After four weeks with the world’s most advanced computer, I can safely say I’m impressed, and have not, in several years, had such a delightful courting period with a computer. That’s not to say this review won’t uncover some of the machine’s flaws and just give it a 10/10 that wouldn’t be just. But it will undoubtedly be mostly positive, and I’d prefer to highlight the surprise features and standout benefits the machine has shown of itself more than just reviewing specs & comparisons with other machines (those are best left to Macworld and Ars Technica).
Better Late Than Never
All was not perfect initially, there were some hang-ups thanks to UPS’s less than stellar delivery service. In short, the package was missing my full address in their system (how), was put on wrong delivery vehicles, and ended up getting to my door late.
Consequently I wanted to relay the epic and stressful story to an Apple rep, and ended up speaking to a very kind woman by the name of Glenda who understood the frustration I went through, and offered me a very reasonable credit to help ease my pain (and financial loss due to downtime), which was above and beyond what I thought I might end up as an outcome in this situation.
Hot Diggity No More
One of the most surprising ‘features’ of the new MacBook Pros are the cool demeanorthey procure- I haven’t been able to drive surface or CPU temperature sanywhere nearwhat they once were on previous Intel-based Apple laptops. Even while multitasking (including encoding a 1.5GB video file), I barely and I mean barely managed to hear the fan running. Not only does the machine feel confidently solid in the hands, but it gives off “a sense of confident computing” by laughing at the idea of breaking a sweat to perform some pretty intensive tasks. Of course the 4GB ram upgrade I gave it probably helps with that.
Glassy Glossy Display
A lot has been made made of the new glass-covered, glossy displays on the MacBook Pro or rather, thelackof a matte alternative. For photo and web professionals who rely on color-accurate display work, the new glassy/glossy displays cause difficulties. That said, there are ways to use color palettes to offset the difficulties glossy displays present, and for someone like me, I simply have another computer which has a matte display that I do the color work on instead. Other than the possible color issues, the new displays are gorgeous. Coupled with the bright LED backlight, the display delivers rich colors clearly, while the glass does not suffer from tremendous glare problems as speculated.
Speedy Gonzales!
With a very respectable Intel Core 2Duo 2.4GHz processor, 1.07GHz front side bus & 4GB of RAM running at the same speed, it’s safe to say this baby flies. I’ve been happily running Safari, Mail, iCal, Photoshop CS3, Coda, CSSEdit, Transmit, iTunes, NetNewsWire, iChat, Twitterific, Address Book, Camino, & Yojimbo without pause or even a sense of difficulty…. oh! I almost forgot and I’m running VMWare Fusion with Windows XP (768MB of system ran, two processors for the VM), too!
WiFi Heaven
Though much of the computing world has yet to catch up, this machine now lets my household run our Airport Extreme in 802.11n-only mode, affording a good chunk of extra speed and bandwidth for the files flying around here. Previously Sara’s 1st-gen MacBook could only harness at best the power of an 802.11a connection, which crippled the Extreme’s true power. Now, all of our computers are n-capable and the noticable difference, (especially in the arena of Time Machine backups) is appreciable. Apple’s well ahead of the game in its wireless solutions, and we take full advantage of it.
Looks Aren’t Everything, But
…this laptop is hot! From the soft rounded curves to strikingly crisp edges, Apple took a page from their work with the MacBook Air and went even further in crafting these machines. I won’t lie- I didn’t have a MacBook Pro before because i thought they looked a lot cheaper than they cost. Definitely not so with these machines. Sturdy and pretty, a great industrial design combo for a computing device.
A Trackpad That Apparently Likes To Be Heard
Most that has been made of the new trackpad have to do with its lack of any buttons (or, to be more precise its one built-in ‘hidden’ button); its silky smooth glass surface; its multi-touch gestures; and its larger size.
These have been tallied as benefits to some, but for others, not so much. I’m overall very satisfied with the new ‘pad, save for one very annoying ‘feature’: it’s loud as hell.
Seriously, for the Rolls Royce of computing, this laptop’s “ker-plunk” sounding trackpad seems quite in-elegant. The tactile feeling of the click is sufficient for me. The soft, light clicking sound on the MacBook Air was far more desirable than this.
The Verdict
Some working professionals have griped about losing the matte display option, but they’re picking through gnat shit, if you ask me. Anyone getting one of these machines will be supremely satisfied, in my humble opinion. Take it from someone who uses computers day in and day out for a living it’s the best mistress you can buy.
