tech ronin

MacBook Screen = My PowerBook 15

Whoa. I just noticed that my Powerbook 1.5 gig G4 has a screen resolution of 1280 x 854. MacBooks have 1280 x 800. Granted the pixels are smaller on the MacBook's smaller 13 inch screen. But the total resolution is about the same. Newer PowerBooks (since last September) increased screen resolution to 1440 x 900 which is the current resolution of the MacBook Pro.

By the way, the MacBook drives a second monitor up to 23" while the MacBook Pro will drive a 30" monitor.

Three more ways that the MacBook beats the MacBook Pro 15: (1) the mid-level and black MacBook DVD-R superdrive is a dual-layer drive while the MBP 15 DVD-R drive is single-layer, (2) battery life is 6 hrs. on the MacBook and 4.5 hrs. for the MBP and (3) the latch is magnetic so you can open your MacBook with one hand.

More MacBook Thoughts

Post 3 on the MacBook. I got lots of good stimulation and food for thought last night when I was hanging out at the Apple store. I was there hovering around and blogging from the black MacBooks they had running. And, beside me on all sides were other Mac enthusiasts who wanted to see the new machines.

We had a blast making assertions about how well the MacBook would do and whether it was worth an extra $150 for a black MB. Fans of the Mac in black were sure that Apple would sell way more black than white if there wasn't a surcharge for black.

One observer there predicted that we will see a 13" MacBook Pro by January at the latest. Logically, the 13" MBP would have a video card loaded with fast VRAM and would be powered by the, soon to be released, faster intel Core 2 Duo (previously code-named Merom) CPU.

What's going on right now is that Apple doesn't have the CPU to make the MacBook Pro a big notch faster than the MacBook, but they are likely to do so when Intel releases the Core 2 Duo. Our friend said he had an iBook now and was waiting for a MacBook Pro 13. He wanted the dedicated video processor.

For some of us, that's going to be the way to go. I'm hoping the updated MacBook Pros will look more like MacBooks and will be incorporate things like user-swappable hard drives like the MacBooks. Certainly the need for more hard drive space and upgradeability is greater for the *Pro* than the more casual Mac user.

MacBook Live from the Apple Store

OK. Black MacBook here. There seem to be lots of 2.0 ghz white MacBooks. The black ones look fantastic!!! Elegance is taken to a whole new level. I love the look of the keyboard and I'm still deciding if the feel is as good as the MBP and PB. I think it is. That looks like a win.

Black MBs are scarce here. There are two on display but none for sale right this minute in the Corte Madera store. I think Steve Jobs knew the black was going to be ultra-popular at the same price as the white. And he's trying to balance the books knowing that he may lose quite a few MacBook Pro sales to the high end MacBooks. He lets the price-sensitive save $150 and those who can afford a little more, pay the toll for black.

This is a VERY wide screen in person. You are getting a lot more width.

I didn't have my facts right on the weight in my last post. Apple lists the weight at 5.2 lbs. on their Tech Specs page. But I recall that I saw 5.5 lbs. somewhere else. By comparison, the 15 inch MacBook Pro is listed as 5.6 lbs. with battery and optical drive installed. You decide.

This bigger, thinner machine with lots of pixels is intended to be a full-on computer, even a desktop replacement. That gives me one more reason to believe we have a MacBook mini on the way.

This gorgeous and affordable guy is not as light as either the iBook or the Powerbook 12 inch. Too bad, but like I said before, if you need a computer and this is it, you want it this big. And if you need two or three computers, think about one of them being the rumored 3.3 lb. mini MacBook that's a gleam in Steve's eye right now.

Even though I like my Powerbook's PC card which I use to read SD cards, I'm thinking I could get along with some kind of USB dongle with just a tad bit of effort. Remind me again why I need a MacBook Pro?

MacBooks Compared to iBooks and PB12s

These babies are more than a quarter inch thinner than the old iBook. That's Powerbook thin! And they sport bright and glossy 1280 x 800 pixel screen real estate. If you can deal with glossy, which has pros and cons, you are good to go. You'll save a lot of bucks and a pound [correction: couple ounces] by choosing a MacBook over the 15” MacBook Pro.

The technology on the new MacBooks is state of the art. Better in some ways than the MacBook Pro which was not completely redesigned like the MacBook has been.

This is the two-edged sword some of us know well. You buys your shiny new technology and you gets state of the art tech plus your arrows in the back. The alternatives would be to (1) wait a few months for any unforeseen problems to be worked out and then buy the MacBook or (2) buy the old technology -- an iBook or Powerbook 12 at reduced prices.

There are three new models. The top-end model comes in black for an extra $150. Ouch. I want black but, come on, that's price gouging!

The bottom line model is $1099, a $100 more than before. Too bad to lose the sub-$1000 price point, but intel dual core CPUs cost a lot more than the old G4 CPUs. They are a lot faster when running natively which makes them about the same as the old PowerBooks overall (unless you only need universal applications like iLife). Eventually, when all is universal, you'll be really happy, but you might not be euphoric on day one, depending on your application mix. The Core Duo makes for a fast PC in the same box if you ever need to run a PC program or game.

So, where are we now? $100 more in debt. Here's what I would do. Buy the White mid-level MacBook as it comes standard and pay an extra $50 to get the 80 gig hard drive instead of the 60 gig just because that's a good deal for an extra 20 gigs of drive space. If you know you need more than 80 gigs, then don't pay the extra $50. Just buy a compatible bigger, faster drive (7200 rpm instead of 5400 rpm) and install it yourself or with the help of a friend comfortable with light-duty hardware tinkering. Hard drive installation is now much easier I hear. All those complaints of old-time Powerbook users finally gets a response.

My plan gets you out the door with a 80 gig, 2.0 ghz intel core duo MacBook for $1349. Of course, you'll need to add some more memory. I see OWC selling it for under $150 per gig. Dump the 256 mb sticks of RAM that come standard and start over with 1 gig sticks. Apple will tell you that other folks' RAM is sub par, but mostly it is guaranteed to work, so it pays to take the riskier third party memory route to save yourself more than $200. You'll be happy you have 2 gigs of RAM when you need to run any non-Universal applications like most of us will. Beginners, non-demanding or patient types can skate by buying the extra 512+512 stick combo direct form Apple for an extra $100. That is a good buy if it is all you need.

I like the future and if I had money burning a whole in my pocket, I would perhaps impulsively buy a MacBook. I'm a little scared to drop by the Apple store tonight because I know the kind of envy I'm gonna have afterwards. The price is good and, other than losing a card slot and an aluminum wrapper, you have a compact and lighter Intel-based MacBook Pro. Don't hold me to this, there could be a couple more little goodies you lose but this looks pretty darned nice to me.

Even with all the fuss over switching to Intel and Rosetta emulations, these MacBooks should fly off the shelves. The duress of the transition forces Apple to do their best and price accordingly. And, I still really want a black one. I bet a lot of fashion-conscious Powerbook users will bite since they are used to higher than iBook prices. Especially if they are looking to find a mate for their black iPods.

Technorati Tags: MacBook, Macintosh