# The MacBook is out



## jarinteractive (May 16, 2006)

http://www.apple.com/macbook/


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## Satcomer (May 16, 2006)

Oh yes! I am getting one as soon as I save the money up!


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## Yogi Bear (May 16, 2006)

Is it just me or on the US site is there a $150 premium for a black macbook??  What a rort.  They'll be charging more for black iPods soon.

I would rather have a white one anyway - thats what made iBooks unique, they werent dull black boxes like everyone else!!  Although the black MacBooks do look shiney.


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## timswim78 (May 16, 2006)

Yogi Bear said:
			
		

> Is it just me or on the US site is there a $150 premium for a black macbook??  What a rort.  They'll be charging more for black iPods soon.
> 
> I would rather have a white one anyway - thats what made iBooks unique, they werent dull black boxes like everyone else!!  Although the black MacBooks do look shiney.



I agree with Yogi Bear!  How crazy is it to charge (or pay) $150 more for the same laptop, in a different color?

FYI:  The black MacBook is $1499, and the comparable white MacBook is $1299.  However, there is a difference in the hdd size.  When you account for this difference by upgrading the drive of the white MacBook, then the difference becomes $150.

Overall, I think that the white models are pretty competitively priced, considering all of the features.  However, some people, like me, would prefer to pay less and not have a built-in camera.


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## mi5moav (May 16, 2006)

It's a lot cheaper then sending it into colorware and having them charge $400 bucks to paint your ibook/macbook black and have it send back to you. My friend had his ipod done for like $100 bucks and it's already flaking.  Plus with Apple you get a bump in the HD. Love the new keyboard hope its not like my atari 400.  I wish the magsafe plug would also be black, cause that would just be stupid with a slick black ibook and this white tail hanging out.

http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/apple_services.aspx


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## timswim78 (May 16, 2006)

mi5moav said:
			
		

> It's a lot cheaper then sending it into colorware and having them charge $400 bucks to paint your ibook/macbook black and have it send back to you. My friend had his ipod done for like $100 bucks and it's already flaking.  Plus with Apple you get a bump in the HD. Love the new keyboard hope its not like my atari 400.  I wish the magsafe plug would also be black, cause that would just be stupid with a slick black ibook and this white tail hanging out.
> 
> http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/apple_services.aspx




Yes, the black MacBook does come with an extra 20GB of hdd space; however, the white ibook can be upgraded to the same hdd space for $50, making the price difference between the two $150, or 11%.

If you buy a car that comes in Black and White, you shouldn't expect to have to pay 11% extra to get it in Black.   

I mean, if you want to pay $150 extra for a black notebook, feel free to.  I plan on ordering mine in white.


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## lurk (May 16, 2006)

I can tell you never bought a car new.  The different colors do have different prices.  Metallic and pearl costs more, sometimes glossy of matte costs more. (And it usually is in the $500 dollar range for the difference.)


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## timswim78 (May 16, 2006)

lurk said:
			
		

> I can tell you never bought a car new.  The different colors do have different prices.  Metallic and pearl costs more, sometimes glossy of matte costs more. (And it usually is in the $500 dollar range for the difference.)



I bought a new car in 2002.  All of the colors were the same price, except for the metallics, which were a few hundred more.  I can tell you that the black, green, blue, red, and white models all cost the same amount of money.  Only the silver cost more, because it was metallic.

The average price for a new car in the U.S. is somewhere around $28,000.  $500 for a paint upgrade is less than 2% of the cost of the car.  

Like, I said, its up to the buyer if they want to spend the extra money for a black laptop.  Personally, I do not like the look of a black laptop, and I'm not sure that I would spend an extra $150 for a purely cosmetic feature, even if I did prefer black.  I'd rather keep the extra $150 or spend it on something that is useful, such as: external hdd, external DVD burner, protective case, or apply it towards Apple Care.


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## delsoljb32 (May 16, 2006)

mi5moav said:
			
		

> It's a lot cheaper then sending it into colorware and having them charge $400 bucks to paint your ibook/macbook black and have it send back to you. My friend had his ipod done for like $100 bucks and it's already flaking.  Plus with Apple you get a bump in the HD. Love the new keyboard hope its not like my atari 400.  I wish the magsafe plug would also be black, cause that would just be stupid with a slick black ibook and this white tail hanging out.
> 
> http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/apple_services.aspx




years ago there was a neighborhood cat like that. needless to say, his stealth ability was greatly reduced  lol


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## fryke (May 16, 2006)

Apple truly doesn't get that if the hardware's in black, they should also deliver the power connector and power brick in black - as well as the remote, of course. That's yet another reason _not_ to pay the surplus of 150 USD for the black version.

But the entry-level version will do just fine for me, anyway. This is what I've been basically waiting for ever since I sold my last 12" iBook. I _need_ the resolution of my 15" PB, and the new MacBook (almost, 54 vertical pixels missing...) has it - in a lighter package. I *HOPE* the keyboard works. I loved Apple's notebook keyboards forever, so I truly hope they didn't f*** up this one. They _state_ that tapping a key needs a little more power with this one, and I fear that could be a deal-breaker for me. At 150+ keys/minute, any slowdown can be veeeeery annoying for a writer.


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## whitesaint (May 16, 2006)

too bad it has integrated graphics, i wonder if the integrated graphics are fast enough to play doom 3 or quake 4?  Looks really sharp tho, and im glad they have an intel core duo on the low end model.  I'd get one if i had the money.


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## fryke (May 16, 2006)

I actually wish they'd offer me a single core version for 100 or 200 dollars less.


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## pds (May 16, 2006)

According to the specs page.



> 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs, supports up to 2GB



Does that mean I'd need two 512mb sticks to get it up to 1 gig? Not too cool.


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## jhawk28 (May 16, 2006)

Its not really that bad to be using 2 sticks of memory. You get better performace from paired DDR memory. The downside is that you need to buy 2 sticks of memory when you want to upgrade.

Joshua


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## HateEternal (May 16, 2006)

Dammit... Pretty sweet except other than the processor it's not a whole lot better than my Acer. Well it is, but I really was hoping they'd go bigger than the intel GMA950...

That is a damn good deal though, good luck getting a laptop from dell with specs like that for the same price. The closest they get is the 710m and it's got a Pentium M!


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## flacochala (May 16, 2006)

Cmon people, its a very competitive computer at that price... i also regreat they put a GMA950 inside... steve jobs, he just cannot see me happy... mi actual ibook has a better graphic card than that!!
Does anyboyd knows if the mini dvi port es exactly the same of the ibook g4, so i can use my mini-dvi to vga cable?


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## fryke (May 16, 2006)

Did that iBook really have a Mini-DVI and not a mini-VGA? I remember _my_ iBook had a mini-VGA - which would mean no to your question. Look at this picture to confirm. The mini-DVI is the third port from the left... -> http://www.thinksecret.com/archives/macbookphotos/source/macbook-5.html


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## flacochala (May 16, 2006)

yeap... think you are right... if a buy a new macbook ill have to buy no cables... 
We are the built in speakers of macbook?? ive benn looking around, but i dont seem to find them...


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## Trip (May 16, 2006)

Good question, I can't find them either.


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## Ifrit (May 16, 2006)

> 13.3-inch (diagonal) TFT glossy widescreen display



Please no, I know these screens from the Sony Vaio line - my colleague calls them "computer with integrated rear-view mirror". If the ceeling illumination is at a certain degree or if it is to bright you can't see anything (besides your reflection - great for shaving BTW, but I don't think most people want to buy a 1200$ mirror)

Integrated graphics:

I absolutely hate the fact that Apple uses the Intel graphic chips - when the switch to Intel was announced I prayed - "Please don't be be cheap and use the Intel integrated graphics line." I believe I am wrong - or someone above hates me... I am sure you can do lots of things with the Macbook - but honestly any demanding game after 2002 - 2003 is out of question. The worst thing is the lack of dedicated video RAM. So, you have to sacrifice precious RAM for video functions - I believe its barely enough for accelerated core video/graphic (two reasons why it isn't advertised on the Macbook HW page).


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## flacochala (May 16, 2006)

Thats a nice point of view.. is this intel GMA a graphic card that will be supported by mac os x´s "core image"???.... Its a brand new machine, i hope that they will provide support for core image with this graphic card... Another thing to notice, is that, leopard its not so far, and undoublty it will require more processing graphic power than tiger... and my ibook (radeon 9200) does not do some transicions in tiger, so, will this graphic card cripple my leopard experience?


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## Qion (May 16, 2006)

Ifrit said:
			
		

> Integrated graphics:
> 
> I absolutely hate the fact that Apple uses the Intel graphic chips - when the switch to Intel was announced I prayed - "Please don't be be cheap and use the Intel integrated graphics line." I believe I am wrong - or someone above hates me... I am sure you can do lots of things with the Macbook - but honestly any demanding game after 2002 - 2003 is out of question. The worst thing is the lack of dedicated video RAM. So, you have to sacrifice precious RAM for video functions - I believe its barely enough for accelerated core video/graphic (two reasons why it isn't advertised on the Macbook HW page).



Ah I was _so_ excited when my homepage told me that this MacBook is finally out. And then... that. It kills the deal for me. Unless I hear reports of this machine running Doom 3 decently (not that I play Doom 3), I'm holding off. 

I know that Apple has to separate Pro from, er, not-pro, but that just ruins it for a lot of creative professionals on a budget.


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## HateEternal (May 16, 2006)

Qion said:
			
		

> Unless I hear reports of this machine running Doom 3 decently (not that I play Doom 3), I'm holding off.




Hah. Good luck! I tried, just for giggles to run Half-life 2 on my laptop. Sure it doesn't have the same processor performance but the graphics is about the same. I got around two FPS on extemely low settings. Doom 3 is more graphically demanding than HL2.


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## Giaguara (May 16, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> But the entry-level version will do just fine for me, anyway. This is what I've been basically waiting for ever since I sold my last 12" iBook. I _need_ the resolution of my 15" PB, and the new MacBook (almost, 54 vertical pixels missing...) has it - in a lighter package. I *HOPE* the keyboard works. I loved Apple's notebook keyboards forever, so I truly hope they didn't f*** up this one. They _state_ that tapping a key needs a little more power with this one, and I fear that could be a deal-breaker for me. At 150+ keys/minute, any slowdown can be veeeeery annoying for a writer.



So you are going to get one even though you say you need 54 more pixels width on it?

My husband by the way bought one today for me .. he says the keyboard is nice. 

Can't wait to take the Macbook apart to stick in a 120 or 160 GB hard drive instead.


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## nixgeek (May 16, 2006)

How wouild this ruin it for creative professionals on a budget?  Considering they are "creative professionals" I think that the low end MacBook Pro is nicely priced, and it includes the discrete graphics.  The MacBook isn't targeted for professionals.  It's meant for the rest of us who need a decent Mac notebook at a good price.

The Intel GMA950 does in fact support CoreImage so that will be an improvement.  Sure, it's not the x1600 video chipset but it can hold its own compared to the 9200 video chipset found in the iBook.

Consider that some PC laptops out there have the same thing and don't match up to what the MacBook offers.


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## flacochala (May 16, 2006)

hey nixgeek's, i was trying to find at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/coreimage/ if the gma950 was supported by coreimage... but i didnt find it... were did you read or hear that intel graphic cards are supported by coreimage??.. that could be good news for me... (im trying to convince myself that the macbook is the mac for me)


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## ra3ndy (May 16, 2006)

flacochala said:
			
		

> hey nixgeek's, i was trying to find at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/coreimage/ if the gma950 was supported by coreimage... but i didnt find it... were did you read or hear that intel graphic cards are supported by coreimage??.. that could be good news for me... (im trying to convince myself that the macbook is the mac for me)



Go here and scroll down to "Supported Graphics Cards" (section 4.1).  The GMA950 is listed.


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## fryke (May 16, 2006)

Also, the Mac mini has been out a while, so there _is_ information on how well the integrated graphics stuff performs in Mac OS X and what it supports. I don't see how this is a deal-breaker. I mean, yeah: For gamers. But then the iBook/MacBook *never* was for you. It never was a top of the line gaming computer ever. When stuck at G3/G4 processors, it didn't even have the raw processing power gamers craved, and their graphics cards were _always_ at the low end. Sure, I agree that they _could_ have used one of the cheaper ATi or nVidia cards, but those would not have been enough for serious gaming (*cough*), either. Not for more than a month or two, anyway...

Giaguara: Vertical pixels are for height, not width. 

About the use of such a 'book by a professional: I consider myself one in more than one way... I was waiting for this as my favourite typewriter on-the-go - and this task it'll serve well (if the keyboard's okay, that is, I wonder...).

I'm also a graphics pro - and that's what I need the resolution for. 1024*768 didn't really cut it, and I like to work also when I'm on the road, not just at home where I have a larger external display. For DTP you don't really need the 3D graphics power. Not at all, in fact 8 MB VRAM would be perfectly okay even today (although Mac OS X would crawl to a halt at some point...). See: It can drive a 23" Cinema Display just fine at 1920*1080, so that's fine. It probably won't play HD movies at 1080p without stuttering, but I don't intend to do that on it, anyway, since the video projector I connect it do only does 800*600, and the next one I'll buy will do 1024*768, so even _then_ I won't need the graphics card a Doom 3 player needs. Seriously: Consider playing games on an Xbox or PS2/PS3 and use your _computer_ for work and other entertainment... I think people who expect this MacBook to be "the gamer's choice" are simply mistaken at the very beginning...


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## Mikuro (May 16, 2006)

As with the Mac Mini, the price went up a bit. Bummer.

I don't agree with Apple's recent philosophy AT ALL. Does everyone need an iSight? Does everyone need Bluetooth? Does everyone need Airport Extreme? NO, NO, NO! That's great for the iMac, which is now certifiably a luxury machine, but now the consumer MacBook, too? And the Mini, for that matter (minus the iSight).

They crammed both the Mini and the MacBook full of unnecessary features, and bumped up the prices. There's a problem here. Get back on track, Apple!

It's a nice update, though, no doubt about that, and for what you get, the price is right. I'm surprised to see the Core Duo all across the board. That's nice, although if it would mean cutting the price by a significant amount, a new Solo low-end would be a nice addition, since most users will get only minimal benefit from a second core.

I wish they didn't use a "glossy" screen, though. That's enough to make me not even _consider_ the MacBook.


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## Ifrit (May 16, 2006)

> But then the iBook/MacBook *never* was for you. It never was a top of the line gaming computer ever.



Of course I know that - I am just disappointed that a fine machine is crippeled in the video department. Personally I wouldn't miss the isight if Apple decided "to bump" the GPU instead. 
There are some application which benefit from a decent GPU - 3D modeling applications for example, or the next version of OSX which (most likley) depends even more on the power of the graphic HW. Remember the original mac mini G4? Introduced 1 - 2 months before Tiger, but it had only 32MB video RAM onboard - this meant "sorry, no accelerated core image/video for you".

Fortunally this doesn't apply to the the current OSX features - macbook features situation - otherwise the macbook wouldn't run Frontrow which is a core image application. But this might change in the next version of OSX - "sorry, no accelerated vector graphics + effects for you - GPU is to weak"

BTW, buying a laptop for gaming purposes only is absolutly nonesense. In 1/2 - 3/4 year you are stuck with an outdated machine which isn't able to run the latest games. 

Personally I used my G3 ibook for lots of things - even for accomplishing tasks which were in the realm of the pro machines: video editing, writing and surfing the net (of course), Photoshop, recording audio, coding small programs, rencode movie files and so on. If you are stuck with a low end machine you learn how to make the most out of it. Unfortunally the logic board broke otherwise I would be still using it. The Macbook seems to be a great replacement, because my needs didn't change that much over the 4 years I had the ibook G3 700Mhz.


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## Veljo (May 16, 2006)

I'm relatively happy with the new MacBook. Things I'm not happy with are the colour &#8212; I think black computers are absolutely ugly, and as Fryke said, the remote and power cords should've been made black to match. My other gripe is the RAM &#8212; 2 x 256MB DIMMs? Come on, that's about as cheap as you can get. When someone does a memory upgrade they're essentially left with one or two useless DIMMs that they then have to sell. 1 x 512MB would've been a far better option.

EDIT: Here's an example of the glossy screens:


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## hawki18 (May 16, 2006)

I can't believe that they put in sharded graphics and still want that much money.  I was hoping it would have aleast a 64mb video card half of the mac pro.  That would be make a big differance when doing something this graphic intensive.


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## Ifrit (May 17, 2006)

> I can't believe that they put in sharded graphics and still want that much money. I was hoping it would have aleast a 64mb video card half of the mac pro. That would be make a big differance when doing something this graphic intensive.



This is the same thing I thought - "If they update the pro line to the next version, maybe the equivalent to the ibook will get the same graphic card specs which was present in the latest Powerbook models."

Fortunally they didn't cut features. I remember being disappointed with the low spec ibook model option back in (the beginning of) 2003. 

- no DVD ROM drive - even if it was standard in most of the x86 notebooks produced in 2003
- only 20GB HD space - 5-8 GB were already used by the OS + iLife
- only 128MB RAM

Hopefully the new model isn't a nightmare to take appart - not that I recommend tinkering with machines which are still under warranty. I have seen 700$ notebooks which were easier to upgrade than the iBook.


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## fryke (May 17, 2006)

As far as can be seen from first reports, it's very easy to upgrade RAM and replace the harddrive. Anything else: No. But then again, you don't _really_ want to mess with the tightly fit innards of a 'Book. I remember trying to fit a new harddrive into my TiBook 500 back then. They had added some rubber fitting to their drive, which of course you could *not* easily remove and put on your new drive, which left me with the choice of using something else to make it not move around inside the TiBook all the time or use the smaller drive. I went for the first option.  (me evil...)

What I'm thinking about... They basically _could_ offer a version of the MacBook 13.3" with a better graphics option for a couple more dollars and call it "Pro", too. After all, the MacBook also replaces the 12" PowerBook G4, which was considered "Pro". Then again, that one also always lacked in "Pro" features, so maybe it's simply not what Apple wants. Apple wants you to move to the 15" model instead if you need more oomph. Same as when the last round of PB G4s was new.


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## karavite (May 17, 2006)

All in all, this line is something I could see a lot of people being happy with for the price. Too bad the lowest model didn't break below the $1000 limit - that would have been something.

Dumb question please - the one thing that has always confused me about this level Book is hooking them up to a projector (for presentations). It has been some time, but will using USB for this work well? Or which port would you use?


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## Ifrit (May 17, 2006)

> Dumb question please - the one thing that has always confused me about this level Book is hooking them up to a projector (for presentations). It has been some time, but will using USB for this work well? Or which port would you use?



You use the Mini - DVI port for that purpose (almost has the shape of an usb port - maybe thats the reason for you confusion). Then you plug an adaptor in it which has a DVI or VGA out. I am sure that at least one adaptor is already included.

Something I want to know - is the mini - DVI/VGA out of the iBook the same thing as the mini - DVI/VGA of the Mac Book pro?



> As far as can be seen from first reports, it's very easy to upgrade RAM and replace the harddrive.



Hard drive is the only thing besides RAM which I would consider upgrating. Otherwise I had to desolder the GPU chip or something


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## chadwick (May 17, 2006)

I was at the SF Apple store yesterday when they were setting them up for display and got to play with them a little bit. I was somewhat underwhelmed. 

The display is bright, but like others have said before, the mirror effect just gives you nasty glare all the time.

The key feel, etc. was nice, better than the old G4 iBook but not much different.

Weight size it was hard to distinguish it from a 15" MacBook Pro, so other than the price difference I'd be hard pressed to actually buy one over the 15" Pro. It's just not small enough to really feel like a much better highly portable alternative to the Pro models.

It was properly quick, at least.


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## fryke (May 17, 2006)

Don't underestimate size considerations. It might not _seem_ much smaller (and I'd actually love a 11 or 12 " widescreen model, but we know it's not coming anytime soon, so...), but if you want to put it in a smaller bag, it can be enough of a difference. Also if you have lots of stuff to carry around etc. Weight difference is about 500g, which can be all the difference between an aching shoulder and a smile on your face when you get home at the end of the day.


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## RGrphc2 (May 17, 2006)

Mikuro said:
			
		

> As with the Mac Mini, the price went up a bit. Bummer.
> 
> /QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## Lt Major Burns (May 18, 2006)

wow.  for anyone who's ever replaced a hard drive in a i/powerbook in the last 5 years:

http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macword/2006/05/macbookvideo/index.php


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## RGrphc2 (May 18, 2006)

Lt Major Burns said:
			
		

> wow.  for anyone who's ever replaced a hard drive in a i/powerbook in the last 5 years:
> 
> http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macword/2006/05/macbookvideo/index.php



wow i hope the MacBook Pro gets this feature in the future, along with the keyboard and magnentic lock


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## Jason (May 18, 2006)

Wow x 2


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## mw84 (May 18, 2006)

I concur, shame the same thing can't be done with that graphics chip! 

I can't see a lot of people splashing out that extra £130 for the black model when all you seem to get is an extra 20-gigs hard-drive space, especially when it's that easy to upgrade the hard-drive yourself.


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## Lt Major Burns (May 18, 2006)

but... it's matte black... and the apple logo looks very cool on black...


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## Trip (May 18, 2006)

I want one. Too bad I'm $900 short.
Guess I'll be stuck with my 12" G3 until Adobe releases the universal CS package. Or, at least, until I get $900.


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## flacochala (May 18, 2006)

Does anybody own one yet???... there are some things ill like to know..
does the macbook has a heating issue, like the mbp?? whinning cpu?does the white macbook also has a flaky cover as the black one?.. i know is not a gamer machine, but does it play any 3d game at all?? like cod or quake3 or 4? is the glossy screen that terrible? how faster does it feel... etc etc etc


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## jhawk28 (May 18, 2006)

One of my friends got the base MacBook. It was much cooler than my MBP. It was deathly quiet. The only noise it made was when you took it out of sleep mode when it initialized the CD drive. I've heard that it playes Quake 3 well, but starts to choke when you get into Quake 4 and the like. Since I've returned the MBP for a refund (it had way too many problems), I may get a MacBook. It was a nice machine. The Glossy screen was not reflective when looking straight at it. It was also considerably brighter than my iBook G3 800. The general os/app speed was the same as the MBP.

Joshua


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## flacochala (May 19, 2006)

nice!!! i own an ibook g4 and im looking forward to test drive a macbook, to see if I make the change. Its seems to me that, the ibook had better quality in the components inside (now they are all intel, dont they?).. so im not completely sure of the change, but the macbook looks like a very good machine/price computer. Correct me if am wrong, but does all the inside components (logic board, ethernet, usb, firewire, sound board, etc) are actually intel..?


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## nixgeek (May 19, 2006)

For the most part, the internal components are designed in collaboration with Intel (to make sure that the hardware works right with OS X....Steve wouldn't want any compatibility issues that the PC guys are going through... ).


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## mindbend (May 19, 2006)

I think Apple blew it by not having better video card support. Students are a big audience for this machine and like it or not, they're going to want to play games, even if it means booting to XP. The MacBook should at least be able to play games reasonably well.


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## nixgeek (May 19, 2006)

And it will, but you can't expect it to play BF2 or QUake 4 or something that super-graphics intensive.  Besides, that's not what it's meant for.  PC laptops that have their own discrete graphics chipset and can handle graphics intensive games are still way more expensive than those that are comparable with the MacBook.  If you want something with discreete graphics, then you're better off going with a low end MacBook Pro.


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## Jason (May 19, 2006)

I want the MacBook Pro's internals, inside a MacBook's shell, with no iSight...

Anyone with me?


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## ex2bot (May 20, 2006)

I'm giving up on Mac gaming and going with an XBox 360. That way I can buy cheaper Macs. I'm looking forward to Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the new Splinter Cell, etc.

Who knows, maybe someone will hack OS X onto the Xbox 360. That would be a really cheap Mac -- at 3 GHZ * 3!

Doug


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## fryke (May 21, 2006)

Grr... Still have to wait until a particular project's money comes in. More than a week to go. But then, then I'll buy it. I'm looking forward to test it outside in direct sunlight. Looking forward to test the keyboard. Looking forward to finally being able to rant about Rosetta's lack of performance.  ...


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## Mikuro (May 21, 2006)

Jason said:
			
		

> I want the MacBook Pro's internals, inside a MacBook's shell, with no iSight...
> 
> Anyone with me?


Yes. Actually, what I'd really like see is a bare-bones, *upgradeable* MacBook (and also Mac Mini). No iSight, no standard Bluetooth, no Airport (not the Mini, anyway), and yes, no graphics card. But I want the ability to install my own graphics card later if I so choose.

Honestly, I think I'd be pretty happy with the integrated graphics today. It supports Core Image, it supports good resolutions, and I'm not big on 3D gaming on my computer. So I wouldn't want to pay for a 256MB ATI card. But I'll bet the integrated graphics will seem too weak in a year, after Leopard is out. Just a guess. (My G4 Mac Mini's ATI card seemed fine when I bought it....but then Tiger came out, and now I'm missing out on all sorts of cool things.)

Do any of Apple's current machines have upgradeable graphics cards (besides the Power Mac G5)? If they do, Apple sure is quiet about it.


By the way, Apple opened a new store on 5th Avenue in New York this Friday. I was there, and I played around with the MacBooks. It's hard to comment on the keyboard, since I typically need to use input devices for a full week before I can form a real opinion, but from the little time I spent with it, I like it. I always hated the old iBook keyboards, and the MacBook is different. It feels more like a desktop keyboard to me.

The glossy screens looked great, although I still haven't gotten up close and personal with one outdoors.

And they're fast. They seem to eat right through HD video. *droool*


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## Convert (May 21, 2006)

I expect to buy one sometime soon. I'm going to buy the basic 2.0Ghz white MiBook (see what I did there?) and order a 1GB RAM stick from Crucial, sell one of the 256s and put the 1GB in its place. I'm also going to sell the 60GB HD and buy a 100GB/120GB.

Along with a student discount I should save a fair bit.


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## fryke (May 21, 2006)

Mikuro said:
			
		

> It's hard to comment on the keyboard, since I typically need to use input devices for a full week before I can form a real opinion, but from the little time I spent with it, I like it. I always hated the old iBook keyboards, and the MacBook is different. It feels more like a desktop keyboard to me.


Aw, shit. :/ This probably means that my writing speed would slow down by 5-10%. I hope it does not or there's some way to make the keys go down more lightly, maybe by using a hammer on them once, so they don't come back up completely. Just kidding about that measure, of course. But I truly hope that it's not as bad as you describe it. Desktop keyboards basically suck ever since the Apple Extended Keboard II was discontinued.


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## Giaguara (May 21, 2006)

My husband says the keyboard is nice - and I do trust him on that. Extensive testing on my unit has been on from Tuesday, when those Macs got out. He says it's nice, and he types fast as usual, and with less typos.
I'll post my own opinions when I'll be using my computer


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## lurk (May 21, 2006)

So Gia when did you get hitched. I must have missed the wedding announcement.  At least I could have made a joke about hääyöaie or some such thing ;-)

Congratulations!


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## Giaguara (May 21, 2006)

In February.


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## lurk (May 21, 2006)

Congrats again, I just passed the ten year mark myself and it feels like the blink of an eye.  Have fun!


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## jhawk28 (May 21, 2006)

Actually I like the keyboard. I has a solid feel to it, but it still is quick to type on. I got the 2ghz base model. I plan to be upgrading the memory soon.

Joshua

P.S. for all you WoW people, I installed wow and got 15fps in Gromgrol and ZG.


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## fryke (May 22, 2006)

Looking forward to my experience... Every day brings me nearer to my MacBook. Ah... The happy days...


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## chadwick (May 22, 2006)

jhawk28 said:
			
		

> P.S. for all you WoW people, I installed wow and got 15fps in Gromgrol and ZG.



Do you know how that compares to say the rates you'd get with one of the Intel iMacs? I tried it out after I got mine and I was seeing a good 45 FPS in IronForge with the iMac, but I haven't played in a long time so the other places I'd have no clue about.


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## jhawk28 (May 22, 2006)

basically 15fps in a low populated area is really low, but still playable.

Joshua


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## Jason (May 23, 2006)

How about CoH?


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## fryke (May 23, 2006)

Ordered mine. Looking forward to it. I hope the 2 GB of RAM help Rosetta performance, since I *do* have to get some work done in Adobe CS. But basically, I'm just soooooooo looking forward to being able to write more outside and in cafés etc.


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## chadwick (May 23, 2006)

I'm trying really, really hard not to order one myself.

But then since I sold my 17" G4 a month or two ago I'm been jonezing for a Mac portable big time.


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## lurk (May 23, 2006)

Fryke let me know how that shiny screen works out for you.  I am hesitant about it myself since most places I work have a window behind or beside me.  It is a pretty screen but if the glare get too bad...


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## jhawk28 (May 23, 2006)

I like the screen. You only see glare from the sides. So in a way, its a good thing.

Joshua


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## fryke (May 23, 2006)

Unless you want to share a movie with more than one friend, you mean?  ... I'll certainly review the little bugger once it gets here. Might be Monday if it doesn't get here by Friday. Thursday's a holiday here, so I might have miscalculated... Either way: I'll write about it.


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## CharlieJ (May 24, 2006)

I WANT ONE (please someone buy me one preferably the black one )


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## fryke (May 24, 2006)

Your message:signature ratio is a bit off.


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## fryke (May 26, 2006)

Okay, got mine. It arrived very early this morning and is now living on battery until it goes to deep-sleep, so I can fully recharge it for the first time.  ... The keyboard is "okay" even in the first seconds, but I guess after a couple of hours, I won't miss the old one. The space between keys irritates my fingers a little, though.

Glossy screen? Very different - but good, I think. Right now I have the windows of the room in my back, and I certainly _do_ get a bit of glare, but nothing I couldn't live with. Good picture. When I turn around - so there's no glare - the picture is perfect, I think.
And if you turn the brightness off _ompletely_, I can _still_ see what I'm writing here! So I guess it *IS* better to work with out in the sun! Just turn the brightness down completely and let the sunlight light the screen a little for you! I'll have to test that, of course.


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## fryke (May 26, 2006)

I've written a first-impression type thingie at http://haligon.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-macbook-has-arrived.html ... There'll be more once my battery is fully loaded and the MacBook used for a couple of hours.

Oh... Have to add that MS Office really is _no_ problem through Rosetta with 2 GB of RAM. Neither is Adobe CS 2. At least for a _little_ work. I'll have to test it against more serious files still, but initial testing tells me that Apple's doing the right thing pushing the move to intel.


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## McSedgley (May 27, 2006)

I got the white one cos they didnt have a black one!!  No, seriously though, its a bit of a joke charging an extra £120 squids, when you don't even get a black adaptor.  Still, the 2.0ghz white one would still be cheap at £1, 020.


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## fryke (May 27, 2006)

nice.  hey! i just found out that, well, parallels _rocks_ as a solution for running the occasional windows software and (!): the two-finger on pad plus button works as a second mouse button in windows (through parallels), too! so does scrolling with two fingers! gotta say: very convenient solution... now if only i had a real use for windows besides testing web pages.


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## Convert (May 28, 2006)

Nice! So what are you doing with your old Powerbook? Are you happy with the keyboard on the Macbook? You've convinced me to buy the base model (I was thinking about the Superdrive... but meh...)


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## McSedgley (May 28, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> now if only i had a real use for windows besides testing web pages.



I haven't managed to find one yet, apart from testing web pages as you say.  Keep me posted if you manage to find one.


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## Lt Major Burns (May 28, 2006)

half life 2.


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## fryke (May 28, 2006)

As I said. Any "real" reason?


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## FlashMac (May 30, 2006)

fryke said:
			
		

> Oh... Have to add that MS Office really is _no_ problem through Rosetta with 2 GB of RAM. Neither is Adobe CS 2. At least for a _little_ work. I'll have to test it against more serious files still, but initial testing tells me that Apple's doing the right thing pushing the move to intel.



I'm looking at getting the basic model, but with only 1gb RAM - any idea how CS or CS2 will run? Basically I only really use Aperture and Photoshop, and if I can get them to run appreciably faster than on my current G4 Quicksilver Gigahertz/1GbRAM then I'm happy. I've basically stopped using Aperture once I've converted the RAW files to .tiff, its too slow. OK, I know, I hacked the processor value in the Aperture Exec file, so I'm lucky it runs at all.

Nice to see theres a grown-up resolution and they've included the ability to go to a higher resolution hooked up to a monitor. 1024x768 was just insulting on the last iBooks, the only thing that prevented me buying one, and really frustrating.


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## iKiller484 (May 30, 2006)

yeah well i got one.


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## dixonbm (Jun 7, 2006)

My brother got the base MacBook model for his birthday. We purchased an upgraded 120GB drive from OWC.com ($150) and 2 1GB sticks from Ramjet.com ($259). Installation was amazingly simple! 

I had some trouble with the install of the OS, disc 2 kept returning an error that the installation failed. The 3rd attempt was successful. The machine is noticeably faster. 

We attempted to transfer his files from his old snow white iMac using the new file transfer utility that appears in the initial setup screens. It failed to transfer any files from his 'Home' Folder. However it did successfully transfer his user name, login information, and network settings. I had to transfer over the Library, Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures Folders manually. 

What a wonderful little machine.


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## fryke (Jun 7, 2006)

FlashMac: Didn't see your message before, sorry... -> I guess for Rosetta software you won't actually see a speed-up. Aperture, being universal by now, should run _noticeably_ faster, though. Photoshop might be 'okay', but you better test it.


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