First Look: Apple Macbook

"Looks nice though, just not worth the extra money for what you can get a PC or Linux machine for, with more features."

Bingo. I'll put the quality of my HP Pavilion zd9000 against any other out there. The Apple "equivalent" would have cost over 600 bucks more at the time, not including the cost of a version of Windows that I would have to purchase for boot camp or virtual PC.

Intersink thank you for your kind comments about me.. Unfortunately sometimes the effort I put into reviews goes unrecognized and people tend to push me into "Apple Fanboy" world.. Oh well..

"...why do all your comments turn to "Apple Fanboy"?"

They don't, but for people who are sensitive to any statements that do not support Apple, that is what you focus on.

The facts are that Greenpeace said nothing about Apple "nailing it" so that is sensationalized information. In addition, the aluminum, "uni-body" cladding is for nothing more than show. I do not deny that it looks nice, is light and is strong. The fact is that there are other materials providing the same capabilities without "Uni-body".

No one doubts that there are plenty of laptops out there with sub-par materials for their bodies, including, as Dave mentioned, the previous MacBook. So what does that have to do with the fact that there are laptops that do not use sub par materials for their bodies, which are not shiny, bright aluminum finishes?

I have a Dell Latitude D610 which is 3 years old, and not one part of it is warped due to heat. It has a 14.1" Screen 4hr battery and weigh's 5 lbs even. I have even dropped it on it's corner from my bathroom counter top onto a tile floor, but yet not one disfiguring warp to be seen anywhere.

Sorry to disagree with you Interstink, but from a structural integrity standpoint regarding laptops, the uni-body aluminum cladding is over-kill and gimmicky.

Looks nice though, just not worth the extra money for what you can get a PC or Linux machine for, with more features.

Physboy, why do all your comments turn to "Apple Fanboy"? I can always count on you to turn any Apple review into something it's not. Just like you can count on me to support Apple for what it's doing to the PC and Mobile phone market.

Microsoft and Apple may compete on a few fronts, but PC hardware is not one of them. Let Microsoft create PC Hardware... well, maybe a brown laptop is what YOU'RE craving!

Apple designs great looking hardware that wraps around amazing OS software. The "Uni-body" construction is not only lighter and stronger, but looks incredible.

David, I too have a "old" warped PC laptop (Dell Latitude warped after 1 year of heavy use), but it sill works even though the CD-ROM drive doesnt fit flush. If there is anything we can count on from David, an unbiased review!

I would say we need more competition than just Apple and MS as both have been doing nothing but falling short of helping this country to get ahead of the rest of the world in proliferated technology.

BTW, Greenpeace said nothing about Apple "Nailing It" unless "Not quite the breakthrough we were hoping for." somehow = "Nailing It". The most the said was that Apple finally caught up to the rest of the mfrs. and that IF they follow through with their promises they will pull ahead of the pack at that time. This of course assumes that the rest of the pack will not be doing anything in that time.

Read for yourself:

http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/staff_toxics

Dave, what does the 90% guestimate have to do with the fact that there are plenty of other materials which can and do resist warping due to heat?

There is no doubt that Apple makes beautiful hardware and useful software. But, a single manufacturing source ensures their hardware is relatively expensive. There is also no reasonable doubt that for the vast majority of folks the wide variety of Windows hardware manufacturers and software publishers provide the most cost effective solutions. Variety is good for all consumers. Microsoft and Apple are good for one another as they foster intense competition that further benefits all of us consumers.

Phys 90% of the notebooks aren't using carbon fiber..

Dave, I don't know what your level of materials science knowledge is, but your assertion is incorrect. It depends on the material used, two pieces of carbon fiber composite (along with many other materials) designed to withstand the heat will NOT warp due to the heat (advantage Vodoo laptop). If what you were suggesting is true the latest fighter planes would be made of this fantastic aluminum, when in fact they have stopped using aircraft aluminum for high performance planes in favor of composite materials that hold up better to extreme pressures and tempetures while maintaining structural integrity years ago. I have alot of experience with materials science and do this research all the time, those are the facts.

Your Vaio experience is just an example of what happens when a company does not use the proper materials for the physical application. I can assure you that the Vodoo body will hold up just as well if not far better and lighter than these MacBooks with their gimmicky "New", "Aluminum", "Unibody" chasis.

Phy you are totally missing the point. Whenever you have two pieces of plastic touching together such as where two corners meet up you have potential for warping. I can show you my $3000 sony vaio which completely warped on both sides due to heat.

and btw... Fanboy? give it up... Its called researching and understanding your personal needs.

You don't need unibody construction to avoid warping. You just need a material that does not warp at the temperatures that can be generated from the electronics and battery. It does not have to be aluminum and certainly does not have to be unibody we are not dealing with vehicular collisions and/or efficiency and high physical speeds.

C'mon Dave, being an Apple fanboy is one thing, but a gimmick is a gimmick.

Phys I TOTALLY disagree. I had a VGN-150 Vaio which from heat completely started to warp and gaps appeared. Even happened to my previous macbook!! Unibody is a brilliant design!

I can tell you I have had the same amount of issues with stability on macs and pc's alike. Video memory is coming from system RAM instead of integrated on video chipset for the MacBook.

I do have to say that this notebook offering is getting a bit closer to being cost effective. The unibody construction is definitely a marketing gimmick though.

Quality review for the switcher looking to run windows for those apps you cant find on the Mac. Excel may have been a poor choice, but IE works in that regard, but who wants to run IE anyway :).

This latest revision of quality Apple products may be a game changer for many. I like what Vista is trying to do, and still have to use it daily, but the Mac OS is still far superior.

For the last 2 years, everyone at my office want's and are buying Mac Computers. There is in fact "Something in the Air". At least this forces Microsoft to work a bit harder next time, or invest more in advertising.

Thank you Justia.. I put a good deal of work into it and to get this message was great timing!

Video quality on this review is excellent, a pleasure to watch.

Hey if you want to drive a Yugo stick with a low cost PC. If you want a nice luxury machine that will last buy a Mac. Most consumer notebooks today are made fairly cheap. There are PCs on the higher end that will cost more money. This is due to the fact that they offer better features and built better. We all have to buy what we can afford. Personally I would wait a little longer to save the money for a better unit that is built well. This is the same for any purchase I make. I don't mind paying for quality. As far as stability the Mac in my opinion is a stable machine hands down. I don't have to worry about it blue screening if I remove a device. XP and Vista are also fine operating systems and I still use them but so far the OSX has been rock solid.

Hey if you want to drive a Yugo stick with a low cost PC. If you want a nice luxury machine that will last buy a Mac. Most consumer notebooks today are made fairly cheap. There are PCs on the higher end that will cost more money. This is due to the fact that they offer better features and built better. We all have to buy what we can afford. Personally I would wait a little longer to save the money for a better unit that is built well. This is the same for any purchase I make. I don't mind paying for quality. As far as stability the Mac in my opinion is a stable machine hands down. I don't have to worry about it blue screening if I remove a device. XP and Vista are also fine operating systems and I still use them but so far the OSX has been rock solid.

Where can we find the details on the stability, cause as I've said before...I've never experienced a stability issue on a pc since XP (and so far Vista is surprising me).

$650 for my 4GB duocore HP which allows me to stream video and audio all evening, while doing half dozen other tasks...why on earth would I spend $1300?

There are no degrees of stability. It either is, or it ain't.

100% worth it.. Faster, more stable an much more for your money.

So, like I said....is the 600+ dollar difference over a similarly spec'ed Windows laptop worth it?

Jerry this is not a video editing Mac. If you want that then one should go with the MacBook Pro.

"Jerry you are totally missing the specs.. Did you look at the video processor on those HP's? Also take a look at the bus speed on the RAM. 1033Mhz, havent seen that spec in a HP laptop yet. "

"MacBooks score better on our Multitasking test than similarly configured Windows notebooks (such as the Dell Studio 15), thanks in part to the efficiency of the Mac operating system. "

So to the "average consumer" to whom which is referred to so often, is the 600+ buck difference really worth it? Perhaps if you are in need of video or multimedia editing. Otherwise, the quality and the MAC OS premium is not worth the money, period.

Also Jerry per ZDNet

In our benchmark tests, the new MacBook and its 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU performed comparably to its predecessor, which is to say that basic multitasking and productivity are no problem, as is streaming and viewing HD-video content � much as we'd expect from any current Intel Core 2 Duo notebook. Although the hardware is largely similar,

MacBooks score better on our Multitasking test than similarly configured Windows notebooks (such as the Dell Studio 15), thanks in part to the efficiency of the Mac operating system.

I think the build quality of a Mac is better and I really like the operating system. I don't mind paying more for quality because I know it is going to last. This is just common sense. My Booq bag is a lot more expensive than many other bags and it is still in great condition 3 years later. The same with my Bose equipment.

Jerry you are totally missing the specs.. Did you look at the video processor on those HP's? Also take a look at the bus speed on the RAM. 1033Mhz, havent seen that spec in a HP laptop yet.

$1599 for a 13" screen? Take a look around, a similar machine from HP with a 14" screen,
AMD Turion(TM) X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-84 (2.3GHz), and 4 gb of RAM goes for under a grand.

The price differences are even more prevalent on the 17" models.

I agree with Alli.

2-3 times more than laptops? Alli I paid $1500 for this laptop.. I dont see comparable PC's with the same specs running for $500..

I still fail to see why macs cost 2-3 times more than laptops made to run Windows. What can they possibly do to command that price?

Why doesn't Apple just skip to the chase and make a multi-touch tablet already. Who gives a rats @$$ about multi-touch track pad? HP already has beaten them to the punch with their new multi-touch PC. Just a matter of short time before they release the multi-touch tablet.

Nice presentation there Dave. Looks like Apple made some better choices in hardware this time around. Makes me want to get one but I need it in black.

I want one!!!