbook.html
Review: New MacBook Puts Style Over Affordability
AP's Peter Svensson reports:
Plastic used to be the sexy material of the future. Now, it's the cheap, ugly material of the past.
Just look at the effort Apple Inc. put into getting rid of plastic when designing its new $1,300 MacBook laptops, which went on sale last week. Apple now is machining the upper part of the chassis from a single block of aluminum, shaving it down to perhaps one-tenth of its original mass.
The result is a laptop with the stark elegance of a Modernist skyscraper, all glass and metal. The only things that are still plastic are the keys, the Apple logo on the lid, the bumpers on the bottom and some cladding on the hinge between the bottom and the display.
All that metal looks great, and it feels cool, in both senses of the word, to touch. But is this really what we want out of Apple?....
For the full report visit here:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_Vy5BFjDMEnpR1T4zG4dTlkYtFAD93VNFL00
MacBook and MacBook Pro Dual Review
Gizmodo says:
Before Tuesday, there was no way a MacBook and a MacBook Pro could appear in a single review. Too much separated the two systems, from outer appearance (build materials and backlit keyboard) to inner nitty gritty (graphics processors, etc.). To group the two classes together would have been like simultaneously reviewing a Ford Focus and a Ford Mustang. But the new MacBook and MacBook Pro are far more similar than they are different. From the glass-bezel screen to the front side bus, these computers finally deserve to share the name MacBook. They're brothers, one a pro, the other a vastly accomplished amateur. Here's our verdict, after two days of thorough nonstop testing....
The class boundary remains, but it's blurrier than ever.
For the full report visit here:
http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review
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