Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Using the new Macbook Pro -- Comment()
I'm still in the early stages of getting familiar with the new MBP. I notice more and more little details, which matter. For example, the magnetic lock which keeps the lid closed - a very well designed feature. And the black border around the screen and behind the glass, it helps at least me to focus on the content. Also, the robustness of the machine is more and more evident, as there is no flexing of lid or the base part.

Some minor annoyances: the trackpad is quite loud when pressed - although this is not different from the Titanium PowerBook, it is quite noticeable in a quiet room. There have been a couple of situations when using the buttonless trackpad has been a bit confusing, but I'm slowly getting to know the more advanced details. Mostly it just works. Using two fingers for control-click does not come naturally, but perhaps I'll grow to that as well. But the usual things like two-finger scrolling etc. work extremely well, because there is a lot of room in the trackpad.

Also, I'm liking the new keyboard more and more, and the backlight works well with the black keys. Writing is pleasant on the keyboard - although I must admit that most keyboards are ok for me. But it is nice that the MBP and the iMac have so similar keyboards, switching between them is easy.

The MBP stays cool when in use, at least in the use I typically have - and even when I'm charging the battery. This is very different from other laptops I have been using. But I would expect that be doing something really heavy you can get this machine heated up as well.

Another interesting observation: it seems that the wireless (wi-fi/wlan) reception is better on the MBP that in my iBook, which is surprising because the iBook is plastic and MBP is metal. But this may be a random occurrence - in any case, some networks which were not visible on the iBook were available on the MBP.