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pete · May 16, 2006, 03:53 PM

I was just playing a little with the macbook at the NYC apple store. There was only one there and many people wanted to see it, so not that much time to really examine it. Just some quick impressions though:

- Excellen fit and finish - I picked it up, closed it and held it with one hand. It felt very sturdy and well put together. Being plastic there was no warping of the screen of course. I like the new latch much better than the macbook pro/powerbooks - it's just an indentation with no real latch - good resistance ensures that it doesn't just open by itself.

- Screen with glossy surface is EXCELLENT. Very good contrast and saturation with whites genuinely white - unlike the macbook pro which is frequently unevenly illuminated and whites tend to turn more brownish toward the top and sides. The macbook LCD doesn't have that great horizontal viewing angle but the vertical seemed significantly better than the macbook pro and the horizontal at least the equivalent if not a little better in terms of distortion. I liked the glossy but the regular one is probably much more practical in real use.

- HEAT. I don't know how long it had been on and what people had been doing with it so it's hard to say. What I do know is that it was NOT hot at all anywhere. It'll be interesting to see if it is indeed much better than the MBP in this regard. I suspect it will be. The stupid Apple employee responded to my question about heat that 'that's why they don't call them laptops anymore' I told him up front that that was BS and he told me that if I felt that way write Steve Jobs directly - which I've already done earlier.

- It was hard to hear if there was a wine, but I did put my head close to the keyboard and I didn't hear anything, but that could have just been because of all the noise in the store.

- KEYBOARD - I love it. Feels great, especially compared to the previous ibooks. The keys are different from a regular keyboard in that they're flat, which is something I'm sure a lot of people will not like. I like it though and I'm quite particular with keyboards.

All in all, it looks like a great machine and I'm ALMOST tempted to return my hot macbook pro and just get one of these. Of course, I'm going to wait to see what problem turn up on the macbook BEFORE I do that....

Eug Wanker · May 16, 2006, 03:55 PM

I really dislike glossy screens. REALLY dislike them. Way too much glare in certain environments.

However, it's not a deal killer, so I have ordered the MacBook anyway.

AssassyN · May 16, 2006, 03:57 PM

How in the world can the *screen*, the thing in which all your computing relies on you being able to see clearly and enjoy viewing, not be a deal-killer for someone who hates glossy screens?

That's just begging for buyer's remorse.

pete · May 16, 2006, 04:02 PM

I have to say that the glossy looks REALLY good, but I don;'t think I'd want it all the time because of the reflections.

Two other things: The Apple Store guy told me that the ram MUST be paired in these. You can't have a 1gb stick with a 512mb stick. He said it had to with the way the video uses regular ram. I'm not sure if he was right, but that's what he said.

The other thing is that it seemed like the screen could tilt back more, but I'm not 100% sure about this - just an impression.

Simon · May 16, 2006, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by AssassyN

That's just begging for buyer's remorse.

Agreed. If he dislikes the glossy screen so badly, he wouldn't be buying the MB. Of course, who can properly qualify a display they've only seen on apple.com?

Eug Wanker · May 16, 2006, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by AssassyN

How in the world can the *screen*, the thing in which all your computing relies on you being able to see clearly and enjoy viewing, not be a deal-killer for someone who hates glossy screens?

That's just begging for buyer's remorse.

The places I use it are OK for glossy screens. eg. On my couch with the lights dimmed, or in my office when the sun isn't shining directly on it.

However, it's terrible in other situations, like if I bring it to other offices, or meeting rooms or whatever. Fortunately, the vast majority of the time I use it at home or in my own office.

More of a deal killer for me would be the size of a 15". It's just too big for my tastes.

chrisutley · May 16, 2006, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by pete

The stupid Apple employee responded to my question about heat that 'that's why they don't call them laptops anymore' I told him up front that that was BS and he told me that if I felt that way write Steve Jobs directly - which I've already done earlier.

I encourage you to write Jobs with as much contact info about the store employee that instructed you to do so. Then sit back and laugh...

kcmac · May 16, 2006, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by pete

I have to say that the glossy looks REALLY good, but I don;'t think I'd want it all the time because of the reflections.

Two other things: The Apple Store guy told me that the ram MUST be paired in these. You can't have a 1gb stick with a 512mb stick. He said it had to with the way the video uses regular ram. I'm not sure if he was right, but that's what he said.

The other thing is that it seemed like the screen could tilt back more, but I'm not 100% sure about this - just an impression.

I think the paired sticks is correct. We just got back from the Plaza Store in Kansas City. They had 768mb in both the black and white model. They were both crashing and freezing. When you order from Apple, the options are memory in pairs only.

When they worked, they seem fast.

Great keyboard. Great look and proportion.

The glossy keyboard is a tricky one but everything is so much sharper.

My son is going to get one for college. Of course, he likes the black. The good thing is it has the bigger hard drive. We will upgrade to 2 sticks of 512mb and call it good. My 12 inch PB still suits me fine but dang it would be nice to get one of these.

PeterKG · May 16, 2006, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by pete

-

All in all, it looks like a great machine and I'm ALMOST tempted to return my hot macbook pro and just get one of these. Of course, I'm going to wait to see what problem turn up on the macbook BEFORE I do that....

Hi pete,

You really stump me. Do you actually think you would prefer a MB over the Pro? I can tell from your posts you are a nice guy, but you never seem like you will be satisfied. I have a feeling I will see here on these forums that you returned your MBP, and are now unhappy with your new MB. Just a guess.

Eug Wanker · May 16, 2006, 11:03 PM

You should be able to use unpaired RAM no problem. It's just slower, esp. for graphics.

However, for most usage you'd probably be better off with 1.5 GB of unpaired RAM than 1 GB of paired RAM.

kcmac · May 16, 2006, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

You should be able to use unpaired RAM no problem. It's just slower, esp. for graphics.

However, for most usage you'd probably be better off with 1.5 GB of unpaired RAM than 1 GB of paired RAM.

Eug. Is this game graphics or even things like Photoshop? My son is fairly heavy into the latter. The MacBook comes with 2 - 256mb sticks. If we replaced one with a 1 gig stick, would graphics still be acceptable or would 2 paired 512's be better?

pete · May 16, 2006, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by PeterKG

Hi pete,

You really stump me. Do you actually think you would prefer a MB over the Pro? I can tell from your posts you are a nice guy, but you never seem like you will be satisfied. I have a feeling I will see here on these forums that you returned your MBP, and are now unhappy with your new MB. Just a guess.

Ha ha ha. You know, you're right, I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the macbook. The truth is that , and you could check my history on these boards, I've been a VERY satisfied powerbook user until recently when quality has gone down the drain at Apple.

You know what would make me satisfied: my old powerbook with an intel processor so I could run my stupid speech recognition software. It's that simple: a powerful laptop with a great display and without the extreme heat. It's hardly my fault that Apple doesn't seem capable of producing consistently high quality laptops anymore...

It is what it is.

Eug Wanker · May 16, 2006, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by kcmac

Eug. Is this game graphics or even things like Photoshop? My son is fairly heavy into the latter. The MacBook comes with 2 - 256mb sticks. If we replaced one with a 1 gig stick, would graphics still be acceptable or would 2 paired 512's be better?

I was talking game graphics. For Photoshop it would make little difference.

BTW, it's usually cheaper to get 2x512 from Apple than it is 1x1024 from a third party. I ordered 2x512 from Apple.

Then again, if he does heavy duty photoshop stuff with lots of stuff open, he might want 2x1024, especially considering Photoshop runs under Rosetta.

PeterKG · May 17, 2006, 12:02 AM

Originally Posted by pete

Ha ha ha. You know, you're right, I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the macbook. The truth is that , and you could check my history on these boards, I've been a VERY satisfied powerbook user until recently when quality has gone down the drain at Apple.

You know what would make me satisfied: my old powerbook with an intel processor so I could run my stupid speech recognition software. It's that simple: a powerful laptop with a great display and without the extreme heat. It's hardly my fault that Apple doesn't seem capable of producing consistently high quality laptops anymore...

It is what it is.

Don't worry pete, I know what your saying. I went through the same struggle (mostly with poor quality Powerbooks). But what happens is we start to become obsessed with looking for problems, maybe where they are mnor (uneven backlight on a white background). Now that I have a perfect one, I'm occassionally still looking for flaws in hopes that I can talk about them! I hope you eventually get a perfect something!

Dark Helmet · May 17, 2006, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Then again, if he does heavy duty photoshop stuff with lots of stuff open, he might want 2x1024, especially considering Photoshop runs under Rosetta.

If you plan on using photoshop you definitely want to max it out at 2 gigs. Photoshop uses a TON of memory as it is emulated and that will be the case for a year.

Eug Wanker · May 17, 2006, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

If you plan on using photoshop you definitely want to max it out at 2 gigs. Photoshop uses a TON of memory as it is emulated and that will be the case for a year.

How much extra RAM does Photoshop take under Rosetta, compared to Photoshop on PowerPC?

onlykaria · May 17, 2006, 12:26 AM

OFF TOPIC!!! Seal the singer was at the apple store soho today. he bought the only black macbook they had in stock today. i saw him, he's really tall. it was funny how no one was paying him any mind all they wanted was to play w the macbook

kcmac · May 17, 2006, 12:29 AM

Eug and Dark Helmet. Thanks.

Found 1 gig sticks on Ramseeker for about $75 each. Lifetime guarantee. That's probably the ticket for us.

Hopefully, Photoshop performance will be okay with this much memory until the next version.

onlykaria · May 17, 2006, 12:31 AM

ok sorry back on topic, the glossy screen was not to my liking. nor did i like the look of the keys but ddid not get to type on them.

i was shocked to see how fast there things were selling. it was crazy!

Dark Helmet · May 17, 2006, 12:32 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

How much extra RAM does Photoshop take under Rosetta, compared to Photoshop on PowerPC?

Every rosetta apps takes DOUBLE the RAM it normally would. It is because Rosetta cashes information which makes it fast but RAM hungry.

kcmac · May 17, 2006, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by onlykaria

ok sorry back on topic, the glossy screen was not to my liking. nor did i like the look of the keys but ddid not get to type on them.

i was shocked to see how fast there things were selling. it was crazy!

The keyboard feels great. The keys on my 12 inch PB seem a little springier (new word?) whereas the MB keys seem a little more firm. It also looks like it would be easier to clean the keyboard area without all of the bevels which are dirt magnets on my PB. Another thing is the MB keys are flat, unlike the dimple in the PB keys.

We saw quite a few walk out the door here in KC as well.