MacBook 2- Internal Tech Specs

What Lies Beneath

I have tried to lay these sections out similar to how Apple lays out their Tech Specs, so it should be easy to follow.

Communications

• 802.11n Wireless card-  I am glad to see more and more computers coming installing with n wireless cards.  I've had a draft-n router in my house for 18 months or so and have not been able to take full advantage of it, since the drivers didn't work properly on my last one.  The wireless transfer speeds are incredible, and even rival some 10/100 Ethernet speeds.
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR-  Thank you iPhone for not supporting file transfers via Bluetooth.  And I couldn't get any other computer to find it, so this couldn't be tested.  Oh well, I never use it anyway.
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet- Ditto for the wireless n card, I am glad to see this actually being used for notebooks.  Granted, this is a premium notebook so I would only expect it to have premium features.  Wired transfer speeds between me and a complimentary gigabit-connected Windows Server are blazing fast.  Exactly what I would expect.

Wireless Transfer

Gigabit transfer

Audio

• Stereo Speakers- I am not an audiophile by any means, but I like good and loud sounds.  Especially music.  I don't know all the ups and downs of terminology when it comes to speakers, but these are nice speakers for a laptop.  Music sounds awesome for coming out of invisible holes beneath the monitor, where the speakers are.
• Built-in microphone- Meh, its a microphone.  It works.  Hardly use it, but it works.
• 3.5mm headphones/microphone jack-  As I said in the first hardware-related post, they work.  What else could you ask for?  I personally would prefer to have the microphone and headphones separated into two different jacks, but I never have used a 3.5mm microphone anyway.

Display

I couldn’t decide whether to include this in the internal or external portion of my personal review since I would say half is internal and half is external.  Look where it ended up.

13.3" LED-backlit glossy screen

I couldn't have asked for a better screen (except maybe in a different size).  I am accustomed to a glossy screen, and actually very much like it.  I believe it makes the blacks darker and the colors more vibrant. I hear that since the 13" got the MacBook Pro title they have given inherited a better screen from the MBP family.  This does not surprise me, all of the colors are gorgeous and things truly look better on this screen than any laptop I've been on recently.  The LED-Backlit portion is impressive and effective, I'm glad that the screen is sucking less of my precious battery than it used to, and the screen looks very evenly lit.

Screen

Update: I have recently placed my laptop next to another MacBook 13" (the unibody before it was dubbed "Pro") and my screen is very noticeably better.  Viewing angle, colors, blacks and whites all look significantly better on mine.  We loaded one of the Aurora backgrounds that comes with Leopard/Snow Leopard on both of the machines at the same time; it looked almost like a different picture because the colors on his screen looked washed out.  Don't get me wrong though, his screen looked fantastic and he was perfectly satisfied with it.  You could only tell the difference if you were 1) Looking for it. 2) Had them side by side.

1280x800 native resolution

It is kind of a sad story, but my last laptop had a 15" screen and had the same resolution.  For such a small screen, it is a fine resolution.  If it got any larger, I think it would get to be hard to see some of the icons, and I am by no means old.

Ambient light sensor

This could technically be part of the display since it controls the displays brightness.  The sensor is a fantastic idea, but not as useful as I would like it to be.  Since my gripe is with the software and not the hardware, I'll leave it for another time.  For now, it's a good idea and I am glad that it is there.

iSight

640x480 is okay.  I don't have a real use for an iSight because I don't do a lot of video chatting right now.  It looks like a regular cell phone camera took the shot.  Colors are mostly terrible, but it's better than not having anything at all.  I am no camera connesuir so I don't know how many megapixels this is or if you even measure "webcams" in megapixels.  I heard that the the camera is capable of shooting 1280x1024 but the software dumbs it down, but oh well, I don't use it anyway.

Ambient Sensor, iSight and indicator light

PhotoBooth

Graphics and Video

nVidia GeForce 9400M

What a grand selection!  When I heard that Apple in late 2008 was going to be putting nVidia graphic cards into their new MacBooks is nudged me a little closer to wanting one.  Finally a laptop worth having.  It isn't as good as my desktop graphics card or even my old laptops graphics card, but it is something, and isn't really that bad.  I wouldn't have settled for anything non-nVidia, sorry Intel and ATI.  Since OS X isn't notorious for having real games, I have not really had the chance to test it, but I certainly have not had any video-related lagging while going about my daily work.  Since I am a hardware person, everything has to be perfect.  A discreet video card in a laptop isn't really all that important, but just think if I actually wanted to use it, then I can.  It connected it to the 62-63" HDTV in my house and it pushed that with native 1920x1080 resolution just fine.  No complaints about the video card at all.  The picture is in the Processor and Memory section.

Processor and Memory

When someone sits down and starts using a computer, besides the screen and the input devices, I believe people notice the processor speeds and amounts of RAM installed.  It might not be a cognitive recognition, but still recognized.  The processor is the overall speed of the computer how quickly "thinking-intense" tasks are performed by the applications, such as computing formulas.  It is literally the brains of the system.

RAM is where temporary information is stored for fast access.  So when you open a program, it is loaded in to RAM, and probably stays there until you close the program.  The amount of RAM you have decides how many programs you can have open at a time, how well those programs will perform and how well at multi-tasking the computer is.  You could compare the amount of RAM you have to the number of hands you have.  The more hands you have, the more things you can actively work on and the more things you can handle at the same time without setting anything down.  If we had eight hands, we could get a lot more done... That's if we were any good at multi-tasking, like Operating Systems are.

About This Mac

Hardware overview

This is where the griping will begin, with the most important specs of the computer.  This might be my own fault, but I got the default 13" configuration because I didn't want to get robbed by the Apple store and their high-priced upgrades.  To bump the processor up (2.26 to 2.53), you have to jump to the other configuration of the MacBook and that was at least $300. No thanks.  Ditto for the ram, in order to get two more gigabytes of ram, you'd need to fork over $100 in upgrade fees.  I will note that the upgraded configuration of the 13" also already has 4 gigs of ram and a larger (250 GB) hard drive.

2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Even for an entry level laptop this is slow.  Sorry netbook lovers, but 2.26 GHz is just not enough of a powerhouse for me.  This is almost the slowest processor that Apple offers their OS X loving customers.  The White MacBook (at the time of writing) has a 2.13 GHz processor and the Mac mini has a 2.0 GHz.  Especially while waking up from sleep and booting for the first time I notice huge hang times, which I blame squarely on the processor.  For regular and every day tasks like cruising the internet, listening to music and editing pictures in Picasa, it's fine though.  Running VMWare Fusion because Word for Mac is terrible beyond belief really makes the processors lack of oomph really shine.

2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3

Hardware-wise, 2 GB is probably the perfect amount.  It lets me get things done and it being DDR3 (at 1066 MHz) I know it is very fast.  My real complaint I have with 2 GB of RAM is that it seems to be eaten up by the OS very quickly.  I won't rant about it now, I'll wait for a more appropriate time, since I am strictly talking about the hardware here.

Logic Board, inc. Video and Processor

Back of Logic Board + RAM

Storage:

160GB 5400 RPM Hitachi 2.5" SATA Hard Drive

This is a bit of a soft spot for me because the hard drive in my first MacBook went kaput after just three days.  Thankfully I live near a few authorized Apple Retailers and even an Apple Store.  The whole story will be posted later with pictures, but the Apple Store took my "old" MacBook Pro and swapped me straight up for a new one.  Good thing I didn't upgrade my configuration at all, or else they wouldn't have been able to do even that.  Lost a few screenshots, but nothing I couldn't take again later.

Anyway, to the topic at hand.  I am not your typical computer user, 160GB hard drive in a laptop, for me, is almost un-necessarily large.  I could not possibly imagine what anyone would be doing with 160GB of space on a laptop.  For me, a laptop is something that you use "on the go" and not something that you would ever store files on.  Laptops are much more likely to break down or be stolen than a desktop and therefore should not be trusted for safe file storage.

I use Dropbox to keep my files in sync across my computers, I use a free account with 2.5GB of space available to me.  Music is manually copied over (using a synchronization program or by hand) from my main machine and ditto for Pictures.  Installation files, DVD and CD images, patches and most of everything else is stored on my desktop which has a much larger capacity and are significantly cheaper per gigabyte than laptop hard drives, not to mention faster.  If I need anything, I will copy it across the network or just mount the file across the network.

Hard Drive

SMS, Sudden Motion Sensor

This is somewhat related to the hard drive, so why not include it here?  The sudden motion sensor is an accelerometer-based sensor that can detect which way the laptop is sitting.  I believe it is called the SMS because when you suddenly pick up or drop the computer it detects it is moving fast; which sends a message to the hard drive that it needs to put its head away so it doesn't damage the spinning platters if it drops too violently.  I have quickly picked up the computer and heard the hard drive head putting itself into a resting place, which makes a click sound.  It can be used for gimmicks as well, like LiquidMac.

LiquidMac- Flat surface

LiquidMac- Tilted

8x slot loading "SuperDrive", DVD±RW/DL and CD-RW

I didn't think that I would like a slot-loading drive when I first got this guy.  My opinions went from stand-offish to neutral.  It essentially does the same thing as a regular DVD drive, except there isn't a tray that comes out, whoop-de-do.  It makes a LOT more noise than I have ever heard any DVD drive make when it is preparing the disc to be ready and when the system is booting.  While spinned up, the sounds are not that noticeable.  Despite what I said before, I actually did burn a few CD's for a co-worker, all music CD's and they burned fairly quickly through iTunes without any hitches.  I'll give it a 9/10 because I didn't find anything to complain about.

SD Card slot

Works just fine, even with SDHC.  Fast transfer rates; can't complain about having an SD built right in.  Sorry previous MacBook owners.

Battery

I recognize that my previous laptops battery really wasn't that good.  I knew that before I bought it, since I had used it extensively (purchased it from the place I worked at, a retail computer store).  I didn't mind, since almost all of the places that I use my laptop at, there is a plug right next to where I sit, so nbd.  Apple claims that this 10.95v 60Wh battery should have "up to 7 hours of wireless productivity" which as most people have come to find out isn't entirely accurate but it sure is much longer than I am used to, so I can't complain.  I've seen usually 4-5 hours without plugging in, but I have my screen brightness settings a little bit higher than standard.  It isn't user replaceable, which is fine, because they claim a long, full life.

The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles. -Apple

Also, AppleCare is about $250 which extends the warranty from one year to three.  To replace the battery is a $129 fix, so I might as well just buy the AppleCare... right?

Battery

Inside the box

Since this section doesn’t really belong anywhere, I’ve decided to include it here.

I bought my MacBook online (Apple Store), one day before Snow Leopard came out and I was ensured that Snow Leopard was going to be included.  Well, it was thankfully, I just had to install it.  What was included:

• MacBook Pro 13"
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 CPU Drop-in DVD, Full install or Upgrade I am not sure, but I assume you can do both
• Little pamphlet about Snow Leopard labaled "Mac OS X Snow Leopard-  Installation, features and refinements"
• AC Power Cord Extension and Power brick
• Black box containing:
  • Users manual labeled "Everything Mac"
  • White box containing: Software EULA, Leopard Install DVD and Application Install DVD all labeled "Everything Else"
  • Black Microfiber rag
  • Two white Apple stickers (same as the ones you get with an  iPod)

Shipping Box

MacBook Out of the Box

Unboxing

What else is in there

MacBook 1- Tech Specs

The first thing that meets the eye.

I'll admit the real reason this elaborate purchase was made was to increase my knowledge of the Mac OS X world, which should make me more marketable when I graduate from the University, although I have had some desire to obtain a MacBook for some time, because of their attractive hardware.

I am new to OS X and Macintosh in general.  Since I don't know a thing, I will be documenting what it is like from a Windows power user perspective what this "switch" is like, pros and cons.  Since I have always been somewhat negative towards Macs, I might be focusing on the negatives a little more harshly but so far there are many foreseen positives. So here we go.

Unibody

The overall feel is fantastic, the same reason I refused to put the invisible shield on my iPod Touch, I just couldn't get over the "good feeling" of the metal in my hands.  The lid snaps together quickly with precision, something that my last laptop couldn't quite do because it was made out of plastic.  This is one of two reasons why I wasn't interested in the white plastic MacBook.  I am fairly certain the lid is held closed by some low-power magnets; it gives the clamshell a nice tight fit that sometimes isn't very easy to open.

Opened lid, trackpad visible

Closed lid, Sleep indicator

Ports, Battery Indicator

It is moderately attractive to me that all the ports for external devices and cords are on one side.  It makes it so that "docking" is much easier, since everything can be routed away from the left side instead of having to pull cables from both sides.

• MagSafe power adapter- The MagSafe power adapter is really nice, when it comes close to being plugged in the cord jump to the laptop and usually goes right in to place.  The multi-colored LED is helpful for a quick look to see if it is charged when the lid is closed.
• Gigabit Ethernet port- 100% Expected. If it didn't have this, I would consider the product seriously flawed
• FireWire 800- I am not sure why FireWire is so popular, I don't have or even know anyone that has ANY FireWire devices. Although, in my recent readings it appears as if you can control or at least grab files from one Mac to another using FireWire, too bad I don't have another Mac to test this with.  In addition to that, FireWire can pose a security concern since it has DMA.. not sure if that is a threat on OS X, but still an idea.
• Mini DisplayPort- Good and bad.  I find it stupid that the adapters are $30 from Apple.  Although, it’s neat that you can have HDMI, DVI and VGA all from the same port.  Thank you monoprice.com for low prices on those adapters.
• 2 USB 2.0 Ports- Could use more, but two is probably sufficient.
• SD Card slot- Much better to have this SD slot than anything else, most laptops these days have them, not sure why it took so long for Apple to get on the boat.
• Audio Out / Line in- Both work. Neat that they are in the same port, although I don't assume everyone has headphones lying around that are compatible with in and out functionality.
• Battery Indicator lights- I have seen this on other premium laptops, nice feature and is implemented quite nicely, a simple push of the button and the amount of lights relative to how full the battery is light up for a second or two.

Power, MiniDisplay, FireWire, USB

FireWire, Mini Display, USB x2, SD

MagSafe Adapter, not fully charged

Battery Indicator, fully charged

Trackpad, Keyboard

This glass trackpad is probably the single greatest thing I have found on a laptop.  All other trackpads leave my fingers and wrists feeling tired, but for some reason this one does not.  It could be the multi-touch scrolling, or just the fact that it is huge 4-1/8" W, 3" H.  I still use an external mouse a lot of the time, but using the trackpad doesn't bother me as much.  It is especially helpful when accessing Exposé or using the three-fingered "back" in FireFox.  Touching the glass reminds me of my iPhone, except more useful.  Smooth, flat with the aluminum, easy on the fingers and functional.. just what I like: form and function.

The keyboard lacks a 10 key, but what could I expect for a 13" laptop? Not much. I also find it most annoying that the keyboard lacks a "Function" row, such as F1, F2, F3 ... I realize I can just tap the fn key and access all those, but coming from a Windows world the function keys are a necessity, it seems a little off.  The backlit keyboard is a nice addition, my desktop has a backlit keyboard (I'm aware, Gizmodo's picture sucks) that I've been using for a while, and as expected, have become accustom to. Glad to see one when I go mobile.  Reason two for not getting the white plastic MacBook.

They keys are nice to the touch, quiet and rebound like proper keys should.  The minimal spacing between the keys (or island keys) used to bother me, because I thought that it would make them more likely to trap hair, crumbs, et cetera but that turns out to not be true, since it is much easier to fish foreign objects out when there is a wider space there.

Trackpad

Backlit Keyboard

The Other Side

The slot-loading CD/DVD tray makes me a little nervous, I am afraid that I will slip a CD in and never be able to retrieve it, since there is no manual force eject like most if not all other CD tray-styled drives.  It looks nice, that's something positive.. and it's fairly quiet.  I have not yet tried to burn a CD or DVD, so no reports on that.  I don't ever use physical media anymore, so I might never (out of necessity) ever burn anything on this one.

Kensington Security slot is somewhat of a standard, although I've only used them at work, when I was in retail sales.  I don't see much use for it in the real world.

Kensington lock port, CD/DVD combo

Weight, Power Brick

Something that I would fully expect from a smaller laptop- a smaller weight burden.  I was recently doing some training on Intel's website and I stumbled across this little gem:

I can fully agree with this statement, which was cited like this:

Source: Intel Internal Studies 2008

and that was it, I poked around their website a little bit to see if I could find it, with no luck.

This guy weighs in at 2256.9 grams, weighed on my totally 100% professional chemical scale at work.  For the grammularly uneducated that is 4.9756128 pounds.  That weight includes the MacBook with no accessories attached, but it does include the power bricks weight, because who is going to travel with their MacBook and not bring their adapter along?  Even if it just sits in your bag the entire time, you still have that burden to carry.

Speaking of the Power Brick, or whatever the Mac people call it.. it is absolutely ingenious.  I can't believe something so simple can be so helpful.

1. The brick has plastic pop-outs that the cord can wrap in, so you don't have to just wrap it around the brick itself.  For some reason, I have still seen people not use them and just wrap the cord around the brick.. like it is so hard to pop those little plastic wings out.
2. The prongs pop out of the brick, so that if you need a little more length you can attach a cord (included with the MacBook) without any real hassle.  Oh and not only does the entire prong contraption pop off, you can also fold the prongs back into the brick so it takes up less room and doesn't stab things in your bag.
3. Okay, this one isn't so amazing but still helpful- A rubbery clip to hook the cord to itself after you are finished wrapping it up.

The entire thing is not grounded, I don't know how important that is.. but it seems every other manufacturer (almost) has a grounded adapter.. I guess it makes it slimmer, but I would rather have safety than slimness.

Weight on Scale

Brick with removed Prongs

Prongs detached

Bricks wings and cord clip

Size

The last thing to note about the product is the size it comes in. 13" is the screen size, and that determines just how large everything else is going to be.

This is much smaller than I expected it to be, although not too small for my large appetite.  A netbook would just be too small for me.  The measurements are:

12 3/4" Wide
8 15/16" Deep
5/8" Tall (base, when opened)
7/8" Tall (entirety, when closed)

These are hand-measured by me with just a regular Staples ruler, so they might be a little off.