Apple MacBook

There are essentially three different types of laptops, gaming laptops, work laptops and everyday laptops. Today I’m going to review a laptop that’s a little more modest when it comes to features and price.

The MacBook offers a great compromise between size and portability for a reasonable price (the baseline white model costs $1,099). Even better, that low cost gets you a number of features also found on the more expensive MacBook Pro - notably, Core Duo processors, digital audio in/out, and the groovy MagSafe power adapter.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the MacBook:

• Street price: $1099
• 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 13-inch widescreen
• 1GB Ram, 120GB hard drive
• Intel Integrated Graphics

Things I like
The thing I like most about the MacBook is that it has almost all of the great features of the MacBook Pro except it costs $1000 less. It has a built-in webcam, 1GB of ram and a 2.1GHz processor (only 0.3GHz less than the MacBook Pro). This laptop is also very light, it weighs approximately 5lbs so you won’t have to worry about carrying it around on campus or to work.

Another thing that I like is the fact that the MacBook uses magnets instead of a physical latch to hold the lid closed. A small notch on the front edge affords just enough room for your finger, and the lid and case separate very nicely. This just shows that Apple really looks at the small details.

Another thing that I like about the MacBook is the fact that it has a number of ports. It has a DVI/VGA port (although you’ll have to buy the adapter separately), digital audio in and out, a slot-loading DVD burner, a FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports. Unlike the Pro they do not include the adapters to go from the laptop to DVI/VGA and this would have been a nice addition.

Things I didn’t like
The thing I like least about the MacBook is the fact that Apple put an integrated graphics card in. If your going to do any gaming at all forget about buying this computer (even though most gaming is done on PC’s). The integrated graphics card is enough to get a screen resolution of 1280×800 which isn’t the best. It’s rather annoying when you’re used to a high resolution because the screen just doesn’t look as sharp.

The final thing I don’t like is the fact that the Black MacBook is essentially useless. It costs $200 more than the middle MacBook configuration and it only upgrades the hard drive (from 160GB to 250GB). The funny thing is if you upgrade the middle MacBook to the 160GB hard drive it’ll only cost you $100. So for $100 you can get the black colour which I think looks bad.

Pros:

• Fairly Fast
• Lots of features included with the MacBook Pro
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• The Black configuration is useless
• Integrated graphics card

Final Thoughts
The MacBook makes a great compromise between size and portability. If you’re in need of a laptop but don’t have enough money to buy a MacBook Pro then the MacBook is for you. It’s light weight and has a number of great features. I recommend buying this laptop.