By Elias Soh
EchoElias@gmail.com
The MacBook, Apple’s laptop for the low-end, non-professional market, has come a long way since its predecessors provided the necessary basis for its arrival.
Replacing the iBook and PowerBook in 2006, Apple attempted to consolidate the two separate notebooks that were sold in two categories into a single line with a unified form factor.
A Look At The History:
The original MacBook had an Intel Core Duo processor, DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) support, and an Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics processor.
It was sold originally in memory three options: 512 Megabyte RAM, 1 Gigabyte RAM, and 2 Gigabyte RAM, all in differing (and slightly baffling in this respect prices).
It also had other customizable options that directly affected system performance, (and, inevitably, price) such as hard drive space and speed of its Intel processing unit.
In plain English, the consumer had the choice of ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ and ‘better’ when he/she purchased within the realm of the low-end, non-professional market. Prices ranged between approximately $1800 and $2800.
In this reviewer’s opinion, the differences in specifications hardly warranted a $1000 price gap.
The absence of ‘best’ in the categories mentioned above is deliberate, as it is reserved for the MacBook Pro, which was superior to its low-end sibling. This was so particularly in the areas of graphics (it had a superior standalone graphics processor, unlike the MacBook) and speed.
What The Present Offers:
Apple’s latest offering to its low-end market does not short-change its non-professional users.
To illustrate this point, a comparison to the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro would reveal how the latest MacBook is a blessing to students and casual users that want to upgrade or switch from a PC.
Both the latest MacBook Pro and the MacBook have a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel processing unit, a 3MB L2 cache, a 1066 MHz frontside bus and 2GB RAM.
It also has a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, which means users can now play video games with high-quality graphics on their MacBooks.
This was previously only available to the MacBook Pro line.
In a nutshell of layman terms, Apple is basically offering a MacBook Pro to its consumers at a lower price, in a white plastic shell.
The non-professional user (such as media or visual communications students) can now work with industry-standard options at a singular, affordable price.
Unlike its predecessor, Apple does not offer an unnecessary price range with even more unnecessary specification differences.
It gives you everything necessary to work and play at one flat price. However, consumers do have the option to upgrade hard drive space upon purchase.
Technical specifications aside, the rounded edges and a reduced number of seams give the MacBook a more appealing shape than that of the original MacBook. The rubber base is also an added-plus, both in the area of grip, and lap-friendliness when the machine heats up.
Outdoor users may find it in their favour to know that the it also has a vastly improved battery life. In an intense test, that pushed the MacBook to its limits (using various programs simultaneously, using Wi-Fi, etc), the unit lasted four hours.
This is a considerable improvement, lasting more than twice as long as the original MacBook under similar circumstances.
Regular usage would point to even longer battery life, between five to seven hours.
However, the new MacBook is not perfect. Its polycarbonate shell scratches too easily. Reviewers and users alike have complained about its proneness to scratches.
It also lacks an important component native to Apple products: the Firewire port. The Firewire ,almost twice as fast as USB 2.0 technology in its latest incarnation, is unfortunately missing.
EchoElias@gmail.com
The MacBook, Apple’s laptop for the low-end, non-professional market, has come a long way since its predecessors provided the necessary basis for its arrival.
Replacing the iBook and PowerBook in 2006, Apple attempted to consolidate the two separate notebooks that were sold in two categories into a single line with a unified form factor.
A Look At The History:
The original MacBook had an Intel Core Duo processor, DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) support, and an Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics processor.
It was sold originally in memory three options: 512 Megabyte RAM, 1 Gigabyte RAM, and 2 Gigabyte RAM, all in differing (and slightly baffling in this respect prices).
It also had other customizable options that directly affected system performance, (and, inevitably, price) such as hard drive space and speed of its Intel processing unit.
In plain English, the consumer had the choice of ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ and ‘better’ when he/she purchased within the realm of the low-end, non-professional market. Prices ranged between approximately $1800 and $2800.
In this reviewer’s opinion, the differences in specifications hardly warranted a $1000 price gap.
The absence of ‘best’ in the categories mentioned above is deliberate, as it is reserved for the MacBook Pro, which was superior to its low-end sibling. This was so particularly in the areas of graphics (it had a superior standalone graphics processor, unlike the MacBook) and speed.
What The Present Offers:
Apple’s latest offering to its low-end market does not short-change its non-professional users.
To illustrate this point, a comparison to the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro would reveal how the latest MacBook is a blessing to students and casual users that want to upgrade or switch from a PC.
Both the latest MacBook Pro and the MacBook have a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel processing unit, a 3MB L2 cache, a 1066 MHz frontside bus and 2GB RAM.
It also has a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, which means users can now play video games with high-quality graphics on their MacBooks.
This was previously only available to the MacBook Pro line.
In a nutshell of layman terms, Apple is basically offering a MacBook Pro to its consumers at a lower price, in a white plastic shell.
The non-professional user (such as media or visual communications students) can now work with industry-standard options at a singular, affordable price.
Unlike its predecessor, Apple does not offer an unnecessary price range with even more unnecessary specification differences.
It gives you everything necessary to work and play at one flat price. However, consumers do have the option to upgrade hard drive space upon purchase.
Technical specifications aside, the rounded edges and a reduced number of seams give the MacBook a more appealing shape than that of the original MacBook. The rubber base is also an added-plus, both in the area of grip, and lap-friendliness when the machine heats up.
Outdoor users may find it in their favour to know that the it also has a vastly improved battery life. In an intense test, that pushed the MacBook to its limits (using various programs simultaneously, using Wi-Fi, etc), the unit lasted four hours.
This is a considerable improvement, lasting more than twice as long as the original MacBook under similar circumstances.
Regular usage would point to even longer battery life, between five to seven hours.
However, the new MacBook is not perfect. Its polycarbonate shell scratches too easily. Reviewers and users alike have complained about its proneness to scratches.
It also lacks an important component native to Apple products: the Firewire port. The Firewire ,almost twice as fast as USB 2.0 technology in its latest incarnation, is unfortunately missing.
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