Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

seaofcrap · Jul 22, 2006, 10:04 AM

this is my first laptop AND my first apple product (aside from the iPod).

observations:

-the OS is incredibly aesthetically pleasing to the eye
-glossy screen does not bother me one bit, even though i see reflections sometimes
-the keyboard is an interesting feature, it feels great to the touch and the click sound is very satisfying. however, stuff can get below the keyboards easily. i have a piece of hair under the D key which i cannot take out.
-i have not noticed any stains, yet
-the laptop does indeed get hot. it starts from the upper left corner and slowly spreads all over as time goes on. i would only use this macbook on a table - never on my lap. how do you know when hot is too hot? i'm waiting for the macbook to explode so i'd know.
-laptop is truly 'out of the box'. within seconds the laptop recognized a wireless signal from a neighborhood house (and thus i'm online right now...). sadly, this wireless connection is even faster than my dial up. (i am so behind...)
-i really appreciate the dashboard feature
-safari is much better than ie, but is it known as a 'safe' browser? i used to use firefox because its supposed to be more 'stable' - should i bother downloading firefox? safari seems fine to me
-iTunes works A LOT BETTER on a mac than a pc
-when i insert a cd to import music from, the laptop tends to make frighteningly large noises
-when the AC adapter is connected, the screen becomes noticeably brighter and a distinct 'whine' is heard from the area where the cord connects, as well as from the AC adapter itself. should i call apple and have this AC adapter replaced?
-the base model with the lowest possible RAM is fine for me, as i only use the internet. no photoshop, etc etc. i might upgrade, though just for kicks because it appears very simple
-i ordered a foofbag because of its fashionable characteristics (and since i plan to put the macbook in a back pack)
-when i open the Macintosh HD, it says I have approx. 30 gb available........ how come only 30gb? i did not really save anything
-on PC's there's a way to 'reformat' the computer using a cd provided... can i do that with the macbook as well?

that is all for now. these boards really do make me nervous, with all the reports of problems.

Ouhei · Jul 22, 2006, 10:37 AM

You can use some compressed air to get that hair out.

There is a bunch of extra stuff on the HD out of the box, the demo's for office and keynote (and the other program in that suite that eludes me at the moment) take up a bit of space.

I've managed to get all the programs I need/want and import all of my music/images/documents and have 29gigs left on the HD.

Heebs · Jul 22, 2006, 10:37 AM

You only have ~30 gigs because they used a bunch of memory to install the OS, all the programs that are on it etc. The base model comes with 40 and then subtract memory for cds and programs.

Get the power cord looked at, mine doesnt hiss or whine.

The Macbook isnt that hot, I use mine on my lap with no problem.

I wish they had a "sealed" keyboard, I dont like crap getting under my keys.

I would hope that the wireless is faster than your dialup... dialup is so... 1995

.

Safari works fine for me. Its fast and stable. I use FireFox on my PC.

jaydon34 · Jul 22, 2006, 11:00 AM

My ac adapter makes noise and my Macbook is also extremely hot . But what the hell the speed makes up for the problems until I can trade up to an Pro

brokenjago · Jul 23, 2006, 05:45 AM

Originally Posted by Heebs

The base model comes with 40 and then subtract memory for cds and programs.

The base model comes with a 60 GB HD.

Simon · Jul 23, 2006, 08:01 AM

seaofcrap, you can boot the MB from the included DVD (insert DVD, restart, press and hold c to boot from the dvd).

You can then format the HD, partition it, etc. (check for "Disk Utility" in the installer's menu). You can also re-install the entire OS from scratch and chose to skip a lot of crap that'll fill your disk even though you don't want the stuff. When you're just about to select 'install' to install a fresh OS X onto the partition you'll see a button on the bottom left hand side labeled 'Customize'. Hit that button. You can then deselect all the extra languages, printers, demos, apps, etc. that you don't want installed. You'll save a lot of GB just like that.

For that reason I re-install OS X onto every Mac I buy. Apple can't know what I want and which languages I need. So they install it all, but that's just a waste of space for me. Installing OS X is simple and done quickly. Good luck.

seaofcrap · Jul 23, 2006, 08:13 AM

Simon, thanks for the tip! I can see that will save a lot of disk space. When I bought the 60gb, I didn't realize that all the 'extra stuff' would take so much space that only approximately 38gb would be left. My music collection is quite large so I'd like as much space as possible.

Problem: my trackpad (is that what they call it?) is becoming squishy and unresponsive except for a certain location near the center. I am not sure how to combat this little detail - I tried a solution offered on the Mac Support forums and it did not work. I got this MacBook thru a reseller in NY online, so I'm wary of just going to a Genius Bar. What should I do?

Hi I'm Ben · Jul 23, 2006, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by seaofcrap

Problem: my trackpad (is that what they call it?) is becoming squishy and unresponsive except for a certain location near the center. I am not sure how to combat this little detail - I tried a solution offered on the Mac Support forums and it did not work. I got this MacBook thru a reseller in NY online, so I'm wary of just going to a Genius Bar. What should I do?

Maybe Check out SideTrack It's not meant to fix your problem if your trackpad is truly defective but it will change the way you use the trackpad which may be the problem.

seaofcrap · 12:53 PM

thanks for the link.

but it was the trackpad clicker problem. i've "solved" it by lodging a small folded piece of paper under the battery. it isn't as squishy as before and i'm satisfied! i'm just annoyed that i have to do such a thing in the first place...

QUESTION: when i take the AC plug off my macbook, the brightness of the screen decreases. i can increase the brightness, though. how can i keep the brightness the same? i tried playing around with the 'energy saver' settings with no avail.

jaydon34 · Jul 23, 2006, 03:27 PM

The screen dims to preserve battery and the brightest setting can only be used with the AC adapter to my knowledge.

imitchellg5 · Jul 23, 2006, 03:59 PM

You can turn it up using the keyboard buttons.

pat++ · Jul 23, 2006, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by seaofcrap

QUESTION: when i take the AC plug off my macbook, the brightness of the screen decreases. i can increase the brightness, though. how can i keep the brightness the same? i tried playing around with the 'energy saver' settings with no avail.

In Energy Saver preferences, select Settings for Battery, Custom, and deselect the option "Reduce brightness of built-in display when using this power source".

fox-orian · Jul 23, 2006, 10:26 PM

Distinct whine, eh? Hmm.. I've never heard mine do that, but no laptop is made exactly equal...

I swear, apple makes itunes run slower on PC on purpose, hahaha -- it has no reason to run slow on windows. *shrug*

I Love the noises the DVD drive makes hahaha, its like WHRRRN- NYYRREARHHHGGG, like its a small child trying to lift up a large weight

And yeah! I'm an artist, and I really welcome this glossy screen. Apple did it good. Most glossy screens I encounter on PC laptops blow colors. But all of the colors are solid and on-the-spot on the macbook. Honestly, I don't really like matte screens anymore. I don't like the small grainy-ness the coating creates, it makes colors less solid and a little more dull... I want punchy. Glare has never been a problem, just like you say. I dont see what people complain about... *shrug*

R0CK3TM4NN · Jul 24, 2006, 10:05 AM

Keyboard is a big plus. My Macbook is my first laptop (and my first mac) and this was a concern for me before buying. Love the tactile feel. My power adapter makes a slight buzzing sound when its plugged in but you have to try and listen for it to notice it. Love OS X so far. Its the perfect laptop operating system.

Only issue I'm having is when I close the lid, it sometimes doesn't go to sleep, or when I open the lid back up, it doesn't completely wake back up. The screen comes on and I see a mouse cursor, but the login prompt doesn't come up and I can't do anything but move my mouse around on a blank screen. This happens more often when I take my laptop off of the AC power while its still sleeping, and then try to wake it up again. Although this does seem to occur regardless of if its on battery or AC.

hldan · Jul 24, 2006, 11:50 AM

[QUOTE=fox-orian]Distinct whine, eh? Hmm.. I've never heard mine do that, but no laptop is made exactly equal...

I swear, apple makes itunes run slower on PC on purpose, hahaha -- it has no reason to run slow on windows. *shrug*

IQUOTE]

I don't want to change the theme of this thread but Don't Even Go There about Apple purposely making iTunes run slower on a PC. With the exception of Office (only because it's not free) Microsoft has always made apps on the Mac run crappy and the Mac versions weren't even as good as they were on the Windows side.
There's no reason for any apps to run or be made inferior the Mac. Every other developer makes fantastic Mac software and in many cases it's better than the Windows versions.

Microsoft does that to make you want to buy a PC just as Apple makes iTunes the way it does so you will buy more MacBooks.
One thing to remember, iTunes was designed and made for the Mac more than 6 years ago back in the OS9 days, do you really expect Apple to make the PC version run the same?

seaofcrap · Jul 26, 2006, 01:35 AM

Yes, EVERYTHING looks better with the MacBook's glossy screen. I used my desktop earlier and my appreciation for the glossy screen doubled.

as regards to the whine - when i scroll down or up the whine temporarily stops, but then starts up again. the whine also stops when i have photobooth running. odd, eh?

Gavin · Jul 26, 2006, 03:00 AM

Get the whine checked out. Take it into an apple store and have the guy listen to it. A bad power supply or conector could fry the whole box.

It may be nothing but it's better to get dealt with before your whole life is on the laptop.

Simon · Jul 26, 2006, 03:10 AM

Gavin, I agree with your statement.

But let me add to the part about 'your whole life being on the laptop'. This is why everybody should have a current and working backup. Even a perfect MBP or MB can lose stored data. HDDs for example do go south. It's not very common and it's just bad luck, but it happens. When it does, the only thing that will help is a good up-to-date backup. AppleCare or not, a good backup strategy should always be the first step.

IntelMac101 · Jul 26, 2006, 03:18 AM

Only issue I'm having is when I close the lid, it sometimes doesn't go to sleep, or when I open the lid back up, it doesn't completely wake back up.

try opening it and reclosing the lid i had the same problem with my iBook to wake it up hit the enter Key it was that simple for me

Dillon-K · Jul 26, 2006, 04:04 AM

Originally Posted by IntelMac101

try opening it and reclosing the lid i had the same problem with my iBook to wake it up hit the enter Key it was that simple for me

Your posts would make a lot more sense if you used punctuation... just a little period at the end of the sentence, that's all we ask!