Having had quite a few days to play around with my Macbook I'm very happy with it.
A few pictures...
The trademark glowing Apple symbol shows beautifully against the deep black:
Macbook folded shut, aside an iPod for comparison of its size:
Open and working shown with the included remote, which works mainly with front row (think Windows Media Center) and other useful shortcuts:
There are some things that really impress me...
Lightning fast:
Start up (and full load) 24 secs (my Windows PC can take between 4-5 mins), shut down 8 secs (Windows 1 min 15 secs), sleep/wake less than 1 sec (Windows can take about 30 secs, if it doesn't wake itself midway into trying to sleep).
Plus speedy working apps, connections etc..
System:
I never knew how simple Mac OS was. Drag and drop to install programs, move things around easily, basic navigation (unlike Windows My Documents (before Name-titling copied from Mac OS in Vista), App Data, Windows, Local Setting, All Users, Program Files to name but a handful...).
Everything is where you expect it to be, no endless navigation to get to something.
Plus it just looks so visually stunning.
Quality and nice touches:
The screen is bright and really sharp. It's smaller than my old laptop, but the resolution is the same which adds in quality. Ports are all together and tidier. Glowing apple and sleep light are very smart. Magnetic power cord is simply genius, and the transformer block is less than half the size of my old one.The only downside is that finger marks show up easily. But nothing a cloth doesn't solve.
Features:
Long battery life was one of the main draws to it, as I mostly use it on the road (not literally, stupid). As well as its small light form.
Wireless, Bluetooth, USB, Firewire connections all very useful.
Large hard drive, 2Ghz Core 2 Duo processor and 1Gb RAM (upgradeable) are welcomed. It only has on board graphics but this is more than adequate and still looks stunning. Well Mac's don't require a huge load as Vista might so no problem.
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As I said before I set my SE W880i to connect to the Macbook over Bluetooth allowing internet connection using the phone's GPRS/3G. This was surprisingly simple. Just downloaded the modem scripts and put them in the correct place, went to Internet Connect, chose the script, entered the APN and away we went, flawless.
Also set up a second Airport (WiFi) connection which should work for most hotspots.
Went onto the T-Mobile site and set up wireless access so I can now use T-Mobile and BT Openzone hotspots. And added Web 'n' Walk Plus so I can officially use the phone net connection without risking getting restricted. So all is good.
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And it kept me busy at Watford Gap and Preston Depot last night so this is going to be very useful. My old laptop will be appearing on eBay next week I imagine. Besides I need something to keep me occupied too, especially when I feel a bit down or whatever. I hate boredom!
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I think I need to work on my PC next, maybe boost the RAM, try to speed it up a bit. It's behaved fine the last few days after it wouldn't start last week.
