What is Digg?116 Comments
- Kerrigore, on 01/21/2009, -5/+95More importantly:
- Stronger case
- Lighter weight (5 lbs. vs 4.5 lbs.)
- Thinner
- LED-backlit screen (substantially brighter, thinner screen)
- Faster DDR3 RAM (667Mhz vs 1066Mhz)
- Larger, multi-touch trackpad (which is awesome, and an important selling point)
- Easily upgradeable hard drive that can take SSD
Specs aren't everything. - notzak, on 01/21/2009, -0/+24Also, the plastic macbook's wireless card isn't weakened by an aluminum shell. Downside is still the gross graying of the keyboard and palm rest.
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -18/+41300 bucks for 40 gigs more HD space and a sweeter looking computer.
gotta love apple. - pineapplepaul, on 01/21/2009, -1/+22Use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Puts it back to pearly white in seconds. That's what they use at Apple stores to clean them.
- Narcism, on 01/21/2009, -1/+21Hey now, don't forget it ships faster.
- improvono, on 01/21/2009, -4/+24And the 300 bucks gets you not firewire. Awesome.
- Kerrigore, on 01/21/2009, -0/+19Um, no. It's still integrated, just not Intel Integrated. So you may have been right in your initial belief.
- rolf, on 01/21/2009, -5/+23It's pathetic you are being dugg down for just pointing out the blatant error/exaggeration in the parent comment. Ah well, anything to bitch about apple.
Many car manufacturers do the same thing, offering a "premium" car (Honda->Acura, Toyota->Lexus) that are similiar to the cheaper models but offers creature comforts for those who want to pay. - sbb1531, on 01/21/2009, -4/+19rubbing alcohol + cotton ball + 5 minutes = not hearing your bitching
- ilgaz, on 01/21/2009, -0/+12anything is better than Intel integrated graphics.
- bweltondav, on 01/21/2009, -1/+12For anyone who isn't knowledgeable about this kind of thing, this is sort of a big deal. The low-end macbooks have had integrated (*****) graphics for ever, not to mention how they were shorted on ram considering what you would pay. These features take a big bite out of the apple tax that I normally associate with the macbook white.
- Laughto, on 01/21/2009, -9/+19Non-integrated graphics card in basic macbook? Never thought we'd see the day
- InorganicMatter, on 01/21/2009, -0/+9I wouldn't call the specs "matched." The unibody still has that HUGE glass trackpad and a gorgeous LED-backlight screen that is currently unmatched in any other notebook.
- danielrh9, on 01/21/2009, -2/+11I've got the now-old white MacBook, I love the thing. It is admittedly a bit sluggish if you try to run something like two Adobe products at the same time, but that's not a big deal. It even plays stuff like Spore and WoW with no hitches, I certainly have no complaints.
- drunkenoaf, on 01/21/2009, -0/+9Isn't it part of the Mobo's chipset?
- Taiyoryu, on 01/21/2009, -0/+8I read it as $300 less for practically the same innards with the bonus of Firewire. That said, Apple finally comes out with the MacBook I was expecting _last_ year.
- kibbledbits, on 01/21/2009, -0/+7It's still a nice looking laptop
- threemagic, on 01/21/2009, -2/+9@PrometheusBorn: Simply by buying as you would. If you base everything solely on numbers than good for you. You are exactly the kind of person Walmart loves!
Not everyone .. no even close to everyone... buys solely on price and specs. - Pezza131214, on 01/21/2009, -0/+6I think the opposite of Unibody is Body-on-Frame.
- freakFlag, on 01/21/2009, -0/+6I'm shocked the advantage of the aluminum heat dispersing design wasn't brought up. I had a C2D 2.0GHz White Macbook and the fan would run ... and run ... and run ... and run. Issues with heat crept up while running Flash, of all things. Its a great notebook, don't get me wrong on that, but the plastic would absorb heat and then it would spread across the whole keyboard.
I finally fixed it by dismantling the case and reapplied the HSF for both the C2D and the Chipset, it was a long process but it was worth it. It didn't pay off too much with the peak temps still hitting 65C but the idle temp was 35C and the fan didn't operate as loudly as often.
Overall, I was a bit disappoint at the application of the thermal paste, there was too much applied and it was smashed into the logic board everywhere around both chips. But my brother has a fairly new white Macbook and the temps are much better than mine ever was. - CoreyTamas, on 01/21/2009, -0/+6And... with the Nvidia update, Apple just chose my next computer for me.
- KibibyteBrain, on 01/21/2009, -2/+8I buy my car based solely on its price, torque, horsepower, and stereo system power numbers. Nothing else matters, right?
- rskbreaker, on 01/21/2009, -2/+7Illuminated keyboard is only on the $1,599.00 model, not the $1,299 model.
- qpid, on 01/21/2009, -1/+6and 90gb :)
- Zippo, on 01/21/2009, -1/+6I doubt Apple will ever add eSATA ports to their Macbook line... However, I bet they'll be among the first to introduce USB 3... which will likely be next year.
- quantumBinky, on 01/21/2009, -0/+5Mine's fine - I've had it two and a half years now.
- ilgaz, on 01/21/2009, -0/+5Well, don't expect too much but the GMA stuff with Intel made companies end up writing "Doesn't work with Intel Graphics chipset" on the box or website. Couple of users asked "How?", they said it doesn't support the hardware acceleration of T&L to begin with or support it very badly.
Hardware T&L appeared with the first GeForce almost a decade ago so you can imagine what kind of crap Intel was.
I still feel sad about Intel Mini which is victim of Intel GMA (worse than X3100).
Intel's stupid thinking is, CPU can make lots of stuff that GPU does and people should upgrade their CPU. We see how it worked in real World.
In fact, Intel integrated graphics was also blamed for Vista failure of MS and its Aero interface.
NVidia is also known for their excellent OpenGL suppport which is the 3d graphics (and 2d in fact) of OS X. - threemagic, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5don't houses you can't afford - look sweeter
don't cars you can't afford - look sweeter
hell you can even do that with food...
you can eat a burger at McDonald's but I'll bet even Applebee's 7 dollar burger - looks sweeter - Rudegar, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5LCD == liquid crystal display
LED == light emitting diode
the LCD panel don't give any light and require a back-light
using LED's to provide that don't change the fact that it's an LCD
it don't matter if you back-light it with a firefly a campfire or the sun
it's still LCD
there is such a thing as a LED display but it looks like this
http://www.gniibe.org/gpl-led-display/b/P1020851.J ...
most people don't want their mac-book looking like that though - HappyScrappy, on 01/21/2009, -0/+4Does it support HDCP?
I ask because the Mac Mini traditionally has been the same guts as a MacBook in a different case (minus the keyboard, trackpad, display). So this new MacBook will be the new Mac Mini I expect.
So I have to know, does it support HDCP? Since I'll be hooking that new Mini to my HDTV. - Caffro, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5OMG LIKE ONLY 120 DIGS AND 5 COMMENTS AND ITS ON FRONTPAGE???? DAMN POWERDIGGERS!
- jtjdt, on 01/22/2009, -0/+4You're paying for a multi-touch glass trackpad, better speakers (they include a little woofer), a display that is superior in every way including the fact that it's LED backlit (see gizmodo review), thinner, lighter, greener aluminum unibody design, more HD space, (they finally include a super drive in the base model), faster DDR3 memory, easy SSD upgrade options, and more reliable faster USB support.
- dizzythegreat, on 01/21/2009, -0/+4Ooh, thanks!
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -0/+4Rubbing alcohol may be a little much. I'd recommend watering it down significantly to prevent the alcohol from causing damage to the finish.
Trust me, I know from experience. - aptmunich, on 01/21/2009, -0/+4Actually I thought I would hate the new trackpad initially... but even regular old 2-finger scrolling is a lot more responsive and feels much more "controlled" on the new models.
- burrrritos, on 01/21/2009, -2/+6I would still get the unibody. the few white macbooks that I have seen, all have cracks in the plastic, and are starting to fall apart after only a few years of use.
- rickcarson, on 01/21/2009, -0/+3Firewire is a big deal if you are already a Mac owner. Using Firewire you can really easily transfer all your old files and accounts over to the new computer. You can't do that with USB.
You can (kind of) duplicate the effect by doing a time-machine backup onto a USB external drive and then in the new machine do a restore from time-machine.
But that is a couple of hundred bucks for the OS upgrade and external drive... - farfromsubtl, on 01/21/2009, -0/+3I've got to get on Craigslist and sell my old MacBook before anyone notices this upgrade...
- SuperSunny, on 01/21/2009, -0/+3What? They've replaced my MacBook's case FOR FREE without warranty because it's an established error on Apple's part. The casing cracks, so they have to replace it.
- saikyan, on 01/21/2009, -1/+4Mr. Clean Magic Eraser + Soft towel + 2 minutes = Less abrasive, faster, easier
- souldawg, on 01/21/2009, -1/+4@qpid, okay...you got me there :)
- Urkel, on 01/21/2009, -4/+7We bought both a new Unibody Macbook and Macbook Pro recently. And while they're both fantastic machines, there are defnitely reasons to go with the $999 model.
Screen Quality:
The new Macbook screen is slightly better, but due to the glassy screen you are forced to overcompensate for the glare by turning up brightness which results in very washed out blacks. So while both are "pro" powered, you won't be getting "pro" work done unless you use an external monitor.
Video card:
Easily the biggest bottleneck in the old Macbooks. I used my wifes Unibody Macbook for a while before buying the MBP and with the new video card I was able to handle my Lightroom/Photoshop workload EASILY.
Firewire:
As much as you do or don't use it, it is a valuable port that simply isn't on the Unibody.
Trackpad:
If you like the new ones then that's great, but if you were somehow "stuck" with the old one then you wouldn't be complaining either. And for many, you will prefer something more familiar and less "innovative".
Display Connector:
Even if DisplayPort is the future, you most likely aren't buying a DP monitor for a while. Both require a dongle, but the Mini-DVI dongles are $15-20 while the DP is $30 for some reason.
Specs:
Some may argue this, but the stock HDD/Memory Apple gives you is useless because they constantly short-pants you and (almost) require an upgrade. So what you need to focus on is the non-upgradeable (for most) specs like GPU/Proc. And if both are the same then the real value is in the base model.
Durability:
Let's cut the marketing/fanboy BS. Nobody has EVER bent a Macbook in half so, while the unibody design has benefits, it isn't like your Whitebook is a flimsy cut of roast beef.
Visual Appeal:
Probably the only place that the unibody wins by a large margin. The white one simply looks outdated. Now, if they offered the black...
Anyway, even though we are already set with our Macs for the next few years then I'm excited to see the GMA 900 get replaced. Next up... New Mac Mini's that don't have 2007 Specs. - StephenCIreland, on 01/21/2009, -2/+5so $300 for alluminium and not having firewire, well apple , you certainly played this well
- ilgaz, on 01/21/2009, -0/+3Especially after 10.5 which includes time machine which deals with millions of files.
- sam10685, on 01/21/2009, -0/+3In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And Windex.
- 1807, on 01/21/2009, -2/+5On sale for $999 that kind of sale makes me wanna slap my mama.
- aussieNickuss, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2I'm using a 2.5 year old white macbook right now that's has been thrown around, moved all over the place (in my car, at work) and hasn't spent a day of it's life in a laptop bag (that's right....no bag). The only damage is scratches to the outside casing. There's no cracks, dents, indentations and a quick wipe over with metho (denatured alcohol) gets it back to the same white as the day I pulled it out of its box (except for the scratches caused by carelessness).
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2Probably because it's selling better than they expected. So they decided to upgrade it since it's going on be in the product line for a while.
Of course, if the Mac mini is selling well enough to not kill it off then they should have upgraded it by no as well. So who knows.. - johnbellone, on 01/22/2009, -0/+2I still cannot believe that Firewire was eliminated from the MacBook line. This is basically the only reason why I did not upgrade my old MacBook (pre-Santa Rosa) to the newer aluminium body. It looks like that I am going to have to save a little more and go for the MacBook Pro, Apple, you bastard.
- scootinger, on 01/27/2009, -0/+2@souldawg: Actually, it's the same 2GHz P7350 processor on the $1299 model as on the $999 Whitebook.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 117 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is 