Hands On With Apple's New MacBook...With Windows!

With two O/s on the machine, is there enough space to install programmes as well? How big's the hard drive, and how much RAM does the machine have? Tech data please, apart from the screen size....

He says it right in the there

"And it does pack a lot of stuff: that glossy, bright display, a 2.0-GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive with shock protection, a (single-layer) DVD burner, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, FireWire, a built-in iSight Webcam, and a remote that lets you sit back and use the Front Row media software. About the only thing that seems like a signficant cost-saving measure is the use of integrated graphics rather than a discrete adapter; so far, though, the MacBook seems snappy in both OS X and Windows, without the lag time that integrated graphics sometimes inflict."

My god Tony, did you even read the article? All the tech specs are in the 6th paragraph, as well as all over the home page of apple.com

Should have plenty of room for normal users:

"And it does pack a lot of stuff: that glossy, bright display, a 2.0-GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive with shock protection, a (single-layer) DVD burner, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, FireWire, a built-in iSight Webcam, and a remote that lets you sit back and use the Front Row media software."

You can upgrade to a 100GB or 120GB if you feel the need.

My question, how do you right click? I was really thinking about buying one of these, but the integrated grahpics and the lack of two mouse buttons is a real turnoff.

you can rightclick by holding two fingers on the trackpad while clicking!

The trackpad allows you to do that with two fingers. One can be used for a right "click"

Look it up on Apple's site.

And read about what he said about the IG performance vs most PCX IG.

When you click while you?ve got two fingers on the MacBook?s trackpad, the button becomes a control-click/right-click button. (This is an option; you can turn it on or off in the Trackpad tab of the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane.) It?s not quite a two-button mouse, but it sure beats reaching for the control key when you want to see a contextual menu.

Jeremy,

Mac's right clic by holding down the Control key whle using the single mouse button.

I'll be honest: as a Mac guy, I'm actually a bit flustered at the lack of outrage toward Apple on this one. This absolutely confirms the worst criticisms of Apple and its customers by the PC world.

At the risk of alienating all iBook owners, anyone who buys a white laptop is just not thinking. It takes all of 30 seconds for the wrist rest/keyboard to become yellow and/or gray, even with the best hygenic and cleaning practices. I've never seen anyone make the mistake of buying a 2nd white iBook once they see what a pain in the arse it is, and how quickly it stops looking "cool"and starts looking "nasty".

Apple knows this. The fact that this is their solution is absolutely a slap in the face to its customers. To have a white Macbook that no customer would be happy with after they realize it won't stay white, and then charge basically a $150 premium for black (WHICH IS A NORMAL COLOR FOR A LAPTOP -- BLACK LAPTOPS ARE NOTHING SPECIAL!!!!!) is asinine -- there should not even be a white Macbook AT ALL. Had they simply gone with a $1499 black macbook, I wouldn't be upset. I'm miffed because there is a $1299 white machine with identical specs except for a slightly smaller hard drive -- basically a $155 premium for a DIFFERENT-COLORED PLASTIC. This decision to offer a poorly-designed product, then charging a premium for a correctly-designed one, is one of the biggest head-scratchers I've seen from Apple.

I, and many others, hopefully, will never buy a white laptop, and won't buy the black unless (until?) the market forces Apple to stop this kind of nonsense. Apple is hoping to screw over its more stupidly loyal customers. It makes me sad, because I have a 12" Powerbook and have loved it.

or plug in any 3-button pc mouse and use the rightside button

That's not fair -- that hassle you're dealing with is on AOL's part -- sure, it may be unique to Windows due to the fact that specific issue may reside only on Windows (not sure), but they could have at least put that third "Cancel" button on there, in case the user just doesn't care and actually DOESN'T want to do what AOL wants to do.

Jeremy,

Macs have had two button mice for as long as I have used them (over 10 years). I had a 5 button fully functioning five button Microsoft intelipoint until it gave out last year.

Take any Windows mouse, and plug it into a Mac and, TADA! it works.

By the way, EVERYTHING is right clickable in OS X, even more so then windows, with many more useful options.

Sadly, this is one of the most rampant and annoying Mac-myths out there..

I just don't really get all the hype about bootcamp. I thought the reason you want a Mac is because it is better than a Windows PC...ease of use, less viruses, nicer looking...etc, etc....The only reason you would need to switch from Windows to Macs or vice versa is that there is some special app that say only is available on Windows but not on Macs...In that I would rather use some Virtual PC. Unless you want to reboot all the time just to use one specific app. Can someone explain this to me?

I don't doubt that Boot Camp is useful for some people the fact that the first thing you've done is to install XP on your new macbook is just insane.
And then to write almost an entire review about windows xp?
pointless?

Okay I get it. This is for those who want to show off to their snotty rich friend their beautiful new Shinny Mac.....and when their snotty rich friends leave then they could boot up to Windows....because they have no freaking clue on how to use a Mac..... :)

Mike: My roommate has had a white iBook for years and it still looks white.

Maybe you should consider washing your hands more often.

According to CocunutBattery, I've had my white iBook G4 (800Mhz) for 30 months. It hasn't changed from looking '"Cool"' to '"nasty'". Left of the mouse pad, there's a patch a couple of shades darker than white, but it isn't easy to see and is far from annoying. There is no further discolouration.

I don't see Apple seeling a black laptop as being a 'solition' to the problems that you say occur, I think it's a response to the popularity of the black iPods.

I realise that that price difference is simply a premium and I see why that annoys people. However neither of the laptops is a poorly designed product. If I accepted your criticisms of the white iBooks, then at worst I'd describe the iBook as a very well designed laptop in an unfortunate choice of colour.

I really feel your outrage is disproportinate to the situation, though I'm sure if I had bought a 12" PowerBook instead of 12" iBook I would probably not want to leave my metal finish in order to upgrade my laptop to a similarly sized Intel.

There doesn't seem to be much talk about the weight problem- at 4.6 pounds the powerbook (which I have and love) is already a little on the heavy side for a frequent traveller, but the new macbook is both bigger and heavier- 5.2 pounds.
I know many people, including myself, that were hoping for a smaller, lighter laptop. as it stands I think I will keep carrying my powerbook..

I was working for an engineering company until recently that used the mac exclusively. Because most engineering software is written for the Windows OS we were using the VPC. This was extremly slow. The boss wanted to use the mac only. All of us found this policy counterproductive. Now apple releases a computer that does both OSs and now he allows Windows in the office. This shows how the mac hype has gone to extremes. Even now this $1500.00 laptop in this article is under powered compared to what you can get from dell or hp for the same money. If not for the music business apple would be still in the RED.

Mike, wash your friggin' hands for Pete's sake! And get some cleaner friends.

thanks for the econ lesson

George Hobart read the article again carefully and look at the "same speced" PC notebooks.. why dont people read things carefully.

the black macbook looks sooo.... well... windowsish laptopish?

I mean sure its a neat little design, but the plastics dont have the usual glossy look of apple (correct me if im wrong, that pic above doesnt do much justice)...

that said, im sure its a marvelous machine, i'm typing this from a 15" macbook pro, and its devine.

I've had an iBook for about a year now. No discoloration or nastiness to speak of. And yes, I woudl buy another one.

Actually, come to think of it... I can't quite seem to remember the last time Apple was ever in the red... certainly not since Steve Jobs' return to the company - and definitely long before the iPod was released.

I have an iMac, and at this moment don't really need a laptop.

I have to agree with some of the comments here about the colour black. To me, the new MacBook just looks wrong. Maybe it will look better in the flesh, I don't know. Black laptop running windows - looks too much like what I am trying to get away from. Is it just me, or does everone else hate that hillside background that so many windows folk use? There are much nicer ones in XP.

Car manufacturers have always charged a premium for non-normal colours (and some include non-metallic black on their charge list)

This artcle mentions the use of matt black. I thought these were supposed to be ultra-shiny piano black. Did I miss something?

If I was buying I would get the middle priced on (in White!)

Please forgive my ignorance on this matter but shortly after buying my iBook G4 I departed for work in Iraq before learning the mannerisms of my new Apple. Eighteen months later I took another job in Afghanistan, where I have been for five months. So much for the excuse. My question is: The company PC that I work on has my signature at the bottom of all my company hotmail emails. When I go to my room and access my email on my iBook I notice that my signature is hieroglyphics. When I send an email to a friend using the hotmail account my friend tells me that a lot of the text is full of hieroglyphics. How do I fix this?

Oh yes, I almost forgot....

Personal hygiene!I remeber when PC keys were beige (mid 90's). Some heavilly used models were pristine, and some were horrid. I think the conditions speak something about the person using it.

Everyone is different, and we all have different oppinions as to what is acceptable on a personal hygiene front. But be honest to yourself. The fact you cannot "see" the yellowing discolouration on the black model, does not meen it is not there. But at least I would get the opportunity to know what I was touching.

if that was me, i would just have a wank

I'm interested to try out the two finger right click technique in person, but I still wish they would have made it a two button trackpad. They could even have one solid bar, but have two click points on it like a spacebar.

Also, even if the integrated graphics are faster than normal integrated graphics, they're still not going to be as good as an dedicated graphics card. That's one thing I used to really admire about Macs, is that even their low end models had dedicated graphics cards.

$1499? That's about double the price of a similar PC (after rebates). Check you Sunday paper.

Sam: I really have no idea, but if you compose your emails in Mail, then it should work fine. Try converting to plain text if there is a problem. Perhaps clicking the checkbox "send windows friendly attachments" could help, if by sig you mean a vcard or something.

If it's a major problem, perhaps setting up a redirect through .mac or bigfoot could strip the formatting, I really don't know. I send emails to PC's all the time and they work fine. I can only imagine that your friend doesn't have the same fonts installed as you, so switch to a common font like times or arial (this may be fixed by converting to plain text also).

windows XP? WHYYYYYYYYY

A computer is only as good as its OS. So why downgrade from OS X to Windows? I work for years with UNIX based and DOS based OS's. The essential difference is that DOS and hence Windows were conceived as single user OS's, whilst UNIX based OS's were from the start conceived as networking, multy-user OS's. So today when we need networking more than ever, isn't it the locical choice to select a Unix variant? After all they have the experience for some 40 years! I myself run 2 machines, one Linux and one Windows based. Though I do not have much experience with Macs, my respect for them grew a lot, when they introduced the BSD based OS X! Smart guys! So again, WHY downgrade?

Concerning the issue of dirty hands getting a white machine dirty looking, I have read many threads on the Macintosh help forum about people getting their ibooks (white) dirty and needing special cleaners to make them clean again. I have concluded that some people secret something (don't know what) that causes this. Not everyone has these secretions. Perhaps it is due to what the eat, I don't know. But, if you are a secreter by nature, then get the black computer. The white one works for most folks.

I'd like to add my voice to those defending white iBooks! I've had my G4 for about two years and it looks as white and shiny as ever. And I often eat and use it at the same time.

Who'd want to be seen with a black one?, Everyone would know that you're the kind of person who'll pay so much for a trivial difference! (Still, if you're that kind of person then maybe you want people to know).

> If I was buying I would get the middle priced on (in White!)

That's the one I went for. I plan to use it as my main notebook for all purposes, running the Parallels VM. So I upped the spec quite a lot (2GB RAM).

Try to find a similarly configured PC laptop. Good luck. I hope to hear from you in a year or so. Don't forget to include the webcam, bluetooth, wifi, dual-layer DVD burner, 2 GHz core duo processor, RAM up to 2GB, infrared remote, digital audio in/out, firewire, gigabit ethernet, microphone, DVD burning software, movie making software, and photo management software.

I would never buy a mac with windows ever
I will die using my G4 desktop and laptop rather than get a new one with windows osx it is great never look back or go back
same reason I never got the new palm treo 700 because it has windows
you can pay me 5 or 10million dollars and I would never use windows

What am I missing here? Order a white macbook online and you can upgrade to 80 gig for $50 or a total of $1349 - so is there not a $150 premium for the black case? Sounds like a lot of money - unless you sweat a lot.

Harry McCracken's very informative review has answered a lot of questions. We all ready know how good Apple's OS X operating system is. This is not in question. There are a number of us who live in multiple OS worls: OS X, Windows and Unix.

This new MacBook affords us this ability in a neat small package. The Black version, although more business-like, and less cool to some will make its integration into non-Apple business/enterprise environments that much easier. They will be less conspicuous at first, as Apple hardware slowly and methodically makes it way in unchartered ground.

From my research and experience with both Boot Camp and Parallels, my suggestion for the ideal configuration, for the Power-User:

BlackBook, 2 Gigs RAM, 100 or 120 GB HD, and a SPARE MagSafe powr adapter.

I'll buy it just to not have my new computer preloaded with trashy "junk" in house software.

Prediction: Soon.. real soon.. Apple will offer VM Virtual Machine, Boot up Linix, XP, OSX, Unix and all at the same time, you just switch to what ever one you want.... it's only logical... This is the same path MainFraimes followed years ago...

Apple is posed to do this, and it will bring them even more fame and glory.

I am amazed at the petty complaints against Apple's computers that seem to feed the angst of those who can't stand the notion they have long favored MS over Apple..

Not I folks, not I. Apple rules!

Regarding the colors: don't forget these differences between the black model and the base white model: 1) faster processor (2.0 GHz vs. 1.83 GHz; 2) bigger hard drive (80 GB vs. 60 GB); 3) SuperDrive (DVD?RW/CD-RW) vs. Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW). It's not the color which makes this model more expensive, it's the other differences. My guess as to why there is not a black version of the base model is that there are costs associated with producing more than one color. They know that people like the white, but the PowerBook Titanium was introduced about 5 years ago, so it's been a while since they've offered a black laptop. They are probably just testing the waters. If the black model does well, they will probably include a black version of the base model in the next revision.

As for the "PC-ness" of the black, I have to disagree. The Titanium was about the first "silver" laptop when it first appeared in Apple's lineup. Five years later, you can't go into a PC store without seeing silver laptop PCs. As usual, Apple sets the trend, and everyone else just copies it.

So nowadays, color is not the distinguishing characteristic of Apple's laptop lineup. Anyone can create a silver laptop, or a white laptop, or a black laptop. Heck, you can buy your laptop, and then slap on a custom paintjob from a number of companies with that specialty. If you want flames or pink leopard skin... whatever floats your boats... you can get it.

The thing that does distinguish the Apple laptop from the rest of the competition is the attention to industrial design and detail. It's the unique combination of Ive's vision and Jobs' perfectionism, completely unmatched anywhere else in the industry. It's the Apple aesthetic of less is more. You see it in everything Apple, from software to hardware. The idea is to strip away everything that is not essential. This is what makes Apple's products so beautiful.

It's not easy to see -- which is probably why you can't see it from the photos online, you have to actually go to the store and use the product -- but it's easy to experience. I had this experience with the iPod nano. I saw all of the ads online, even the video of Jobs' introducing it, but nothing did it justice. I mean, yeah, I thought it was cool, sure...small is always good. But until I actually experienced one in the store, until I actually held it in my hand, I didn't understand it.

So my advice to everyone is to actually go to an Apple store and try out these new laptops before making a judgement. (I have not done so yet myself, but based on my past experience, I'm prepared to be impressed!)

Font Hieroglyphix are most likely caused by not having the same font installed on the Mac as used on the PC. Or the Mac is substituting a foreign font. Get the name of the font and see if you have that on the mac. If not, installing it should solve the problem.

"I would never buy a mac with windows ever
I will die using my G4 desktop and laptop rather than get a new one with windows osx it is great never look back or go back
same reason I never got the new palm treo 700 because it has windows
you can pay me 5 or 10million dollars and I would never use windows"

Dude, you don't have to use windows. THey don't COME with Windows on them, they just have that capability.
They come with the same OS X tiger that we use now.

Doug read the specs. The only macbook with a 1.83 is the lowend the middle has a 2.00

Interesting to note that Apple was the first to offer a black laptop with their G3 powerbook. At the time, is was the sleakest, coolest laptop out there -- and the first to include a DVD drive as an option.

'Okay I get it. This is for those who want to show off to their snotty rich friend their beautiful new Shinny Mac.....and when their snotty rich friends leave then they could boot up to Windows....because they have no freaking clue on how to use a Mac..... :)'

This idiotic comment seems to be based around the idea that using a mac is more difficult than using windows. Now you clearly have NEVER used a mac or you would realise the opposite is true. The real issue here is why oh WHY would anyone buy a brilliant new mac book, then ruin it by installing XP? In terms you might understand - its like buying a new pc then running windows 3.1 on it.

As for the guy who thinks these macs come with XP installed - ARE YOU DRUNK???

I agree I wouldn't have a Mac that would have PC stuff in it. That's why I have used a Mac for over 20 years. And if you don't like the the one button mouse that COMES with Macs buy a PC, don't put one of those ugly mice on a Mac.

Some of the comments are really annoying.

First of all, why install Windows ? because the application you NEED to use is Windows only. you got another solution ?

And then Windows laptops for half the price ? "$1499? That's about double the price of a similar PC (after rebates). Check you Sunday paper." where is this $750 laptop with the same features ? can you read anything other than numbers, grandpa ?

adrian moldovan: "I would never buy a mac with windows ever.... you can pay me 5 or 10million dollars and I would never use windows"

This is why I'll never understand Mac-freaks. For 5 mil, I'd switch to OSX, OS/2, or punch cards.

Maybe you shouldn't be installing crap then? AOL's client has been borderline adware since the late 90's. Seriously as long as someone has a brain and uses it when they install software any computer system will be fine. Be it XP or OS X.

"$1499? That's about double the price of a similar PC (after rebates). Check you Sunday paper."

Michael: Yes you can get a 2GHz Core Duo laptop with 512MB ram, 80GB HD and Integrated Graphics in for about half the price. But for one, the Integrated graphics would be low end, it wouldn't have gigabit ethernet, wouldn't have bluetooth, a webcam, DVD writer etc. Plus it would have the standard PC maker software bundle which is pretty much CD burning software, photo management software and then loads of things you can download from the web anyway.

Jeffrey -

Yes, I know...that's what I meant, although perhaps I wasn't clear. The criticism from many of the folks here seems to be that they cannot buy the the lowest-end model in black, instead of white. So I was comparing this low-end model, the "base white model," as I put it, to the high-end model, available in black. The base model is 1.83 GHz, and the high-end, black model is 2.0 GHz, certainly not a hugh difference, but noteworthy nonetheless. Regardless of color, I would certainly expect to pay a higher price for a 2.0 GHz model than for a 1.83 GHz model.

I want a WHITE ONE!!! And I will eventually get one!

What PC compares for half the price? Out of curiosity I went onto Dell's site and priced a base Inspiron with Core Duo. To upgrade to 2.0Ghz is $300. The price of a 2.0Ghz machine with 512MB RAM and 60GB HD is $1,049. Let's not mention this doesn't include an integrated webcam, bluetooth, or even a DVD burner.

Go check for yourself.

Well, with all that said in previous posts, I'm still disappointed that Apple still put the GMA 950 IG chip in there instead of a dedicated ATI or NVidia. And no PC Card slot... what's up with that??? How am I supposed to get a cell modem card in there without one? And a 13.3 inch screen in a 14.1 inch form factor?? Why not 14.1 to begin with?

The imac at the CompUSA store I was at had a Microsoft driver installed for the web cam under BootCamp but when I tried to run it XP blue-screened, crashed and rebooted. LOL.

It seems that quite a few yuppie Mac users are upset that the typical Mac is changing so much. First it was the changing of the kernel from Mac proprietary to Unix based. Then it was the switch to Intel processors. Now its the ability to dual boot with Windows or any other PC based OS.

I guess all the hard core Mac users are losing their key points of argument as to why the Mac is better then a PC.

I use Unix, Windows and Mac. Truth be told they all have specific things they are really good for but none of them is perfect for every task. Sometimes you just need a PC for running development tools, Unix for web services, Mac for graphic design. Being able to duel boot a Mac with another OS is an awesome idea.

Its annoying to see all these Mac users whine so much. "How can apple do this to us? Haven't we been mindlessly obedient enough?"

Here's a clue. The ability to dual boot Mac hardware with multiple OS's is not for the typical Mac user. (No, Steve Jobs does not actually love you.) Believe it or not, its for Windows users. If we can dual boot on the same hardware and not have to buy a two separate systems, that saves consumers money. While at the same time putting money in Apple's pocket.
Its a good marketing strategy as well. True it was a gamble but it has definitely paid off. Apple needs to stay in business somehow and its ironic that Windows users will be the ones keeping them there.

Don't get me wrong though. I have nothing against Macs or people who use them as they sole OS. Some Mac users really are just ignorant though. Windows users are too but Mac users tend to stand out more.

Well, that's it for my rant.

~ Spaz

FYI. If I get one of the new Macs, I'm going to install Windows 95 and set it to be the primary OS.

Um, Doug. You said this:

"It's not the color which makes this model more expensive, it's the other differences."

Which is false. There is a $150 price difference between an identically equipped white MacBook and a black one. Since I know Apple would never gouge its users, I'm assuming they use exotic materials to darken the plastic. =)

Why even use a cell modem card? Just get a Bluetooth phone with EVDO and pair it to your computer. There isn't room on a smaller laptop for a PC Card/ExpressCard slot AND an optical drive AND keeping it nice and thin.

The best thing is that it allows us who need 1 or more windows only apps, I can have the safety and better overall expericence of the mac along with being able to switch into windows to run my needed windows only software at full speed. Plus the beauty of the mac, i am opting for the 17", but would have jumped today if theyn had offered a 13.3 macbook pro with a 128 or better video card.

Its simple about Boot Camp. Games. Thats the only reason I would use Windows. I know there are other reasons out there for other people to use Windows but being a graphic designer, I have everything I need in OSX.

As for the black case, I am pretty sure that the black color is derived from a special material found in a meteor that landed on earth and in using such material, they are depleating this material so therefore it will be gone one day which makes the material very expensive to use.

My research indicates that the MacBook does not have hard drive protection contrary to what is stated in this article. The PRo does have this protection.

Wow, some crazy nuts here.

1) I can buy crap for $600 or something that works for $1099 with a tonne more functionality and stuff. Maybe I would go for the $600 if I was retarded.

2) I used to be a PC freak until I was reacquainted with Apple.

3) Idiots degrading people for installing XP on a Mac are utterly retarded. The obvious preference would be to stay completely on OSX. However, when your company's business intelligence software, intranet, and reporting software all use ActiveX stuff, you have zero functionality on the mac. Poor viewing and no interactivity. If I had a choice it would be easy but I don't. Therefore, to continue using Mac at the office, BootCamp or Parallels is the simple workaround. You guys are idiots. (and of course, there is a much larger selection of games and you don't have to wait for them to be ported to OS X if they ever are)

4) OS X Leopard will have the option of dual boot or running XP/Linux in virtualization giving the best of both worlds. Just like they did with OS 9 Classic.

5) Name calling is for sissies.

6) Personally, I would have liked to have seen the black in the glossy iPod Nano finish. Guessing it showed the scratches too much.

7) Speculation is that Apple is working on an ultra-portable MacBook with a 10" touch screen, bluetooth, wifi, isight, intel single core, 60GB HD, and dual boot with Windows Vista - mobile (touchscreen) ability. Of course you could always go buy a MS Origami (which doubles as a boat anchor).

8) Cheers.

Danno:

4) OS X Leopard will have the option of dual boot or running XP/Linux in virtualization giving the best of both worlds. Just like they did with OS 9 Classic.

5) Name calling is for sissies.

Do you even read what you post?

You call everybody idiots and retards and then you post number 5. Hmmmm

As for the Boot Camp in Leopard... how do you know apple is going to allow you to do the virtualization similar to Classic? I havent heard anything remotely close to that and I read Mac forums on diff websites every single day. Do you have some insider info or something?

Is the powerbook outdated now? How does it compare to the macbook? I was just about to buy a powerbook because I wanted the slimmest trimmest apple available. all of a sudden there's the macbook at 13" and +5 lbs it seems too big. Is apple maybe going to release another lighter machine? Should I hold out?

One very compelling reason to hav e a dual system laptop is Navigation software. It is mostly written for pc's.so if you want to use a laptop in such a way you need to run windows based Os. Now you can do all.

To the first posters, that isn't tech data. Tech data is motherboard bus speed, cache clock speed, ram type and latency, etc. The rest is just marketing gibberish meant to bullshit consumers.

Dont complain he wrote it mostly about the windows xp side of things, 80% of people in the world have a windows/pc interface over a mac, mac is smart doing this and im sure windows xp will be a huge factor in there future. I have worked around ibooks and yes the white does get yellow but its not that bad at all and thats after thousands of hour of use and some windex takes it right off. The white mac book would be cool it wouldnt stain yellow trust me its fine. The black looks cool but its too dull to be a mac imo.

Looks quite ugly, unlike the very elegant powerbook. I suppose it would go well with the the ugly other os that one can boot on it :) I still can't get why anyone would want to boot windows on a mac.

silvertrailer,
The MacBook DOES have the hard drive protection too.

Mike: the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or generic equivalent) will clean palm area of your iBook. Don't ask me how it works - it's magic. Maybe it'll turn your grey mood into a brighter shade.

"I still can't get why anyone would want to boot windows on a mac."

Not many WANT to... they either have to because their employers demand the use of 1 or 2 windows-only apps, or there is a game they want to play that isn't avaiable for OS X.

I find it disappointing that Apple has not taken this opportunity to rationalize the product line and move the technology forward. The MacBook Pro 17" is the only model competitive with other leading manufactureres (i.e. Acer). Apple does not give users much choice in basic configuration and the prices, except for this one high-end model, are not that competiive. Firewire 800 and 8x DVD are noticeably absent and their is no expansion card (slot) on the basic MacBook model. The MacBook graphics is very limted also. There are millions and millions of Windows laptops users that utilize many of these modern features daily - why does Apple thnk they know so much better. I could see making do with the 17" model but many do not want to carry such a big thing everywhere. The glossy contrasty screen is unacceptable for many applicatiions so why force that on the Macbook people.

I read the replies up to where people were going on about Windows XP being a downgrade and that they would NEVER use anything but OSX.

BRRRRRRR!!!! Wrong! There is no such thing as a real downgrade. Work on the platform that works for you best. I'm sorry but despite working on OSX, Windows XP and Linux I prefer Windows XP. Not that it doesn't have its faults but then again so do both of the other OSes. I use the OS that will do the job best. To say that something like OSX is superior in every department (like I have met some mac users who claim so) is foolish and ignorant to say the best.

To annoy these people further I insist on calling it "Oh Ess Ecks" just to annoy them like they annoy me. Go away and get a life...

Phew! Having said that I think Apple is being smart here and what is happening is possibly one of the smartest business moves since getting the windows style OS design off Xerox PARC.

For all those complaining about the move look at it a different way, now Apple wont be in such a bad way if the iPod fails. Also the when the userbase increases so does the developer base. More apps and games! I mean no more playing the same six games over and over and over and over.... ;-)

I'm pretty disappointed in the MacBook. All students at my school will be required to purchase a MacBook for next year. I really don't think the MacBook was a good marketing descision for educational consumers. From a student's perspective, it's more expensive than the iBook, it's heavier (weight really matters to me and other students who have to lug laptops on their backs all day), and has a built-in webcam. Usually this would be a positive feature, but my school has a very strict no camera phone and no webcam policy. Therefore, we will have to get the camera removed. Also, the white does get dirty after a few years of everyday use. I realize that the Intel chip does make it run a lot faster, but for the basic consumer asking for the lowest-end model, the MacBook is really a disappointment.

I think it is time for your school to rethink either its required purchase polic, block webcame traffic or unban webcams. That will be their problem.

As for weight... harden up! Good exercise for you. Keeps you fit and gets that blood flowing to your brain... where you will need it!

Everyone that is arguing over why you would install Windows on a Mac.

The only reason that I can see for it is games and business software.

The only reason I would ever do it is for games.

The end.

Have a nice day.

I agree with Anonymous's feelings about Apple's move and on the Mac and Windows OSs. I've been using Macs since OS 7.6 and enjoy OSX. I'm forced to use Windows-only software at work, and I also enjoy tinkering with and using XP. If Apple hadn't come up with the Intel line of Macs, I'd be planning to buy a Windows PC. Now, I can have the best of both OSs on one computer!

Does anybody remember the "chicklet" keyboard from the IBM PCjr years ago? The keyboard on the Macbook has a eerie similarity to that.... I have not seen one in real life though so I hope I am being unfair.... as I would like to buy one.

I switched to Mac, but miss windows sometimes, especially when I need to see Seancody moview.

1. Go to your nearest Apple store and look, feel, and play with the black macbook. Then, offer an opinion.
I seen it, felt it, and played with it. Is a wonderful laptop.
2. If you think $1499.00 is expensive. Then, you need to go back to school and get a better paying job.
isight, ilife, boot camp, tiger os, safer, productivity value, etc. You simply get more buying a mac.
3. Xp for games. OSX for everything else.

I am excited about the Macbook Pro. I switched to PC about 3 years ago and XP is starting to grate on me - maybe something to do with the half a dozen programs that I run to stop viruses, spyware, rogue start up programs etc.

During my 3 years PC journey I have become addicted to some PC software and website services that use active X. I want to use the Parallel thing for these software or websites. For example my accountant and I work on Quickbooks online that only works with Explorer on PC.

13 inch plus 5.2 lbs is pretty good, on the PC front you really start paying a premium for machines under 5lbs. There are very few 14 inch machines under 5lbs, maybe Fujitsu and they are similar to Macbook Pro prices.

The dual boot thing doesn't appeal to me. I mainly need to use the odd Active X website and a couple of PC software, hoping Parallel will work for this, anyway I'll keep my Acer laptop just in case.

By the way, tribal behavior is boring i.e. I love my tribe, kill other tribe. It's time to appreciate the best parts of everyone's tribe and be respectfull of differences

The Dell my school made me buy had a faulty keyboard, fan, speaker, and the mouse pointer made a sound that wouldn't turn off. Dell had me ship it so they could fix it three times. No luck. I will never buy a Dell again. They refused to return my money and they have spent more money trying to fix it than it is worth.

I for one really lke the new MacBooks. The specs are great and it looks really cool. However I do have one problem and that is the "integrated graphics"(which is also in the Mac Mini). ... Apple has always used dedicated graphics card from say ATI or Nvidia. The one thing I feared in the switch to Intel is that Apple would use "Integrated graphics" in some of there computers. I can't and won't like it and I'm a long time Mac fan and user. I'm not saying that Integrated doesn't work but everyone knows that a dedicated card works far better. Despite this I'll probably settle for a Macbook considering my budget. I'm not a computer gamer so "integrated" will probably work fine for me. I'll have to test it out in the store first. Nonetheless it pains me to see Apple go down that road and yet it not make a difference in the price of there products using it.

Why would you install Triton???? AOL made it incompatible with other messenger programs on purpose - nobody should support this attitude!

I'd like to thank everyone one for their insightful and entertaining postings. It's nice to know that our state mental institutions are allowing inmates access to the internet. For those of you that will kill yourself before using Windows please just do it now and get it over with, your ranting is tiresome and sad. And to the fellow with dirty hands perhaps you should have the guards hose you down more often. And finally to all the folks outraged about the black macbook... wtf is your problem? Black or white it's your choice you don't have to buy a black one.

"Some Mac users really are just ignorant though. Windows users are too but Mac users tend to stand out more."

Because Windows is ubiquitous, Mac users are more likely to have made a conscious choice of platform. Most PC users don't even know they have a choice.

Incidentally, running Windows in virtualization within OS X is the safest way to run Windows. Malware has to get through OS X to get to Windows.

To those talking about the black feeling "wrong":
One of the most successful laptops Apple has ever produced is the Pismo, the last G3 unit. It is a beautiful machine and Pismo owners upgrade them and go through all kinds of things to hold on to them. I believe they still sell for about $600 on Ebay. And Pismos came in one color only: black. The black MacBook in fact looks to me like a next generation Pismo.

"Incidentally, running Windows in virtualization within OS X is the safest way to run Windows."

I'll clarify that: Running Windows in virtualization on any PC is the safest way to run Windows.

Hello, i got a question. I own a Imac G5 and saw the virtual PC modulator. I held off on getting it because the computer would not be powerful enough to run 3D games on it. With two OS's running, i would have installed Windows based games and run them on the mac. My question is, would that notebook be powerful enough to run windows games with tow OS's runnning?

Reply to "mike P"

Not on integrated graphics, not even a PC can rum most games on integrated graphics. Well.. unless you plan to play games that come in cereal boxes. then u might do fine with integrated graphics.

I'm a highschool senior who is about to enter Michigan State University, I've been conteplatating buying a MAC for about two months now and I'm just about sold but I still have the on Question.

I want the 17 inch Macbook Pro it's costly but it's beautiful. Can you play high end PC games on this machine? Does it have what you all refer to "integrated graphics? and how much does it cost to run microsoft windows xp on the MAC I know it's compatible but don't you ahve to buy something, something at all to just run windows, it can be just free, and if you do how much is it? One comment before I leave: I'm sick and tired of you ladies bitching about weight of a computer! Are you kidding me is 6 lbs too heavy for you, seriously unless you have like serious back problems you should not be complaining, wipe the sand out of your vag***as and carry a nice big screen with true power!!!!

OK. Some people use their notebook for things other than school; carry 20 lbs. of shit with a 7 lb. notebook on top all over the place every day. Everyone would like less weight. Anyways, no integrated graphics. you have to buy (or steal) windows ($200) to install it. For games, I'm pretty sure most games are supported, someone else should comment (I'm a PC guy just reading the specs).

the use of Xp on a mac running beter than VPC is good - if you work in education then you find most of the software for school management is not designed at all for MAC's - having used a pb 12" for 2 years now I feel that being able to boot to Xp for a 1 operation perweek thing would be useful then I can return to OSX for editing video and websites.

great article there... even if you havn't tryed it out yet. just orderd one, but white... black seems windowsseesh :)

This is all very interesting...I used to use Mac's years ago, and loved them. But, went to PCs due to work and such...

So do these not come with XP? DO you have to order and install it? I am confused?

I am now on the verge of buying a laptop in the next month or so. This is what I am looking for, so is the new Mac the answer? My first choice for awhile has been an HP5000 series.

I want something where I can:
Spend some money, but not $2000+
store music and photos
connect an Ipod and an Iaudio x5L
wireless connection
camera connection (does the MAC have a card reader?)
Powerpoint presentations, excel
website design
Burn DVD's and CD's
Has decent battery life and holds a charge
has a good warranty

I don't do any gaming (well, maybe mindsweep!)
I do very little graphics work

Derosd-- how do you know that's not a guy? Why do you assume that anyone who bitches about carrying things is a girl?

And please, a thirteen inch screen isn't "true power."

Wait until you get to college before you start telling people to start buck up. You have no idea how many OTHER things students need to carry beside the LAPTOP WITH A BIG SCREEN WITH TRUE POWER. Like, oh, I dunno, books?

Regarding your questions, I'm sure that since you're a big boy now, all going to college and all, you could look up the specs of your favorite games and see if they'd run on the MacBook.

Here's an idea... all these questions are easily answerable by going to apple.com and looking at the "Macbook" and "boot camp" webpages. Seriously people... the internet is a vast world of info. Use it, for crying out loud.

How does the white remote look with the black macbook?

I recently purchased a white Macbook online after my wife finally convinced me I deserved it. I was planning on getting a refurbished Mac Book Pro when I saw the new series at the Apple store. I applied for a line of credit and was approved right away for 1,000 bucks. Shit howdy! I opted for the dvd burner, 80 gig upgrade, and the basic paisley shell; what the hell? you mean you can't get plastic in any shade of the freakin rainbow? and the built in lava lamp. what's all this My white model has white power shite? or it gets limey yellow from all the fags I smoke... with my 150 dollar student discount I could really care less if it farts in its sleep. I was pretty stoked on the 100 printer voucher though and walked out the door with a 1337.00 outfit, 2machines, MacBook plus Canon170 all-in-one. I think Apple should come out with a new line of cars. They can outsource it to China like they do all the plastic anyway, or join forces with Toyota or VW and create the first hydro-electrick eco friendly flying Jedi mindtrick. The VW Apple...Ergo,nomic... subatomic! Call me Mr. Jobs if you'd like to purchase my now poorman copyrighted idea. Remember, two copywrongs don't make a copyright. Thanks for the memories.

i have just orderd a white 12" ibook ,this will be my first mac, i have used windows all my life
will i have to do a virus scan and spywear scan
reboot my laptop due to it locking up every few hours on a mac system .i hope not
will my d link wireless adsl router work on a mac
or do i need to buy a new wireless router im on bt 2mbs

Answers to your questions, chopper:
Virus or spyware scan? No, never!
D-Link router? Yes, and it will automatically find it.

I'm considering a macbook (potential convert here), but I'm a comp-sci student in my 3rd year and want a notebook mainly for coding my 3rd year project (coding an engineering application in Visual C++), the group I'm in are 'tied in' to using windows as our platform.
My question is will the Macbook (2.0GHz 1GB ram setup), give me the equivalent functionality of a regular windows laptop when developing software in Visual C++ Express Edition?
For about the same money as the MacBook with spec I mentioned I could get an Asus A6Ja (1.83GHz, 2Gb ram + 100Gb Hd & ATI-X1600 w/256mb ram).
So its a tough decision, I'd love to try a mac, but have a specific requirement, so advice would be much appreciated.
P.S. - the 2 button on scratch pad + click = rclick sounds pretty cool...

The issue of the white macbook getting discoloured may be attributed to the different polymer the case is made from as from previous Mac products. Just because it's white doesn't mean it's the same material. A second issue with the macbook is the high heat it generates. I have yet to read that this technical problem has been alleviated.

compsci student -

on the macbook (and pro) windows is windows. just like you are used to using on your asus or dell or whatever. boots the same, looks the same, works the same, and with the exception of the isight camera, all the hardware works too - wireless, gigabit ethernet, etc.

So I guess the mac becomes platform independent then, hmmmm... need to think about it, MacBook or Asus with spec of MacBook Pro (Except CPU (1.83GHz)), for same price... its still a tough call.

try shift+control+F1 & shift-control-F2 to adjust brightness under xp....

I just bought a MacBook, and because I'm not a victim of marketing , I went with the 2 gig white model, rather than paying 200 bucks more for the black color and 20 more gigs on the HD. what a waste! Still, it is genious, because many people WILL buy the black model to be trendy. I'm not gonna lie, I like the look, and really wanted the old school Wall Street Powerbook look. The best value is the middle model I bought. I love everything about it, my only complaint is the stingy 512mb's of RAM, which definitely shows some lag with the RAM-eating OSX platform. I have yet to put windows on this machine, and will probably wait until the next OSX comes out, which is supposed to integrate it better. Best value computer EVER! Plus, who the hell wants a Pro, which is WAY to big.

I'm a PC user stuck in the other windoze monopoly = Autodesk. I gave up my Apple PowerPC around 6-7 years ago when Autodesk dumped Apple. I need to use AutoCAD, Revit and Inventor, all great commercial CAD packages (don't comment if you've never used them commercially, or have a Mac that doesn't have equivalents). Now with my MacBook Pro and 23"cinema monitor I can at least delve back into the Mac world when I want. Also I can let the kids use the internet in a safer environment. PC on MAC could be a real winner and very convenient for many professionals.

Is it possible to run MSN messenger on a mac without the bootcamp xp upgrade (or downgrade as some may see it)

Microsoft makes Messenger for Mac. Search the site.

Plug any USB mouse into the MacBook and it works. 2, 3, 4, 5 buttons...

Why not just use Virtual PC? Because it's not free. Boot Camp is, so far. Also, performance hit. Also, try using AutoCAD in a windowed Windows window.

White will get dirty, it's true. But when that happens I'll feel free to redecorate it in blue and gold. The black one is just gonna show scratches easier. But it's nice to have an option. Look for aftermarket reskins for the MacBook in the near future. Avoid the tie-dye, tho, OK?

The Lego Star Wars Video Game plays nice on my MacBook, and I bought the CHEAPEST one.

I am booting to WindowsXP for work needs, but at home I'm ALL Mac. I love iPhoto and iMovie. Exploring iWeb - fun but not very powerful SO FAR....

Am I the only one who is annoyed with the crappy standard Intel 64 MB Graphics Card? I'm this close to buying one, but 64 MB on a Graphics card is outdated.

ages ago i bought both an imac G5 with OS X panther with 1.69Ghz processor 1GB ddr and an 80gb hard drive and a 550mhz bus speed. Im from england and that cost me around ?850-900 (i cant remember exactly) I also bought the a similar spec pc about a week before which had an amd athlon xp 2600+ , which clocks at about 1.8Ghz with the same amount of ram and same size HD (although i dont know the bus speed) for about ?50 cheaper than the mac. I haven't updated either computer, but when i run the same applications on the mac be it games (although admittedly not high end games any more) or watching videos etc the mac seems to outperform the pc. More and more i find that i'm using the mac, and i rarely ever use the pc.

I'm just wondering at the moment whether it is really worth me going for another mac. I've heard that the Intel based Imac's do not have anywhere near the performance of a windows based pc when running the same applications because of their apparant duality between the OS's. I'm also tempted for a new PC because you can build a a little cheaper by buying componants, and fixing up your old one, something which i really wish i could do on my mac. I'm probably going to use gaming and music recording applications just wondered if anyone had any advice? As for the politics between macs and windows i really couldn't give a fuck

In november I purchase a refurbished 15' powerbook 1.5 Ghz this month I had a problem with the LCD screen it had a dead spot or something I brought it in to the store for a repair. Apparently they replaced the screen housing and LCD screen tested it and confirmed that the logic board was bad. This is the kicker they received my computer on the 1st of june, they called and said that part wouldnt be avialable until JULY 7! But wait, they said that was unexeceptable by their standards and gave me a brand new Macbook Pro 2.16 Ghz! LUCKY

Standard white 2gHz MacBook. Just ordered a 120gig HD and 2Gig RAM and saved about $500.00 over Apple's a-la-cart menu.

Works fine with half-gig RAM, but will surely work better when quadrupled. I know these upgrades will be very simple for me to install myself.

Perfect machine - astonishing. Absolutely none of the earlier problems reported here and elsewhere. Screen is too bright. Keyboard is the best I've ever used on ANY machine.

5-hour battery after training it properly. This machine includes correct instructions on how - as opposed to most portable device battery instructions which, if you follow them, guarantee poor performance [so you'll buy another battery?]).

To right-click, touch two fingertips ANYWHERE on the pad.

To scroll a window in any direction, drag two fingertips ANYWHERE on the pad.

Apple has eliminated the two reasonable excuses as to why Windows users won't switch - these reasons are now history - price, and lack of support for applications written only for MS Windows.

The ONE negative I have is minor scratches on the outer case from sliding it into and out of my old backpack - hope they rub out over time, otherwise it'll get ugly.

My white one does not seem to change colors, but then no one else has touched it yet. So far, we've got better chemistry than anything I've used before.

Boots faster than I can authenticate.

I probably will experience no need to do Windows on my MacBook. I used to use it on the machines at work. Now, there's no need for them.

the white will surely hide all the jizzbombs that i will drop better than the black will. i mean, what else is a computer except an awesome porn machine. and with the added security of the mac i can look at porn all day and not have to worry about viruses...except that nasty rash that i already have.

My G4 has just died due to a bad accident. I need to buy a new mother board. This will cost me just over $500. I am thinking for the first time of moving over to PC. I live and work around Asia and I can get all the sofware I want for PC but its so hard to find any Mac stuff, plus they are always so expensive to fix. I need to do alot of vudeo edinting plus burn DVD, Cd, watch movies, store music and play high end PC games. When they bring Leopard out, will I be able to play PC games on the new Mac?? So what do I do?? New Mac pro or is it to be a good PC??