I work as an IT manager, overseeing about 4000+ client computers. About one-fourth of them are Macs. I myself am a long-time Mac user, currently using a dual-quad Mac Pro and a 1st gen white MacBook, which I love both of them.
Full disclosure: I do not own this new MacBook (although I had planned to upgrade), but we bought several for evaluation purposes to determine whether they would be purchased in larger quantities. I have used one for almost a week now and have developed a love / hate relationship with them.
The Good:
The unibody is a beautiful design, and makes for a rigid and solid feeling notebook. I like the fact they've make it easier to perform hard drive and memory upgrades. The battery indicator on the side is a nice touch, instead of on the bottom, but I admit, I never used it that much, since I tend to check the battery life when it's on and I check it on the menu bar.
Once you get used to it, the new trackpad, it's a delight to use, and the new finger gestures are useful. The new DisplayPort also seems to work well enough, although once again, new adapters will have to purchased. Some people have complained about the lack of HDMI, but if you read the specs for the DisplayPort standard, it really takes us into the next generation of video display and is a better standard, IMHO.
Finally, the new graphics update is much welcomed. Graphics performance has substantially been increased, and the 2.0 GHz machines we're testing are pretty snappy when using graphics intensive tasks. We don't play games with these, but I'm sure gamers will welcome the change. Our Pro Apps are noticeably faster.
The Bad:
Naturally, this new manufacturing process has to cost Apple more, but we didn't except to pay so much more for a computer with worst [basic] specs than what we were getting in our purchase of the white and black MacBooks. Except for graphics performance, our CPU benchmarks are very lackluster in comparison. Our IT budget is very tight right now, and it's going to be hard to justify a purchase with so little difference in performance. Respectively, each model, compared to the MacBook model it replaced, is only 6% and 12% faster. These benchmarks have been independently verified by many Mac-related websites.
Several of our early testers are complaining about the ultra-glossy (or glassy) screen and the quality of the display itself. Our offices are brightly-lit and it takes quite a bit of adjustment to properly see the screen without severe glare. This isn't as noticeable in low-light environments, but we also see poor side-to-side viewing, meaning you almost have to look at these dead-on straight to see a good image. Comparing it to earlier MacBooks and MBP's, these new models are much worse. Fingerprints are much more noticeable also, and the glass front bezel seems to be a fingerprint magnet. That's not a big deal, but they complained that calibration doesn't help the color flaws in this new display. These use LED displays, as opposed to TFT displays that the previous MacBook had. I think it's just a cheaper panel, because other reviews have had no major complaints with LED displays in the new MacBook Pros.
Lastly, and most important to me as a technician, is the lack of a FireWire port. Many of my peripherals are FW and also I frequently use the Target Disk Mode (TDM) in my job of diagnosing, repairing, saving and migrating data from other Macs. Even though I had planned to upgrade, I now have no choice but to keep what I have. Also, our Media department will not be getting upgrades. They also use video and audio FW devices that cannot be substituted or re-purchased simply because Apple choose to leave FW out on this model. Not only is cost an issue to go to a MacBook Pro, but many of us liked the smaller footprint of the 13" model.
I find it ironic that Apple increased the graphics performance to use their Pro Apps more effectively, but left out the very port that is used to import the video and audio files for those Pro Apps to work with? Many of us would have even traded the ethernet port for the FW port, since you can get a USB to Ethernet dongle.
Also, since our department uses cloning software to quickly install drive images for our clients, this will affect us dramatically. USB, is not only much, MUCH slower, but less reliable. You have to turn off any software that may execute during the clone. In our tests, we found something as small as "Little Snitch" coming on during a clone install, is enough to choke a USB drive to almost stopping the clone process. It's a much slower and more unreliable process.
I know some people have stated that FW is dead, but no, it isn't. It is continuing to be developed into a faster standard. And USB-3 isn't a reality yet, so saying that USB-3 is coming anyway, doesn't do anyone any good at the present since only USB-2 ports exists on these models. And yes, I realize some people have never heard of FW and to them, this is no big deal. Although, part of the power, and reliability of a Mac, is the fact you can make an exact, bootable clone of your hard drive, and within minutes of a major hardware failure, be up and running, and continue to do your work, while your hard drive is being replaced. This is a powerful feature that some people will never know until it's too late. Granted, you can basically do the same from a USB drive, but if anyone has ever had to do so, they know how excruciatingly slow it is. And of course USB cannot duplicate the functions of TDM.
These new MacBooks will find buyers, there's no doubt that for many people they will be just what they need, and again, they are gorgeous and probably very durable. But people that depended on FW and have an investment in FW devices, will need to think long and hard about this upgrade. Also, I would recommend anyone wanting to purchase, to visit the Apple store and examine the LCD display for themselves.
Although a minor complaint, I don't like the fact Apple makes you purchase the $1600 upgrade in order to get a lighted keyboard, that's as bad as the "black" tax (the black MacBooks costing more). Using three stars as an "average" upgrade, I'm only giving this upgrade two stars because I feel Apple took too much away in relation for the price they are charging. This is unusual for me, since Apple products usually get my highest praise. If this were a new product line, without anything to compare it to, perhaps it would be different. But, the plastic MacBook continues to be the better deal for us at this point, although we will continue to evaluate them and see if perhaps Apple decides to release another revision with some improvements.
1/31/09 Update:
For those on a budget, and those who can live without the unibody design, but still wants / needs a MacBook, I encourage you to check out the newest refresh of the white MacBook. They have made some substantial upgrades but have still kept the price down to what is, I think, a very affordable, but high-quality laptop from Apple. We recently purchased ten of these and have been very happy with them. The performance upgrade is very noticeable, and we can still use our FireWire peripherals and display adapters. Since we are still using our original evaluation units together with our older models, we have also noticed better Wi-Fi reception on the polycarbonate models, as have other users. But, in fairness, I will say, other than a couple of issues (mainly with DisplayPort adapters and the trackpad), the new MacBooks have performed well for us, and we have not had any major issues with them.
You can find more info here:
http://www.apple.com/macbook/white/
Display update:5/29/09
As I noted, the screen on the MacBook is just terrible. It appears Apple has updated the MacBook's display because of complaints.
From ARS: "Apple looks to have quietly replaced the LCD screen it was using on the unibody MacBook with an improved part. The updated screens began showing up in MacBooks made since the end of April, according to a report from Computerworld."
June 8th 09 update: In spite of those who criticized my review for my opinion on Firewire and the display. Today, WWDC announced the MacBook PRO 13", which replaces this model. It has the better display, same type as used in the 15", AND, now includes Firewire 800. With even more features, and at a cheaper price, we'll be purchasing some for evaluation, and I think it's now time for me to upgrade from my 1st Gen White Macbook that has served me very well. I hope to write a new review on this much needed upgrade.Get more detail about Apple MacBook MB466LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.
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