2.4 Ghz Black MacBook Review

I recently sold my faithful HP Pavilion dv4000us to my uncle who needed a cheap laptop. I own an HP desktop and I wanted the smallest possible laptop that isn't a technological beast... so yeah I overpaid for a MacBook because I love Apple's style, and I used to use Apple products back in the days of the Power PC processors made by Motorola. And if I can install Windows XP on this machine, then why not get something lightweight and stylish if I can somehow afford it? Well here's my impression of it:

Under the hood:
2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3 MB L2 Cache, 2 GB 667 Mhz DDR2, 250 GB 5400 RPM HDD.

The trackpad is awesome. I didn't realize why Apple had a "widescreen" trackpad, but it makes sense since I don't have to pick my finger up to scroll all the way from one side to the other. You can also use two fingers to scroll up/down and left/right in larger windows such as IE/Mozilla/Safari/etc. Yes, those are my drawers in the background. My boxers are peeking out. Oh well.

The MagSafe AC power connector - clips on magnetically so it won't sending your computer flying if someone trips over the cord! As you can see the light is green when fully charged and is yellow/orange when it is charging. It does kind of suck that the cable is white and not black, much like the headphones/USB cable for the black iPod.Unfortunately the screen is not a backlit LED screen, but it still is very bright, vivid, and crisp. Built-in microphone and iSight camera for video chats and pictures. When you take a picture using Photo Booth, the screen flashes white to create a flash for the camera. Pretty good idea if you ask me! The iSight camera is pretty good, but it seems they could've made it a little bit clearer, seeing that the computer costs $1,500!!

Connections:

2 USB, 1 FireWire 400 (6 PIN), Mini-DVI, headphone, microphone, and a notebook lock. One thing that really annoys me is that Apple made a mini-DVI port. Of course they probably said it helped add in another USB port (which they are usually scheisty on with all their computers) but in reality, if you want to connect this to a projector for a presentation, you will more than likely need the separately sold $19 mini-DVI to VGA (or to DVI) cable. Every university classroom I've been in with a laptop hook up for presentations is VGA.Right side view of MacBook - slot loading CD/DVD+/-RW sounds like it's devouring your disc when you slide it in the side.

It is somewhat difficult to rate the battery. I have spent a lot of time typing on the notebook and putting it to sleep or shutting it down, so it's difficult to rate the actual length of battery time since I don't really have 4 or 5 hours to sit down and just use a laptop straight for that long. I'd rather be playing Xbox...

Overall I'm very pleased and impressed with my purchase, although it is somewhat bullshit that the black color costs $200 more. A friend of mine has the white version with the same hardware and it cost her $200 less. It would be nice if the speakers were better, but at least I have bluetooth to listen to the music wirelessly with my S9s! One thing I really wish it had was a built-in media card reader. It's somewhat annoying to have to USB photos to it constantly.