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More MacBook Observations
Sunday, May 28, 2006
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I've finally gotten settled into the o'l (new) MacBook and started doing some real computing on it. First, the specs: white, 2.0 Ghz dual core, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HD. Last week basically consisted of getting it up and running, but now I'm finally getting a feel for just how great this machine is. The first thing that struck me is the brightness of the display compared to my 12" Powerbook. Granted my PB was 3+ years old so it wasn't exactly cutting edge, but the MacBook's display is very bright and the white makes the Powerbook's white look brown. :) The widescreen aspect ratio is a nice upgrade as well. I didn't think I would care so much, but having room for a full sized text editor window with a palette is nice. :) The second thing I've noticed is it's whisper quiet. When the fans turn on they are at low speed and are very soft. Again, no comparison to my Powerbook which sounded like it was getting ready for take-off when the fan turned on. Lastly, of course, is the speed. When I would build Maquarium it would take my Powerbook between 8-10 minutes to do a clean build. The new MacBook, it's more like a minute and a half. Rosetta (the PPC emulation layer) seems to run as fast or faster than my Powerbook, with the exception of launching PPC applications. Once the application has been launched once however, re-launching it is faster than my Powerbook. The good news is, native Intel apps fly. I won't belabor that point, but applications like Mail and Safari are noticeably faster than my 2.0 Ghz dual G5 at work. All-in-all, Apple has really polished up their portable line and now is a great time to pick one up if you're sitting on an old Powerbook or an old PC. cheers, will tv : stargate atlantis comments posted at 7:24 PM Comments:Post a Comment |
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