Wise Rhetoric

I’ve been a PC user and software developer for 20 years, first on DOS and then Windows. I’ve used UNIX and Linux a little bit and Mac OS even less. I’ve always disliked laptops but never owned one of my own until now, when the need to purchase one arose. I never would’ve considered a Mac if not for several things that swayed me: 1) At multiple Microsoft developer conferences, I was surprised to see numerous attendees using Macs. 2) I spent about 30 hours playing around with a very similar 13″ unibody MacBook a few months ago and was very impressed with both the hardware and OS X. 3) Apple switched to Intel CPUs, making it much more viable to run Windows on a Mac – whether it’s in a virtual machine or natively through Boot Camp. 4) Apple lowered their prices on the kind of machine I’m looking for: small enough to be good for travel, not aimed as a desktop replacement, but not as weak and cheap as a netbook.

Enough about me, let’s talk about the hardware. So far it’s lived up to my high expectations. Physically it feels very solid, looks great, and is just the right size. The display is clear, 1280×800 resolution is sufficient, viewing angle is ok, and reflections haven’t been a problem at all so far. I love how the screen appears to float with no discernible transition between it and the black border. The touchpad is amazing and was one of my main attractions to the machine – it’s big, you get pixel-perfect precision when scrolling with it using two fingers (this is NICE!), tap to click/drag works well, and right-clicking is easy. The keyboard feels good, though it’s a bit cumbersome to not have dedicated Insert/Delete/Home/End/PgUp/PgDown keys (a common laptop problem). The magnetic power connector with charge status LED is a nice touch. Gigabit Ethernet lets me transfer large files as fast as the hard drives can handle, while the wireless is convenient and reliable. Speaker quality is surprisingly good and loud (on OS X), and the audio was fine with no noise when plugging in a good pair of headphones. The 5400RPM hard drive can be a bit slow but OS X and Windows 7 make the most of it. I’ll upgrade it to an SSD later. Upgrading the RAM to 4GB was a piece of cake once I got my hands on a #00 Phillips-head screwdriver. The optical drive is loud and scary on disc insert/eject, but works fine. I’ve used the machine on battery a few times and the battery life seems incredible (6+ hours while using XP in a VM on OS X?) but I need to test this more to know for sure. I usually keep it plugged in.

The fan is silent at its default speed of 2000RPM, and the case stays cool at idle and during light use. Under load the case can get quite hot, but only near the screen/power connector. The system doesn’t seem to mind running hot, as it never seemed to raise the fan speeds on its own in my testing. So, I use Temperature Monitor and smcFanControl (third party apps for OS X) to cool it down a bit. At higher speeds the fan is not silent but is still pretty quiet and cools much better. I’m used to having to do this with PCs and graphics cards anyway.

Everything seems to work nicely so far on OS X, but I’m still new to it. Visually it’s pretty and stuff “just works” for the most part. Being able to use Terminal for certain things is nice. Running XP in a virtual machine using VirtualBox was VERY easy to set up and works well – just like running it on Windows. I have noticed a few problems using OS X so far: Keyboard shortcuts seem kind of inconsistent between apps. It wouldn’t remember one wireless network after having connected to another. The list of Windows machines on the network shows up in the Finder sidebar sometimes, but not other times (apparently a machine running XP has to be on the network?). These problems weren’t hard to overcome, though. I paid the $10 to get Snow Leopard and am looking forward to trying that soon.

I installed Windows 7 64-bit RC1 using Boot Camp and that went fairly smoothly. I had to download the NVIDIA 9400M drivers separately from NVIDIA’s web site. The biggest problems running Windows natively seem to be no manual fan control (have to do that in OS X and then reboot) and bad sound drivers. While sound appears to work fine at first, once you use the machine a bit more you realize that the drivers are broken. Apple switched to a new audio chipset (Cirrus CS4206A) and it works fine in OS X, but the Windows drivers (XP and Vista/Windows 7) have serious problems. The built-in mic works in Control Panel and Sound Recorder but not in any normal applications like Skype, the left/right speakers are too quiet and the left speaker is louder than the right one, and there’s red light coming out of the headphone jack. There are huge forum threads about this, no good workarounds, and apparently Apple needs to get it fixed. There are a few other minor annoyances in Windows compared to OS X: the trackpad scrolling works but isn’t as precise/smooth, and I can’t seem to fully turn off the keyboard backlight. Other than these things though, Windows 7 runs beautifully. It’s very fast, looks great with Aero Glass, idle temp is ok, sleep works perfectly, function keys work, wireless is rock solid. I could easily use it as the main OS and probably have a better overall experience than most Windows-based laptops out there.

For now I’ll run OS X as my main OS on this machine as much as possible, to get to know it and to get the best use of the hardware. But it’s great that it runs Windows so well too. I bought this machine in order to get high quality hardware plus the ability to run both OS X and Windows, and Apple seems to have delivered.

First of all, I want to say this is not a Mac vs. PC review. People can get a little crazy about their reviews and preferences, and I want to state that this is just that – a review. My decision to buy a Mac was a preference – there is not just one computer out there that is right for everyone. I also want to note that I upgraded to 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive.

Pros:
Absolutely amazing battery life (when I was trying to kill it for calibration, it lasted 5.5 hours – and it wasn’t calibrated yet!)
Very fast – takes less than a minute to turn on fully
Great size and weight – I don’t even notice the difference in the screen from my 15″ Acer, but I do notice the drastic weight difference!
Very, very well-made – when I first picked it up, it felt a tad heavier than I thought it would be for its size, but that’s just because it’s so solidly built. My old laptop had more flex.
Trackpad is great and easy to use
It does not get hot, unlike my old computer, which could melt chocolate and burn my legs. If I put it on a blanket, it gets a tiny bit warm (but not uncomfortable at all); if I put a magazine under it on my lap, then it stays as cool as if it weren’t running.
Super quiet – I can’t even tell it’s running half the time.
The speakers are great, especially considering there are no speakers visible on the computer! I think the sound might come up out of the keyboard.

“Cons”:
The trackpad does take some getting used to. Not because of the “lack” of a button (the trackpad is the buttong) or the multitouch gestures, but because it’s so BIG I keep accidently resting my palm on the side of it, which prevents the pointer from moving! However, I appreciate the big size and am quickly getting used to it.
No hibernate. However, you can get a widget from the Apple website for the dashboard called Deep Sleep that enables hibernate – I love it!
Can’t close the lid without putting the computer to sleep – however, this is probably a good thing to protect the computer from owners like me who would endanger their computer by moving it while the hard disk is spinning.

As you can see, all my cons are not really cons – just little differences that are easily fixed or adjusted to.

A lot of people are mad about the glossy screen, but I haven’t had a problem with it. Yes, there’s a bit of a glare, but it’s the same amount as on my TV. I can easily ignore it while watching video. I prefer it to my Acer’s old traditional, matte, screen, because this one I can easily clean. It’s just glass. It even comes with a cleaning cloth.
It also comes with a really cool charger. The magnetic connector is nice – I once tripped on the cord of my old computer and it went crashing to the floor! That won’t happen now. People have said the cord is too short, but the power brick comes with two attachments: a plug so you can plug the brick itself into the wall, and a cord that makes the adaptor reach farther. I like the choice, and with the extra cord, it’s the exact same length as my former adaptor.
Others have complained about the edge of the computer hurting their wrists; I have had no problem with this. Granted, I have yet to use it at a desk, which might create a different angle, but the edge hasn’t bothered me (and doesn’t even feel sharp). I do have small hands and wrists, so that might be why I’m not bothered.

Initial start-up takes but a few minutes, and after that, it takes less than a minute for the machine to be up and running. It is NOT hard to get used to a different operating system – if you just fiddle around for a few minutes, you can find out everything you need to know. If that is the only thing keeping you from buying a Mac, no worries. You can do it.

If you think you want this computer, you will not be sorry! I did not choose it for its looks but it is pretty – I’m almost afraid to use it, it’s so nice! If you are willing to sacrifice some battery life or size for price, then you can get a PC for less that will fit your needs. I was just not willing. Besides, with the recent drop in price, the student discount, the free iPod that I sold to defray the cost, and the free printer, this computer only ended up being about $100 more than the other PCs I was considering that only had 4 of the 5 things I wanted in a computer(13- or 14-inch display, under 5 pounds, fast processor, great battery life, well-made and durable).

I purchased the Unibody MacBook in October, and I sold it just to get the new MacBook Pro. I have to agree that the new 13″ MacBook Pro deserves the name “Pro” in it now. It has much better features, and this should have been the computer that the Unibody MacBook was back in October. Ever since Apple introduced the Unibody MacBook, many people complained about the loss of FireWire and the terrible screen quality. Fortunately, Apple responded to those complaints with the new 13″ MacBook Pro. The return of FireWire has made a lot of people happy, and the surprising addition of the SD Card slot made it even better. The quality of the screen is also a lot better. The screen displays much better colors, and it still carries the revolutionary LED backlit.

The pricing of the MacBook Pro line has also dropped significantly. The original 15″ Pro was starting at the price of $1999, but they dropped it by $300 making it $1699. The Unibody MacBook was asking for $1299, but they are now asking for $1199 with the addition of the new features. I am very pleased that they dropped the price, as it is very rare to hear Apple drop their prices. The new features make it much more affordable. The computer still looks identical to the previous October notebook revision. It still carries the sexy Unibody design, and the backlit keyboard is now standard on all models. I actually find the backlit keyboard very useful, even as a touch typist. The gorgeous glass multi-touch trackpad still pleases me with the features and the size.

After the rebranding of the Unibody MacBook, and the addition of the new features. Apple has really stepped up to the plate. They successfully tightened up the competition, as the new MacBook Pro line is now much more affordable and is priced very well. The new 13″ MacBook Pro does feel like a “Pro” computer, where the performance is hard to feel unsatisfied. The graphics are incredible. Even if you feel that the MacBook Pro line is still too much, Apple is also offering the classic MacBook line for a low price of $999. If you purchase this laptop now, you’ll be able to upgrade to Snow Leopard for only $10. With the gorgeous Unibody design, LED backlit display, and trackpad, $1199 is a price that cannot be beaten. Great job Apple!

There are lots of positives. First, the aluminum unibody design is both gorgeous and practical. The precision construction gives the whole unit a solid feel. Aluminum and glass won’t wear out like the plastic on many other laptops. The silver matte finish with black keys looks classy as well.

Fingers glide easily over the large, glass trackpad. The trackpad also operates as a mouse button — it takes a small amount of pressure to click it. Other trackpads I’ve used often register a click just putting my fingers down — the MacBook Pro’s trackpad gives physical feedback which reduces those mis-clicks.

Multiple-finger gestures make it a snap to navigate through documents and websites. Pressing with two fingers instead of one performs the equivalent of a right click. Swiping with 2 fingers scrolls the current window. Spreading fingers apart zooms in; pinching zooms out (similar to the iPhone). Swiping 4 fingers exposes the desktop or switches between applications. These gestures are intuitive and it is hard going back to the Windows laptop after getting used to their convenience (I am really hooked on the 2-finger scrolling).

The keyboard automatically lights up as the room light dims. This isn’t an essential feature (especially for touch typists), but is helpful for picking out the correct function keys after dark. It’s little touches like this that make the MacBook Pro a pleasure to use.

Apple put a lot of thought into the design of their power supply. It has a special connector that attaches magnetically to main body — so it connects easily and won’t cause your laptop to crash to the floor if you trip over it. The connector even has a light that shows it’s connected and charging (turning green when the battery reaches 100%). A little plastic clip on the cord helps manage its length. When traveling, the extension cord can be replaced with a retractable plug that goes directly into an outlet, so there’s even less to carry. The U.S. plug is included with the MacBook Pro, but you can order plugs for other countries.

The solid body, backlit keyboard and MagSafe power supply are nice design flourishes, but the important feature is the long battery life.

The built-in battery can last up to 7 hours between charges so you can get almost a full day of work out of it. The downside is that the battery cannot simply be swapped out when it gets low or reaches its end-of-life. Apple says their smart charging method allows up to 1000 recharges and batteries should last for up to 5 years. The inability to swap in a fresh battery could be an issue for people that take long intercontinental plane trips, although a HyperMac external battery can keep a 13″ MacBook Pro running up to 33 hours.

The MacBook Pro’s LED backlit display provides a wide color gamut (Apple says it is a 60% improvement over the MacBook). This is major plus for art and photography applications. A lot of people complain the glossy display is hard to use outdoors — I like its sharpness and mostly work under indoor lighting. However, I can see how this might annoy some users.

Apple has added a FireWire 800 port and support for up to 8GB of RAM. Currently, the cost of a full 8GB of memory is prohibitively expensive, but 4GB is quite reasonable. Eventually memory prices should drop and the MacBook Pro can be inexpensively upgraded to its full potential. The support for more RAM is a welcome feature as we enter the age of 64-bit operating systems. If you are using Photoshop, editing video or running Windows in the background, you might consider extra memory (the manual describes how to upgrade the memory yourself).

The MacBook Pro is a reasonable value for the money, but cheaper laptops are certainly available. I’ll leave it to others to argue the merits of one operating system over the other. Because the Macs are Intel-based, they can still be used to run Windows applications, either through Apple’s Boot Camp or virtual machine software such as Parallels or Fusion (or Sun’s free VirtualBox). The Mac operating system, OS X, is easy to use, so Windows users needn’t worry about switching.

The new Macs now ship with Snow Leopard, the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system. If the 13″ MacBook Pro you bought came with Leopard, you can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $9.95 via Apple’s up-to-date program (be sure to sign up within 90 days of purchase). Google “snow leopard up to date” for details.

What’s not to like? This MacBook Pro does not have an ExpressCard slot which limits its expandability. Apple is probably right that most users will be satisfied with the SD slot, but pro photographers might prefer to insert their compact flash card. 3D graphic designers might want to consider one of the higher end MacBook Pros that offer a separate graphics processor. Hard core gamers should probably invest in a PC. And it’s no deal-breaker, but a writable Blu-ray drive is still on my wish list. There are rumors that the MacBook Pros will be upgraded with faster processors in January 2010.

The aluminum body is durable — I have had mine for months now and it still look great. Naturally, nothing is totally scratch-proof and scratches on the anodized aluminum case cannot be simply buffed out. Scuff marks happen — true road warriors must learn to accept this as a fact of life. However if it’s a big concern, a Speck See Thru Case or InvisibleShield might offer some piece of mind. Personally, I prefer to just be careful and carry my MacBook Pro in a Tom Bihn Ristretto messenger bag (the STM Small Alley Messenger Bag looks like good alternative).

The 13″ model is perfect for someone wanting a full-featured laptop that’s easy to carry around. The MacBook Air is even more portable, but has less battery life and is not as expandable (plus the Pro’s built-in DVD is convenient). To work on a larger screen, plugging into a standalone display turns the laptop into a desktop machine. I can tell you, I would have loved to have a MacBook Pro when I had to march 20 minutes to campus for computer classes.

I want to break this into TWO reviews. One about Mac in general (specifically OS X) and one about THIS computer.

Mac in general:
I was raised in a PC household. Dad worked with old-school technology in the 70s and 80s, and was serious about PCs. As a Linux / UNIX admin (and former Windows server admin), I am just used to working on PC gear. Since I can generally figure it out or reinstall, it was never a problem. Then I met Mac. Gone are the days of rebooting and trying to fix driver conflicts. Gone are the days of vague error messages. I love the simplicity and the way OS X just… WORKS. Aside from Office, everything you need is included right in it. If I can make the switch from PC to Mac, so can you. And I’m not just spitting the propaganda that the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercial does. It really is that solid of a technology. I am a Mac, even though I’m paid to be a PC from 8-5.

And this product in particular:
I’ve used a 2005-era 20″ iMac at work, plus my wife has had a MacBook (plastic white) for a while. I, being the computer geek, kept buying random cheap PC laptops and netbooks, hoping to find a simple solution. Sadly, I was just wasting more time trying to install OS_X86 or make the software do what I wanted. I had a Ghost image of my PC laptop so that I could restore it every 6 months when the XP began slowing down. Buying this Mac was a luxury, but was much needed for my own sanity!!

On a side note, I love Apple’s ability to create products that solve problems, and their ability to charge almost a fair price for them. For example, the 500gb airport / backup is *almost* worth it to me, and will likely become worth it sometime soon. The same applied for this MacBook. I drooled for months at the unibody and waited for the new product line. I wholeheartedly believe that this exact model is the best laptop ever made. While it seems painful to pay a bit more than a PC laptop, look at what you’re getting. Comparable hardware in a PC laptop (I priced out a few Dell laptops with the same specs) and this one is really a good price.

I upgraded mine with Crucial’s 4gb RAM and stuck in a 500gb SATA drive. I can run 3 VM desktops (Fedora 11, Ubuntu, and Windows) simultaneously on VMware and… well, I see the performance issue, but I can still function. The battery is good too. While I’m getting more like… 5 hours of battery life, I’m also running the keyboard backlight and screen on bright all the time.

I love my new MacBook Pro 13. This thing is solid and light and absolutely beautiful. Fast, functional, and suits all my technology needs. Don’t underestimate iPhoto’s ability to sort photos by faces. I had an UNMANAGEABLE amount of photos… imported them in and POP! All done. Duplicates ignored, sorted by the embedded date, including videos. My iPhone photos (where I allowed the GPS to store data) show up on a map at the exact point where the photo was taken. Yeah, this is cool stuff. And face recognition works.. “pretty well”. It gets me and my toddler confused, but in all fairness, she looks a lot like me. I just wish it was a *bit* smarter, but it’s still a feature I’d miss if I didn’t have it.

This laptop is the last one you’ll ever need, at least for the next couple of years. I will not let mine out of my site. Buy one!!

I received this from Amazon within a week from ordering it for 200 dollars cheaper than I would have gotten it from the Apple store. I also received free shipping. When I got it, it was a beauty – from the way Apple packages to the actual laptop. It’s very simplistic – the laptop, the power cord and user guide.

The machine is really beautiful – like a work of art, but the real power is the machine and the OS. Setup was easy enough – it took me about an hour. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong wireless network during setup (it was late at night) and it took me while to resolve the issue. I restarted my wireless router, modem and laptop – after doing this for a while and entering and re-entering the WEP key it finally got online. When I finally did get it online, I was able to register with Apple and do all the software/OS updates.

I’ve used Windows my whole college and working life – this wasn’t too bad of a transition. I use shortcut keys heavily with Windows – I prefer minimizing the use of the mouse/track as much as possible. The shortcut keys are still taking some time for me to get used to, but I’m sure I’ll learn them eventually.

Boot up is fast! So is waking up from sleep! I still like Windows – and I was able to play with Windows 7 for a few days and was impressed. But I think the MacBook Pro and Snow Leopard will soon be my favorite.

I should mention that after a long resistance due to using Windows Mobile and Palm phones (both of which I enjoyed), I decided to try the iPhone 3G over a year ago – the iPhone was a great deciding factor in my decision to eventually getting a Mac. I never had buyers remorse getting the iPhone and I’m pretty sure I won’t have buyers remorse with the MacBook Pro.

I think the best way to justify getting a higher end notebook like a MacBook Pro is to think about how long you sit in front of the computer each day. Most of us rely on our notebooks a lot more than a few years ago, and so if you get this kind of mileage out of a computer, doesn’t it make sense to spend a couple hundred dollars more on it? We throw away money every day on useless junk, but a computer is such a necessity, doesn’t it make sense to get a high quality one?

Speaking of high quality, a MacBook isn’t just all hype and marketing. It’s mostly in the engineering, and it definitely is well thought-out and flawless. The aluminum unibody is amazing and sturdy, and you feel the quality on every edge and laser-etched surface. The precision is astounding. The keyboard is tough and elegant, and the little features and attention to detail are marvelous.

The screen is a huge selling point for this notebook. It is absolutely stunning and vibrant. Not owning other LED screen products, this one definitely got to me a bit more than usual, and it beats the heck out of LCD technology, far and away. Viewing angles are great and the color gamut lends itself to an awesome amount of depth in images that I previously had not seen with such realism.

THE best feature of the computer’s hardware is definitely the multi-touch trackpad. Never have I come even close to feeling that a touchpad was anywhere close to the ease and intuitiveness of a regular old mouse. However, Apple has truly done it here. In many ways, the trackpad is superior to most other pointer devices on the market, including mice. It’s so large that you can move around the screen in one swipe no matter where you start on the pad. The multi-touch is a feature that is so easy to use and so useful, you will want it on every computer you own and ever use. The ability to start expose is fantastic, and so handy that you won’t miss the Windows taskbar one bit. Also, the trackpad’s surface is so smooth with its brushed glass finish, it’s a joy to use.

Aside from all of the cool hardware features, the OS is fantastic as well. This is not a computer for gamers, and everyone knows that. The most I would play on this would be simpler games and RTS games. If you’re a fan of graphics-heavy shooters, then you should be looking into easily upgradeable desktops or larger notebooks anyway, not a tiny 13.3″ computer of any kind. If you’re a moderate gamer but otherwise a user who wants lots of productivity tools, seamless multitasking, and apps that just work, this is a great solution to your woes.

I use lots of the packaged software that OSX has, like iMovie and especially Garage Band. I couldn’t believe that such a powerful program would come pre-packaged with my Mac, but it totally blew me away. I record my electric guitar straight through the computer, with so many software loops, and not to mention with tons of apps loaded in the background. The interfaces are incredibly easy to learn to use, and the entire OS is just fun.

All in all, I don’t understand all the complaints about the price premiums. If you can’t afford a Mac, it’s not even part of your discussion, so it’s a moot point to argue against it anyway. If you can, it’s worth checking out because of the quality of the product you get. Ultimately, $300-400 of a price difference isn’t a whole lot when you think about how much computers are integrated into our lives. For such an incredible machine, it’s worth that price premium, because in the long run, it’s just a few cents a day that you’re spending in order to avoid headaches with system issues, slowdowns, and time spent just stressing over why your computer isn’t doing what it’s supposed to.

Tired of doing the computer exchange game? Searching for a good computer? Check out the Mac!

My wife and I have been Windows Pc users for many years, we have never tried the Mac systems before. We went to Best Buy to check the Mac systems out. Wow we were amazed. An Apple Sales Representative was showing us the systems.

We went home, did some more research on the web on Mac systems, read a lot of reviews and decided to purchase the Mac.

Went back to Best Buy, a sales lady came up to us (had a Geek Squad shirt on) she knew nothing about Mac computers! She went to get some numbers, came back with a list of prices. The New iMac 20″ and warranty, plus many others! Totaling between $1600 and $1800. She said that they need to do some tweaking on the system for better performance (which was downloading updates) she said it would take 4 hours to do and it would take longer for you to do them at home, (took 30 minutes for all at home). Also installing the Snow Leopard OS and iWorks. She made it sound like the normal PC user could not do these things at home. Well needless to say, we turned around and walked out without a Mac! We was questioning our ability to work a Mac???

Did some more looking at the Apple website and watching the tutorial videos. We couldn’t see how the Mac would be so much harder to work with. So decided to go ahead and purchase the MacBook Pro. We wanted to test it before purchasing the iMac for my wife.

We decided we were not purchasing our Macs from Best Buy! We found the MacBook Pro 13.3″ 2.53 GHz. on the Amazon website for a good price, so purchased it with the Apple Care Protections plan. Price and shipping was good!

I am a truck driver and I use a notebook while away from home. Purchased the MacBook Pro to replace an HP Notebook. So glad I did! The MacBook Pro is lightweight, LED Screen is amazing, viewing is great! Great colors and picture! The sound quality, wow! (The Hp had a premium sound upgrade, the volume and sound quality was no comparison to the MacBook Pro.) Set up was a breeze and software updates went quick (lol). The Mac system is easy to learn and easy to use. We love the MacBook Pro so well that we purchased the 21.5″ iMac for my wife, and she is so satisfied with it, she loves it!

I recently bought the new MB Pro 13 inch. Having used the White MB (Late 2007 release) in the past, the differences between the two in terms of quality are immense.

The White MB I owned was a poor quality product, the polycarbonate body was prone to cracking, it suffered random hardware failures for no reason and the screen on it was horrible – pathetic viewing angles and color reproduction.

On the other hand, the MB PRo feels like a high quality product (externally) The Unibody construction process has resulted in a computer that feels built to last. These are the features that make it a compelling purchase.

The LCD screen. It is glossy and that can be a problem in some environments but if you use your notebook regularly instead of connecting it to a external monitor, it really is a very good screen. The MB Pro screen has a 60% greater color gamut and it beats the MB screen easily in terms of black levels, color depth and accuracy. It’s great for watching movies or viewing and editing photos.

But I have to add that it may not be for everybody. Online reports on Apple’s MB Pro support forums have indicated that the new LED screen causes tremendous eye strain and headaches for some people. A few users have said that they cannot use the computer for more than an hour at a time because of the eye strain and headaches.

These are individual cases but the possibility does exist that the screen may not suit you and cause eye strain and other health issues. At the same time, you may not face any of these issues. My advice would be to use the MB Pro as a notebook extensively within the fourteen day return window and if you face any of these issues, do not hesitate to return the product. If you do not face any of these issues, then please enjoy using your MB Pro.

The glass trackpad is a pleasure to use for navigation due to it’s design. Unlike the old MB Pro trackpads, this is a single large glass trackpad with no visible buttons – the whole trackpad can be used as a button once it’s configured in System preferences. Scrolling, clicking and dragging all happen effortlessly once you’re used to it and, once you’re used to it, it will be hard to go back to using regular or smaller sized trackpads on other notebooks.

Firewire 800 is another addition – for media professionals who need a better and faster way to transfer data than USB 2.0

Bluetooth 2.1 – easy to transfer your phone data to the macbook by using bluetooth.

SD Card slot – finally Apple realizes that consumers may want a convenient way to download their photos or videos without using an external card reader. An SD card slot is built in – tough luck for Pro’s who uses other card formats or who need an express card slot but something is better than nothing.

Backlit keyboard wth chiclet keys – good for typing in dark rooms and comfortable to use for long periods of time.

Built in battery – 7 hours of power as advertised by Apple, your mileage may vary but it allows you to be mobile for 5 to 6 hours. It’s an Inbuilt battery so once it’s exhausted, it’s back to the Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for replacement. However, Apple states that the battery will hold 80% of it’s charge for up to a 1000 charges which means approximately 3 to 4 years of daily use. So it should be a while before you have to go in for that battery replacement.

A few things to take into account before you make your decision –

Whatever you do, please buy the Applecare.Protection.Plan AppleCare Protection Plan – For Portable Apple Computers 13.3 Inches and Below. Unfortunately what most customers don’t know before they buy their first Apple computer is that if you don’t have Applecare and a product malfunction occurs after the first year, the repair / replacement charges are much higher than other PC makers in most cases.

Apple’s products are as prone to failure as any other PC because Apple sources components from manufacturers just like every other PC maker. But If something goes wrong with a Mac, and you don’t have the A.P.P, you’ll be paying exorbitant fees for getting the hardware repaired. Keep in mind, the A.P.P. only covers hardware failure – not accidental damage so it’s still expensive for what you get but it’s better than paying Apple’s prices for repair/replacement parts.

You will also NEED to upgrade your ram from 2 gb to 4gb if you plan to do any image processing or video editing.
With the standard 2gb of ram, my machine starts to stutter the moment I try to open up a large image file and listen to music simultaneously. That’s being cheap on Apple’s part, considering a customer has just bought a computer for $1200 and it has only 2 gb of ram. This is not a netbook, its supposedly a “PRO” notebook. For the ram, that will be another 80 to 100 dollars.Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2)

If you’re a datajunkie, the 160 gb that Apple includes with the MB Pro is woefully inadequate so factor in another 80 to 120 dollars based on the hard drive you may buy to replace the stock drive with

The MB Pro has a mini display port, you’ll have to buy a MiniDP to VGA convertor or MiniDP to DVI convertor if you ever feel like connecting your MB Pro to a larger monitor – since Apple is nice enough not to include it with the machine it will cost you $30 more IF you buy it from Apple. Here’s a cheaper option – Mini DisplayPort to DVI Female Adapter Cable for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro, iMac, Macbook Air, Mac Mini Laptop

Your total cost would actually be $1200 + $200 A.P.P + $80 RAM = 1480 dollars + applicable taxes. I’m counting the ram as a mandatory upgrade if you want to avoid a sluggish user experience.

Taking all of that into account, the machine is still good for me – well built, fairly capable and it works well. It could have been great if Apple stopped diluting a supposedly premium product experience by being cheap and skimping on the ram and hard drive capacity. However, if you are buying a 13 inch MB Pro I recommend buying the standard 13 inch MB Pro instead of the high end MB Pro 13 inch and upgrding the hard drive and ram yourself. (Instructions are in the manual and you’ll need a Philips #00 screwdriver. Videos are also available online showing you how to.)

It works out to a much better deal. I wouldn’t recommend the regular polycarbonate Macbook based on my experience with it.

Rumor Alert – In January or February 2010, Apple probably will be updating the MB Pro’s with Intel’s newest processors (the Arrendale series) If you can wait till then, you should. But if you do need a MB Pro right now, buy the standard 13 inch model.

I planned on buying a new Imac, and took my wife in to help me decide between the 21.5 or 27 inch screen. Instead, my wife fell in love with the MacBook Pro.

Latest model with SD card, firewire. I purchased this refurbished off the Apple site, and am using the savings to buy Applecare protection from Amazon. Amazon’s price is great.

As a longtime and reasonably proficient Dell user, I am stunned by the quality of the Apple. My refurbished Dell is almost 5 years old, but I have suffered plenty. Ignore reviews about long learning curves on Apples. Simple to use. I had never used a wireless connection, but the Apple immediately walked me through the connection to my Linksys router. Worked immediately. My wife can now surf from the kitchen table – her big wish. I did have a few questions. I sent Apple a support request, and they immediately called me on my phone. Sixty second wait on the callback. Person was clearly a US type-with perfect English. A wonderful treat.

I had a few other minor questions, and we drove 45 miles to the nearest Apple store. What a treat. A tech person immediately showed us how to do a few things, like enlarging the print. I then realized that since Apple designs both the hardware and software, all questions are handled in one call – or visit. No jumping between hardware and software providers. If any problems do arise, I can drive down to the Apple store, and they will fix it while I wait, or send it away for me. As I said, I am buying the Appleware Protection plan, because it also provides 3 years of phone/store support.

Another treat-I tunes. I never expected to use it. As I said, I’m retired, and never could understand why I Pods were so popular. I do now. I have downloaded 20 of my favorite songs, exactly the songs I wanted, many hard to find. Even one great Robert Palmer video song, Simply Irresistible, for $ 1.29. I don’t use my computer with productivity software, but I’m sure having a blast. Love the built in mouse. But-when I got started, I used a regular mouse for a few days, while becoming familiar with the computer. My inexpensive Logitech wireless mouse worked perfectly.