Apple MacBook Pro MA464LL/A 15.4" Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

This Macbook Pro is a great system. The newer versions are not as great due to the glossy, glass screen, the screen on this one is way better and clearer. This design has thus far been my favorite design of the Macbook Pro. OS X is a truly amazing OS, I strayed away from it for a little bit when I had capability issues with Leopard, but now that I have re-installed OS X Tiger everything works brilliant. If you want the most for your money, this and the Dell XPS are the best notebooks on the market.

I love this computer, but it is ergonomically horrible. I have been using Macintosh Powerbooks for the last eight years and it was an ergonomic gem. The working surface of the laptop was curved and I never once experienced pain while typing, even if I spent 10 hours a day typing. The Macbook has a sharp edge that cuts into my palms & wrists and it causes so much pain I have to stop typing.

I have no idea how designers could or would create a laptop with such a horrible flaw. I work at NASA and we work tirelessly on the ergonomics of every design to lessen the impact on astronauts. It is mindboggling how Apple designers could be so careless in the design of their laptops.

They probably only cared about 'how it looked' instead of how it functioned. I know if I designed this computer I would NEVER have made such a ridiculous blunder. Why would Apple stray away from a perfectly designed laptop (the Powerbook) and go to a hard edged design. Hell, why didn't they just put razor blades on the edge where your wrists rest? Are you listening Apple designers? Or do you care? Probably not...

Related Info: I ordered this computer because it was the last Mac laptop to have a flat screen. Apple seems to have sold out to the PC world by going exclusively to glossy screens. There are no advantages to glossy screens. They give so much glare you can't even see what you are doing, especially if you are in public. Glossy screens render laptops useless outside because you can't even see the display. This is another huge blunder Apple is making.

When are corporations going to start designing what the consumer wants instead of forcing stupid designs on consumers? Hey Apple, how about hiring me at $500,000 a year so I can straighten out your designs? That salary would be dirt cheap, because with the better designs I would create it would lead to more HAPPY customers. Isn't that what companies are SUPPOSED to do???

Dumb, dumb, dumb...

At first, my dad got me an Acer laptop, which crashed within a month of my getting it. My mom, being the practical one, decided that I needed a Mac. They went to CompUSA and got a full refund for that worthless hunk of plastic. When they came home, they said that it turned out I couldn't have a laptop, then they grinned broadly and uncovered a MacBook Pro. I was delighted. I sat down and turned it on. From the moment I saw the welcome screen, I knew I had a winner on my lap. That was in 2006.

It's now 2007 and my MacBook Pro is still the best computer in the family. The only change is some additional software and a RAM upgrade to 2 GB. I love my Mac. I use it every day and whenever I show my projects to Windows users, they freak out, saying how I must have spent months reading books about how to do that stuff. I tell them that it was easy - at least with a Mac. Whenever I use a school computer, which has Windows XP, I can't believe how incredibly stupid the designers must have been. There's all sorts of programs that came with my MacBook Pro that the school AT brags about having bought for the Windows XP computers. Furthermore, those programs that came free with my MacBook Pro are much better than those that had to be added onto Windows XP and costed scores of dollars each.

I think that if you're a frustrated Windows user, but you think you can't get a Mac because of incompatibilities, you NEED to get a Mac. Trust me - I do all my schoolwork on my Mac and it comes out looking gorgeous. If I need to transfer it to a school computer, I just click the export button. For instance, I did a report on Pages. After I was done, I clicked File -> Export -> PDF -> Continue... Then I chose where to save my PDF, I waited 10 seconds, I saved it to my USB memory device, I plugged it into a school computer, and voila! Also, I love making presentations in Keynote. After I finish, I export the presentation in PowerPoint format. Finally, the DVDs you can make with iDVD are, to be blundt, absolutely gorgeous. I did a documentary for school in iMovie HD, I set up a main menu with iDVD with Play Documentary as the button you select to play my documentary, and I burned it to a DVD. When I presented it to the class, everyone gasped when they saw how professional my DVD looked. I even had credits at the end of the documentary, just like the Hollywood movies. I got an A, of course.

Here some facts about the programs that come with any Mac:
Address Book- You can import and export contacts from most email clients - very handy. Also, it is fully synced with Mail so you only type a few letters of someone's name and then Enter to make them a recipient.

Automater- If you're doing the same thing over and over again, stop that right now. Take 30 seconds, give or take, to tell Automater to do it. Wait another 30 seconds and the whole thing is done. It's like having your own little robot inside your computer.

Chess- Play chess with either the computer or a friend on the other side of the world. Mac has had this for two years now and Windows Vista, which just came out, is claiming to not have copied this feature. Right. I've used both OSs and Vista's Chess is almost identical to Mac's. Hmmm...

Comic Life- A doodler's dream. You can make your own comics and then print them out. Very professional looking and easy.

Dashboard- The definition of convenience. Read news, control iTunes, play Hangman, squeeze a whoopie cusion (my personal favorite), check the time, calculate a number, type on a virtual Post-it note, translate something into another language (very useful for me since I live in Japan and I don't speak Japanese), look up the definition of a word, etc. [Also, in Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, the next release of OS X, you can make your own dashboard widgets; this will be similar to making your own gadget on your iGoogle page]

GarageBand- Record your own music, edit it, group it into tracks, put it on iTunes for all users to download, make your own CDs, etc.

iCal- Solution to a busy person's dream. Automatically color-codes your appointments based on what category they fall into and shows events as a visual block of time, bigger for longer events, smaller for shorter events. Syncs with your iPod so you can check your calender, for instance, in Starbucks when a colleague asks what time would be best for a meeting. You can subscribe to people's calendars online so their events automatically appear in iCal. Includes a To-Do list, sorted by priority.

iChat- Social person's dream. Text-chat with anyone, and you hear a little noise when they say something so you can work while waiting for a response. Audio-chat with anyone and you can talk like you're on the speakerphone. Best of all, video-chat with anyone, go into full screen mode, and you feel like you're sitting at a very reflective table, talking to all of them. [Coming in Leopard- present Keynote presentations and other documents to people via iChat. They also see a little icon of you, narrating the presentation. Also, you can add a backdrop so it looks like you're, well, anywhere you want to be. Finally, you'll be able to use those Photo Booth special effects on yourself while video conferencing.]

iDVD- Is it Hollywood or is it not? That difference will be very tiny when you make a DVD with iDVD. You can choose what music to play in the main menu by simply dragging the song name from the media browser onto the menu. Also you can select whether to have a widescreen or standard orientation for your DVD. Finally, you'll be able to navigate the DVD's menus just like in store-bought Hollywood DVDs - with your DVD remote. All functions of a regular DVD movie are included with iDVDs. They work with any DVD player.

iMovie HD- Again, is it Hollywood or is it not? You can add high-quality special effects to your movies and you can even use your built-in iSight camera to record yourself. You can also adjust volume levels for music or narrations to play at. Add transitions between pictures and videos. Insert the perfect song. Narrate the whole thing to make a documentary. Et Cetera. The bottom line is that you'll be able to show friends a Hollywood movie and your movie and they won't be able to tell the difference.

iPhoto- A reminicer's wildest dream. Use professional tools to make your photos look simply beautiful. After you've done that, make a photo album. Design your own greeting card. Make a calendar for your kitchen. Prepare a slideshow to show on your television, via the Appple TV. Once you've done that, click Buy. Your creation gets shipped to your front door (or someone elses, if you want) and it has been printed on top-quality photo paper with the best ink availible. As simple as 1-2-3.

iSync- You can syncronize your contacts and calendar with your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. Very convenient.

iTunes- Easily find and download millions of songs, albums, movies, TV shows, news report podcasts, etc. Also import music from CDs and manage your iPod.

iWeb- Your one-stop-shop for making gorgeous Web sites. For example, a Web site I spent a few hours on looks ten times better than the one our school AT has been working on for years for our school, using Windows.

Mail- Leaves Outlook in the dust. Automatically sorts your mail into different folders and lets you instantly search your entire mail history.

Photo Booth- Take pictures of yourself using one of sixteen special effects and then either email them, set them as your iChat icon, or import them into iPhoto for editing and other things.

Sherlock- Just like its namesake, it's a one-stop-shop to find ANYTHING on anything, including on your computer, a network, the Internet, or anywhere else you need to.

Stickies- Post-It notes you can leave anywhere on your screen. Variety of uses.

Activity monitor- the Apple version of the Windows Task Manager, although this can show you the current status of every hardware component of your computer, including current RAM usage and hard drive usage.

Grapher- Wonderful tool for algebra students. Type in an equation, exactly as it appears, and it graphs it for you. Save the graph as an image, find the coordinates of any point on the graph, etc. Also, you can type in data sets. Finally, you can choose from five different appearences for your graph.

Printer Setup Utility- Hub for every printing device connected to your Mac, its current jobs, its ink levels, its specifications, etc.

VoiceOver Utility- Reads whatever text you want it to. Choose from a couple dozen different voices for your Mac to read in.

When I saw the price for this laptop, I told myself that no one would buy it because it's too expensive. After an entire year of flawless performance and wonderful results, I reversed my opinion. This Mac was worth every penny, and you'll agree, too, once you push the On button.

I wanted to be one of those cult followers of Mac--I really wanted to make the switch from PC to Mac and be blown away by the difference. Unfortunately, my experience has been the opposite.

I have been to the Mac store over a dozen times in the year I have owned it, and while everyone recognizes that my internet and several applications run like a one legged man with a twisted ankle, they have not been able to find the problem. I sent it away to be repaired, and it was returned with a new hard drive...a new hard drive that broke down within two days. I sent it back and have been too scared to send it away again for fear of another problem. With it's third hard drive, second battery, second charger cable, and a couple of new keys on the keyboard, my Mac remains impressive on the outside, something people complement and marvel at, saying they wish they had it, but in the meantime, my internet force quits, Word is slow, Powerpoint is useless, and streaming radio and video are a thing of the past. My husband's cheap ($400) laptop works faster, which makes me cringe everytime I see those commercials and think of the thousands I paid. And still no solution.

It's features are gorgeous and sleek--everything you would expect from a company with such a stylish image, but god is it skin deep. I wish I could give it a better rating...

Update: Getting more memory helps. The basic amount is not enough to do anything, really, but after having gotten 2 Gigs of it, things have improved. If you buy one, make sure it has enough; otherwise, be ready to pay for more.

Also, the battery has problems. I had to have it replaced once within the first few months of owning it (brand new), and now, after having the computer 1.5 years and the battery for only one, it happened again and I am now on my third battery. They are not Meant to be disposable, and yet, they are.
Also, the charger cable, while innovative in that your computer won't fall off the desk if someone trips on it, is also a bit fragile. I'm on my second one of those as well, and the wire is really loose and is starting to fail to charge sometimes. I'll probably need to replace it in a few weeks.
The good news? Mac has the BEST service I've ever gotten on any product, and provided you get Apple Care, you'll be in great hands. They fixed 90% of the problems and were friendly and generous with their time on it!

I love Macs, and this one delivers. It also delivers lots of heat. I have had the hard drive and battery replaced after just 9 months, and the power cord caught fire right at the MagSafe connector to the computer.
Recommend buying a three yr. protection plan if you are buying an Apple laptop. By the way, due to heat issues, they no longer call them laptops, and recommend against using them on your lap or touching any body part.

I bought this new and have had a tough time with it largely in part because I uploaded a back up software called "Bounceback Express" for my portable external storage hard drive. It is software that comes with most external hard drives made bu SEAGATE and SMARTDISK. DO NOT put this software into your mac it is like a virus and can scramble the keyboard and slow down the machine immensely.

I sent my MacBook Pro back to apple twice and they gutted, but could not figure out the problem until recently. Great customer service through Apple and it is in no way their fault.

Also, it is very important you make sure you get the new battery after the 2006 Sony recall. The warranty is great though for a year so they will replace it free if it is faulty.

I would definately get the memory upgrade. All in all I would buy it again and I am happy to be done with that evil Bounceback express software.

I a going on y third repair. please forgive the letters in words that are not there. one of the proble s THERE ARE LOTS !!!! Rarely works for ore than an ho r at a ti e. wasted a year, lost work, always in the shop. TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!

You're going to love this laptop but not if your want to use Windows. I decided to switch from Dell to Apple when Windows could be added to the Apple as a virtual operating system. Here are the important questions to ask when buying this product. Will I be able to use the USB and Firewire ports in Windows? In my version purchased 11-8-06, these 2 ports are not accessible in Windows and files can't be shared between Windows and Apple. I was told at Apple Care that I could, however, access files from another computer through fire wire or USB but only on the Apple side. The only way I can get files into and out of Windows is to email them to myself. After many calls to Apple Care, I realized that the service technicans do not have access to these machines so you can't get any help from them. Buy this if you want to use an Apple and if you are familiar with Apple laptops, otherwise it will be a big headache. You'll love the quiet keyboard and sleek design and everything else Apple is famous for.

This is more of a comment than a review. I'm considering buying my first Mac (a MB Pro) but what blows me away about all the reviews here is that while most previous Mac owners say hold off for the next generation it's the 'windows switch-overs' who seem to be most blown away by the Mac books. They seem overwhelmed by the experience. Tells me all the more that I need to jump ship too from my miserable existance in Windows-land although I may wait for the next generation for some of the macbook kinks to be worked out...

I have used Macs off and on for many years, but I have exclusively owned PC's only. Since Mac's switch to the Intel processor, it was easy to justify the price of Macs, as now native programs (programs for Macs) work far faster than the old PowerPC processors. Besides that, for those of you who don't want to turn exclusively to Macs, there is the dual boot mode to run Windows. Be prepared for lots of issues on that though. There is still a lot of un-updated applications, and things will run SLOWER than on a normal Windows PC. Things should improve after updates, but this will take time.

This is not the notebook for you if you are a hardcore PC gamer. The support is a long ways off for that. I am a PC gamer, but I have a PC exclusively for that. This is the notebook for you if you want to be able to run all the native Mac apps and run them fast, all conveniently ready to go where ever you are.

Battery life is ok. for having a Dual Core processor, it lasted longer than I though at about 2 1/2 hrs. on non-battery save mode (less if running more intensive programs). Heat is hot. I am a lefty and using the touchpad on the left-hand side, it gets hot. Also, don't ever put this on your lap, even for casual use (temps usually in the 60C - 70C range). Weight is a a bit heavy, but that is to be expected for the screen size of the Notebook. Size is excellent. Very thin for what it packs in it!

One bad "improvement" is the power plug. It attaches through magnets instead of plugging into the notebook. This is great if you happen to trip a lot over your wires, but for most of us out there who don't have that issue, it is a pain! I use this notebook a lot on non-flat areas, and it constantly unplugs. The smallest unstraightening of the plug will make it not be able to charge (it can still be crookedly connected and not charge).

One great thing about the Macbook Pro that I love is in order to right click, all I have to do is press the touchpad with two fingers. This is very convenient and allows me to be as lazy as clicking a PC's right click button. It becomes very natural.

So basically, get this notebook if you want to run native apps like Final Cut, and run them portably.

Don't get this notebook if you want to run Windows on it (wait for more support on Intel Macs), or if you are a PC gamer wanting to run PC games through Windows on the Mac.

As for me, I am overall happy with my purchase. I got it for native Mac apps.

We've gone through two of these already, and both have had significant problems. I'll give an update when we get our third. In addition to the oft-cited heat issues, they often don't come out of sleep properly, requiring a hard reset.

It seems that Apple rushed these initial Intel-based laptops to get them on the market. It's probaly best to wait until the next generation ones come out either later this year or early next. For one, the next gen models will use the Core 2 processors, which are phenomenal and will reduce power consumption while giving an almost 100% boost to speed. Second, more applications will have been ported to the Intel architecture by then.

Unless you absolutely have to have an intel Mac now, I'd recommend waiting for the second generation laptops. Otherwise, you're going with a first generation chip on a first generation laptop. It's not surprising that so many people are having problems.

Very nice package and value. Didn't get 5 stars because HD could be larger and faster. Most people that buy Macs do it for video / photo editing. And it eats lots of disc space! Could use even a 250Gb drive!

this is an apple marvel!Keyboard is the best I have ever used on any computer. The heat that everyone mentions is not an issue for me. The glossy screen is vivid and really makes the images come alive with brilliant clarity and color. The last notebook I had was a 14" ibook. This computer is so much thinner and easier to transport. For the extra money this is a much sexier machine than the macbook.

This is the finest Laptop I have had the pleasure to own. I have owned HP, Sony, KDS and IBM. None of these are close in quality to the MAC. Some folks have complained about the fan noise...I can't hear my fan run. The unit runs a little warmer than I would like but is much cooler than the Sony Vaio it replaced. We have 5 computers on our wireless network 2 Macs and 3 PC's. We will replace one of the PC's soon with another MAC.....Buy ANY Mac...you will not regret it.

David, get a card reader. That one will not olny read PCMCIA, but also compact flash and a half dozen other formats.

Noise? Dorje, you abviously never had a PC Laptop. Macs are the most quiet computers you can get anywhere, the new MacBook pro included. You hear the grass grow, Dorje...

Speed: check-out the real-time effects in iMove, everything is FLUID. Run Aperture on an Intel Mac? Amazing!

As for non-universal applications; it was very well known that they would run slow: if you want to blame someone, blame Adobe who hasn't followed Apple's guidelines for programing (using Xcode) and now faces a big challenge porting the applications to an intel compatible version. Or be honest and admit that you didn't do your homework in research, before you jumped on the all new MacBook Pro... Besides, I had one of the very first ones. Since I loaded the available FIRMWARE UPDATES, my PPC Apps run much, much faster and they don't slow down my native environment anymore at all.

I've been running on Apple laptops for the past couple years, so it seemed natural to grab one of these as an upgrade.

Let me start by saying it is a quality piece of hardware. My 15" unit has the same screen resolution as my old 17" G4, and is a great *potential* upgrade for 17" users tired of carrying an aircraft carrier sized laptop.

To better understand my 3 star rating, let me preface by saying that I'm an amateur photographer. So a couple key elements for me are being able to import and process my photographs.

The first gotcha -- no PCMCIA slot. Maybe the little slot they've put into my 15" model is a technical step up, but that doesn't help me be more productive with all me existing gear. Sure I can import directly from the camera, but I don't always want to have to drag it out and drain its battery. I often have several compact flash cards with pictures in them and shuttling them back into the camera is cumbersome. To me this was a real mess up on Apple's part. Many of us have large investments in PCMCIA hardware (microdrives, compact flash etc) and to arbitrarily muck that up seems like old school Apple arrogance.

Second gotcha, no Intel native version of Adobe Photoshop and while the PPC version runs, it suffers *terribly* in performance. Add to that that I've seen issues with minor file corruption when saving files from Nikon raw to JPG and its very clear that until the native version of Photoshop comes out, Intel Apples are crippled for anyone wanting professional level image editing.

My 15" MBP doesn't get uncomfortably hot while running, but the upper left hand corner warms up considerably while running all the old (PowerPC) applications.

Will I get rid of my 15" MBP? No. Would I recommend it to others, yes but with caveats. Think about what it is you need this machine to do for you. If you need a high performance application that hasn't been ported to the Intel version of the operating system, then stay away. If you're a typical office user who gets email, surfs and might use the built in video and picture programs then it will be ok for you.

This is the most profoundly flawed maching Apple has ever produced. If you look on CraigsList in any major city, you will find unfortunate "early adopters" putting them up for sale. Apart from the "gee whiz" factor of new technology, bright screen and cool styling, it is virtually useless as a modern computer.

1. HEAT: my MBP was so hot I could not keep my hands on the laptop or keypads. In fact the underside MELTED PLASTIC. That means it can coaglulate protein (i.e. burn flesh) before long. This is well documented by unhappy users all over the web and hundreds of powerbooks have been replaced. Supposedly there are "cool" machines out there, or maybe only people with very cold hands. The machine should have never been released with this unresolved heat issue.

2. NOISE: there are 3 or 4 intolerable noise issues on these computers. I have had all of them, and all are, again, well documented on discussion groups. There is a high-pitched whine on the right side of the computer when the powercord is not plugged in (supposedly the screen inverter). There is the "mooing" or "distant buzz saw" sound, either of fans or processers happening at various times. And when the heat gets high enough, very irritating buzzing fans can be heard in any quiet room--across the room!

3. SLEEP ISSUES: screen black on coming out of sleep, refuses to wake up, complete crash (automatic restart) on coming out of sleep.

4. USB; various incompatibilities (as reported on discussion groups). For example, on all my printers, I now have to go into sleep mode, or even restart the computer completely, in order to have my printer be recongized by the computer.

5. SLOW: this is MUCH SLOWER than previous powerbooks, because of non-native applications.. i.e. ALL THE IMPORTANT ONES. If you use InDesign, Photoshop, etc. be prepared for spinning beach balls... as much as THREE TIMES longer for certain actions, including opening a document!!! Adobe Support told me directly:"We do not support ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS that are running on a MacBookPro. We did not hear about them until you guys did...we had no prior warning."
But also even finder activites, lke ejecting a connected firewire drive, are slower and sluggish. Changing applications takes forever.

INSTABILITY.
Many more crashes, hangs and forced quits than the same software and OS software running on my old G4.

SERVICE
Apple has done everything to deny all the above and make it difficult for users to get any kind of satisfaction, relief or resolution.

In short, the once user friendly Apple has finally matched the arrogance and diffidence of Microsoft and Quark.

Save yourself a lot of grief friends, and stay away from the MacBookPro debacle!

The Mac OS is a reasonably good unix-like operating system, especially for everyday and multimedia use. There are things about it that will irritate users coming from an operating system like FreeBSD. gcc, a critically important tool in any self respecting unix environment, is strangely absent even as an installation time option. This is fine for users that install only binary applications, but programmers and system administrators coming from other unix systems wont be able to live with it for very long. You can get gcc on your system if you download Xcode, but you have to sign up for a (free) Apple developer membership.

As far as the hardware goes, there's a lot of FUD going around about the switch to Intel processors. It is true that the Intel processors have higher clock rates, but just as horsepower is only the definitive measure of a car to the uninformed, so too is the clock rate of a processor in a computer. The Intel architecture has some key disadvantages when compared to powerpc. One of the obvious ones is the register set. Registers are small, extremely fast memory for a processor. The 32 bit x86 architecture has 8 32 bit registers that are used as general purpose along with a few special purpose registers. The 32 bit powerpc implementation architechture features 32 general purpose registers, also 32 bit, as well as 32 64 bit floating point registers, in addition to a set of special purpose registers. Why is this important? Because in the register starved x86 architecture, there is more dependence on operations on the slower RAM. With the powerpc architecture, the programmer can load values into registers, manipulate the contents of those registers as necessary, and store the results back in memory. This is one reason why a "slower" powerpc will have better performance than a "faster" intel. Of course, since the intel processors have higher clock rates, you can concoct tests that will favor them, but these have little bearing on reality. The Intel strategy for at least the past ten years has been to increase the clock rate steadily and not really improve the architecture.

If you're considering buying a MacBook pro consider exactly what type of user you are, power, casual, gamer, wordprocessor, etc. before stepping into this product. What you get from the feature reviews is a lot about system specifications, which will help you determine if the machine is cutting edge enough for you, but might not necessarily help you determine if the MBP will fit as nicely as your favorite pair of shoes.

I believe the system specs were covered in the feature reviews, or you can just go to Apple's website and pull down the same information, so let me try and cover what hasn't been covered yet.

If you are like me, and hate carrying around a heavy piece of equipment from place to place, the MBP is a good option. It is very portable, at just over five pounds, it is a great choice for a user who is always on the move. Even with the battery pack in the case I find myself not complaining about the weight.

However, this portability does have a draw back - in creating a compact notebook the components are very close together and the mechanisms for maintaining cool temperatures inside the MBP are not quite up to par. Anyone who has actually used a MBP for more than an hour will tell you that even during normal operation it gets very warm to the touch, and sometimes too hot to use comfortably. If you are the type of person who likes to use a laptop on the lap or to type for long periods of time directly on the device, the MBP might not be for you. Because the case is metal it acts as something of a heat-sink, meaning that the entire device will eventually get warm, if not very hot. This is by far the biggest drawback of the MBP. If the device was always cool to the touch and you could set it on your lap I would have given it 5 stars, but alas, such is not the case.

If you are like me and will be using the MBP as a primary device at a desk or workstation, I highly suggest buying a secondary keyboard and a mouse for it. You will find yourself getting very uncomfortable with the heat if you don't.

Secondly, in response to what other users have said about the MBP not seeming as fast as other macs, I would say that this is true only initially before apple's programs are converted to Universal Binary (a code which can be run natively on the Core Duo). Applications which run on the MBP or any apple with an Intel chip and are not marked by the Universal logo, run under a seamlessly integrated program called Rosetta. Because Rosetta as to translate the application into a code that Intel processor can understand some of the "speed" is lost. However, with a little patience Apple will role out more UB apps in the future, thereby taking advantage of the MBP. I was running one of Apple's most robust programs "Aperture" on my MBP flawlessly.

In closing, I just want to say that my biggest suggestion to people is to consider the heat issue and consider how you use the computer. If you're looking for a true lap "laptop," I'd look elsewhere (or at the plastic covered MacBook). If you're looking for a mobile powerhouse pick up the MBP.

About my Mac:

Machine Name: MacBook Pro 15"
Machine Model: MacBookPro1,1
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Number Of Cores: 2
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
L2 Cache (shared): 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

I own it since 2 months already. I also own an Ibook G4, 14", 1.42 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 60 GB HD and Superdrive.

I am not impressed with the MBP, nor for the speed, neither for the performance. Running together the Ibook and the MacBook Pro I found the Ibook faster than the MBP for some tasks like printing and opening large photo files.

WiFi performance of the Ibook G4 is by far much better than the MacBook Pro, at the Mac store I was told that probably due to the metallic case of the MBP the reception decreases.

I used the Migration Utility to import the IBook and found that the Spotlight just find the files after being opened with the MBP, the rest of the imported files must be searched manually the first time you need them, so you better keep your former Mac without formatting for a certain period of time.

Another important issue, the MacBook Pro is a heating machine too. When burning DVD's, the MBP burns too !

The battery life is almost 160 minutes for the MBP and 240 minutes for the IBook G4.

I remark the fun stuff I love of the MBP : The Front Row, the built in Video Camera and the super funny Photo Booth.

Anyway, It's a Mac ! It means that will always work, but in my case I paid too much for a video camera and the Front Row. If you already own a Powerbook or an IBook and you do not need a built in video camera, or running Win XP, wait for a real different product.

This is a lightweight, fast and reliable computer. Battery life is good compared to other laptops. It runs most software programs.
I strongly recommend this computer to Apple users, as well as PC users.
If you are looking to buy a laptop that perform as a next generation clock, this is it.
Note:
I had some difficulty finding add-ons and a good carrying case for this machine. There are not a lot of options, since this model is new.

I've bought Apple computers for several years, the 2 most recent a Quad Power MAC G5 and a BRAND NEW Macbook Pro 15" both from Amazon. When I say the Macbook Pro is brand new I mean less than a month old. The LCD has developed a problem which the local authorized repair center says is a manufacturing problem, but it is not covered under Apple Warranty.

I just spent the past 1/2 hour talking with a snotty customer relationship manager "Leela x40169" who kept on telling me "Apple doesn't have manufacturing problems", when that didn't work, it was "Amazon must have done something", and then, I laughed at this one, "You might have gotten a used one from Amazon... you know you need to be careful...."

I would be very careful about purchasing the MacBook pro now.

About a year, or so, ago I got wind of Apple's pending move to Intel chips, which made me raise an eyebrow. I never really intended to make the jump, but my first taste of the Intel Duo Apple computer (Mac Mini --- see my review) convinced me otherwise. One of my biggest concerns was the investment I have in PC software, some of which I just can't part with until developers catch up with the capabilities of the new Mac's. Shortly after I purchased my Mac Mini, "Bootcamp" was introduced (probably for people like me). I have been absolutely blown away by the ease of use of my MacBook Pro, the software bundled with it, and the fact that so much of what I've been running in the Windows world was available to me already (much of what's out there comes with Windows & Mac install CD's). I am an application developer, technical instructor and amateur graphic artist. On the professional side I use programs like Poser 6, Vue 5 Infinite, Shadow, Macromedia Flash 8 / Dreamweaver 8, etc., and all run flawlessly and faster on the MacBook Pro. Thanks to Bootcamp, I don't have to reinvest in programs I had already recently purchased for the Window's side (Quicken 2006, etc.). I simply installed Bootcamp, and go any way I choose, until the time comes for upgrades, which I will now do on the Mac side. For those of you considering making the switch, I have two comments: (1) Come on in --- the water's fine! and (2) Get a copy of David Pogue's "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition" --- it's worth three times the price, will have you proficient in no time, and is downright entertaining.

totally awesome!!!! Effective! Buy it! NOW!!! smooth mouse function. A REally big gotta have it

As the above title would suggest, this is my first mac. I have grown up on PCs as due to my Dad's work they have always been in the house. Some of my friends though had dabbled in the Apple arena and I must say that the design of macs in recent years really grabbed my attention. Those mac using friends really swore by their computers whilst my Dad had often complained about Apple Inc in dealing with them through his work. He would also say, "they look nice but you'd never buy one." I bought an ipod almost 2 years from now, one of the very first people I know to have got one at the time, and the ipod was fantastic so my only dealing with Apple had been positive.

So why not? I saved up in my part-time job over my university break and purchased the Macbook Pro. With Macbooks at a bit of premium, the Apple shop that I bought it from were great as they were able to get me one from another store and deliver it to me the next day. No waiting for 3-4 weeks.

I have been using it now for nearly a month and the thought that goes through my mind is how could I ever go back to a PC? Unless Steve Jobs personally came to my house and spat on me, it would take a lot to pull me away. People often use the 'car analogy' and I think that is accurate. I really feel as though I am in a BMW or Range Rover Vogue whilst my brother next to me on his Dell is getting by in a Hyundai.

First of all, the boot time is crazy. Does 10 seconds sound quickish? All the general apps are speedy (iTunes pops straight up, whilst it loaded for a little while on my Dad's incredibly expensive Toshiba) and cruising through the internet seems as good as it gets. The screen is a perfect size and shape and the front row is great to show off. The icons magnifying and jumping, the mag-safe connector, the backlit keyboard glowing in the dark, and general weight and 'thinness' make the computer a joy to use.

The biggest thing though is that I haven't really had any problems (touch wood). The computer has never frozen and needed to be re-booted, and whilst this is certainly one of Apple's marketing catch phrases, this is a big thing coming from a PC user who constantly was forced to 'Control, Alt, Delete'. I also download programs without fear knowing that viruses are not an issue. Up until now, different types of programs that I have wanted have been easy to find. Whilst on a grand scale PCs would have a lot more programs, to date I would say that a lot of the mac versions floating around are of a high quality and other mac users would have road tested them and determined whether or not they are worth the effort.

As far as using the OS is concerned it has been rather easy. I would think that a life long mac user would find it harder to go from mac to windows. This is definitely another compliment. So far, the only annoying thing is that often movies and music videos on internet sites are not mac applicable. Perhaps there is software out there to remedy this or it's just a small downside to macs. I don't know.

I was very surprised just how much software was already bundled onto the computer. I haven't yet really delved into the movie and music editing-type applications that macs are famous for, so there is still more fun to come. Furthermore, in buying a mac, you seem to be joining an exclusive club of 'creatives' and 'yuppies' where everybody who owns one is keen to share software and experiences, and are simply very enthusiastic about their computers.

Quite simply, the Macbook Pro (I really doubt that there is a better laptop computer out there) and the Apple Mac experience so far has been excellent. I look in pity at PC users around me because not only do I know what they are going through, but I also know that they obviously do not realize just how much easier and more fun a computer experience can be.

The first thing I did after the reception was to check the serial num, it started with W8615. Some reports said they had corrected various defects since W8611(so called revision D),so I felt easy until I started it up. I can clearly hear the famous high-frequency whining sound. Continuous noise at that frequency really drives me mad. I had to do some immediate research and finally got the mirror wedget trick and it did work ( I'm wondering if there is any similar trick under XP environment). Another well-known problem, the heating problem also worried me. It became very hot after one hour or so, without running any heavy-duty applications. If it runs on battery, the accumulation of heat seems to be slower; but when the AC is plugged in, it just becomes too hot to touch (the rear side) in a short time. It's like a P4 laptop with tons of dust stuck in the exhaust vent . I don't think anybody can work with it on the LAP. Some minor aspects: when using the 2-prong plug (not grounded), the palm rest and exterial part give off some electrical feedback, but mostly it's bearable.

These are the major cons I found. As to the others, like the superior OS, stylish design work, etc, I think most reviews have covered too much already.

Just a couple of questions:

1) Wondering if Amazon will let me upgrade the 100 GB hard drive from 5400 rpm to 7200 rpm like they let me do on the Apple website.

2) When I added the Macbook Pro to the cart and went to checkout, under the tax column it said $0. Does Amazon or Apple add tax at a later time?

I suggest checking out Apple's website and look up Bootcamp. It is an official Apple beta that will actually partition the harddrive on these MacBooks and create a driver cd so that you can install WindowsXP on the MacBook. All you will need is an install CD of windows. Once installed, you will be able to choose which OS to run, OSX or WinXP. From several comments out on the net, the MacBook will actually increase the performance of several programs that run on XP up to 20%.

This is my plan, when I get it done, I will let you all know how it turns out.

This is a point of view from a long time Windows machine owner and user. I am an automotive photojournalist based in San Diego.
About 10-15 years ago I switched from Windows to Apple. I think the machine that I bought was a demo 7200 desktop, which I used in a multimedia course of studies. The computer was wonderful but when I upgraded (from 7.5.6?) to the new Apple operating system (OS 8?) that I had won from a user group meeting, I had nothing but trouble from that point on. Frustrated, I went back to buying the less expensive Windows machines.
Today I have two fairly powerful Windows desktop machines in my home office. A recent cross-country trip (Northern California to New York via Southern California, Phoenix and Washington, DC in a SMART car) necessitated that I purchase a fast, powerful notebook to run my Web Site program (FrontPage 2003), photo editing programs (PhotoShop Elements 4.0 and Nikon's Picture Project) and other programs from the road, so that I could publish columns to my AutoMatters.net Web site. All of my programs and peripherals are for Windows XP. I do not want to scrap them -- at least not in the near future.
In the past three weeks I've bought two major name brand Windows XP notebook computers. The first one was dead out of the box. Then I replaced it with a high end 17" notebook that the chain of stores had literally just received the day before. It had all the bells and whistles, including the latest, greatest processor, two hard drives and more.
Suffice to say my experience with that computer on my trip (and before I left, in preparation for the trip) was horrid. It did things like lock me out of major documents that I had created, forcing me to redo them from my memory (I had no printer on the road, so I had no way of printing my documents before losing them). I was under major time constraints, so this really hurt me. It also would not do a system restore from XP. The manufacturer's tech support people tried but couldn't help me, despite several hours of efforts.
On Saturday, as I was returning from New York and my long road trip (by plane), I happened to sit down at a jetBlue wi-fi hot spot next to an Apple notebook user. He told me about this brand
new 15" Apple notebook that should run my Windows problems. He said in three years with his aging Apple notebook he has not had the kind of trouble I've had with my two new Windows XP notebooks in three weeks.
Needless to say, even though it is almost $1,000 more expense than my current new notebook, I will go online with Amazon and order an Apple MacBook Pro MA464LL/A 15.4" Notebook PC as soon as I can erase my stuff from the Windows XP notebook and return it to the store. Luckily they have a great return policy.
I wish the Apple came with a larger hard drive (200 GB would be much better than a 100 GB unit). Also, I hope that I can use it with all of my Windows programs and also my XP peripherals (including an external hard drive and printers), because I cannot scrap them). They are used with two powerful desktop computers (running Windows XP) that I am using in my home office.

I went from a G4 powerbook to a macbook pro. The new machine is definitely a more powerful and faster computer (and it runs less hot). If you use your computer for the standard functions -- word processing, web browsing, watching movies, downloading photographs and the like -- you won't notice that much increase in speed, however, because most software has not yet been rewritten for the new intel chip. I really notice the juice when I use software that has been updated -- for example, Mac's own web-browser, Safari. There the acceleration is really obvious.

But if you are still happy with your older mac, you might want to wait a bit before investing in this new computer, until more programs have been adapted to the chip. I have encountered a couple of problems trying to use programs at my university library which just have not yet been updated even for the new Safari. It's frustrating when your computer is out ahead of the rest of the software, sometimes even rendering it unusable.

Also, I was a little disappointed that Mac did not take advantage of rolling out their intel chip to make design changes in the appearance of the computer. There are a couple of small changes in the look and functionality -- I like the new magnetic connection for the power cord, and, as they say, you can never be too rich or too thin. At one inch, this notebook is about as thin as they come. In spite of all that (and call me superficial), this machine basically looks just like my old one. I'd come to expect more dramatic visual innovations from the generally cutting-edge design team at Macintosh.

As for being able to run Windows too, why would one ever want to? Well, I'm not a gamer, I guess. I'm just not tempted by the dual functionality, especially since I'd have to pay money for a Windows program. Not happening.

Amazon/Chase Visa does not give you triple points on this computer despite showing Amazon com as the vendor. So if you think you are earning points think again - they ( Lisa Pool was my contact at Chase ) disallowed my triple points. It's a nice computer but that's just - wrong -I'd consider a different vendor with a better package. Will also also take this up on the net - news should get out about this problem.

To add to the great features of the MacBook Pro is the really neat addition so that you can now dual boot Windows XP SP2 on the MacBook alongside OS X! For further details and features, see the following:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Best laptop I have ever owned. Switched from an IBM t42 to this baby. Wow, and I really loved my t42. Its really fast except some apps take some time to startup but i assume those are the apps that are using roseta. I have read about lots of problems people had with whining noise, and crackling speakers. I have not had any of those issues. I did notice the speakers crack when the volume was cranked up all the way a couple of times. I also don't like that the lcd does not fold back more. I like to sit in a bean bag and do work and the angle can be weird not being able to fold the screen back more. It also seems to get hotter then my t42 but not like my old dell that i thought would burn my legs.

I was on the fence for so long when it came to deciding on a laptop. Used, new, refurbished? I went with new, [...]

i love the backlit keybard. the "m" key looks like an inverted "w" because of the unsual font on the keyboard letters. This machine is super fast. I have already encoded 2/3 of my cd collection with itunes 6. It didnt take but a couple of hrs to encode 65 cds.

I, too, wish the screen went back a bit more for contorted computing but it should go back enough for most people.

This is my first date with os X so I am still trying to learn all the extensions like dmg, gz, tgz, and all that unixy stuff. But the system seems very stable running with a gig of ram. I have the 2.0ghz model.

The 2finger scolling feature (for horiz and vertical) on the trackpad is an awesome innovation. I do wish the trackpad prefs included sensitivity adjustment capability to go along with the speed.

Yes, the machine does get warm to hot but not dangerously so and it also depends on how long you use and what you are doing. I use a sweatshirt on my lap if I use it on my lap.

The camera which is built in is a nice touch, but i never use a webcam. I do wonder, however, if someone on the wireless network can look at me remotely with this thing. The reason I wonder is because it was so effortless to connect to the internet and when clicking on the airport icon, I see all kind of strange name and router device names, some with email addys. I don't even know if I am gaining or sharing access to the internet thru my wireless dsl modem or from someone elses but my surfing speed and download speed are lightning fast. The imovie hd update took about a minute and a half to download wirelessly (a 52Mb file).

Well, I am overall impressed with the machine and even more impressed that I knuckled down the cash to get it. It comes very well stocked with software so you save a ton right there. And, I know the are plenty of nice pc laptops for a fraction of the price out there but I have been a mac user my whole life. I am greatful for not having to suffer the bumpy transition of early os X incarnations. Tiger seems to on the right track but i do miss the quaintness of pre os X systems. I feel more grown up using this new system.

The mag plug for power is another great innovation. I don't intend on testing its limits ;) but I am confident it will do its job if I ever get careless after a night of heavy drinking. ;)

For most mac users this would be a great step up from whatever you owned prior especially when you compare to older laptop models. 5 stars is my personal opinion. If you decide to invest in one of these macbooks, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. Happy 30th, APPLE!

I had pretty high expectations for the MacBook Pro, and yet it still exceeded them. This is the finest computer, laptop or tower, that I have ever used. The Core Duo processor and faster bus really do make the MB Pro dramatically faster than the Powerbook G4s. Even mundane tasks like surfing the web are noticibly quicker. Front Row is a great multi-media browser and runs like a dream on Apple's latest laptop. Seemingly a small feature, the Mag-Safe power cord is actually very useful. Have already accidently caught the cord on something a few times and had it fall safely away from the MB Pro.

Had heard complaints of irritating noise from earlier buyers, but haven't experienced that problem with my MB Pro. The only complaint I really have is the lack of Universal applications right now. Programs run so much faster natively on the MB Pro than in emulation through Rosetta. By the end of the year, however, pretty much every current app should be Universal.

After the hype of the Keynote in San Francisco in January, I decided to finally take the plunge and revisit the world of apple after an absentia of >20 years. Yes, my last apple was a 48kb IIE.

So here is my mini-review after 1 week of use.

Packaging and Aesthetics : Excellent, light weight, fantastic build quality.

LCD Display: Nice, but not as nice as the Fujitsu/Sony's

OS: Very nice OS compared to windows XP. Easy to use. But one big caveat. I am surprised that OS X took up so much space! Found a 2GB folder with nothing but printer drivers. iWorks is 2GB NB MS office is only 561 MB. On a fresh MBP, almost 20 GB of harddisk spaced used at the outset....So for all those who think Windows is bloatware think again.OS X might be worse in this respect.

Battery life: Average 3hrs of use. 2hrs + if playing a DVD.

Features:
Pros: iSight built in. Magsafe to prevent my 4 year old from tripping. Remote control!

Cons:where is the FW 800, Dual layer burner and my modem!

Performance: Fast with optimized universal binary software.

Packaged software:
Pros:iLife 06- Great!,Front Row- Fantastic, Dashboard!
cons: should have bundled iworks for free rather than just a trial.

Software availablity: Most stuff that you do on a PC is available. One big hole is in the games dept though.

Overall, my conversion to the Macworld has been an easy one although I have to admit I won't be throwing away my PC as the workplace remains PC only.

Conclusion: A solid 4.5 Stars

I received my stock MacBook Pro with 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor and 100GB hard drive last night, and this thing has completely blown me away. It is extremely fast, and that is not an overstatement in any way.

I also love the build quality, iSight camera, lit keyboard and the "wide" trackpad, which perfectly matches the wide screen. Not to mention it is extremely silent; all I can hear is the hard drive, and I haven't yet noticed the fans, even with playing Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1600x1200 (hooked up an external Dell display). It should also handle Doom 3 well, so I will test that once I get my hands on a copy. It seems like this thing is even a good gaming machine because it comes with a very good graphics card.

All that being said, I am not a gamer, but I do enjoy playing games occasionally, so it is important to me that I can do that well.

I've had my MacBook for about twenty-four hours now. What has struck me most is how polished everything is. The keyboard feels more substantial than my old iBook. The headphone jack sounds better, both with external speakers and iPod earbuds. The built in camera has surprisingly high resolution and a great refresh rate. The LCD is simply stunning. I've yet to find anything about this machine that isn't extraordinary. The performance difference compared to my 1.2 Ghz iBook is subtle in most applications, largely because most of those I'm using aren't available in Universal versions yet. The Intel-native applications like iCal and iTunes just scream. I'm bowled over by the quality of this product.

Before I begin this review I'd like you the reader to know that this is my first Mac - I've been set free from the PC world for the most part now and it is awesome! I brag to my co-workers about how nice it is to use the MAC OS over Windows. I can see now what everyone before me has talked about in their reviews of Apple's computers. It take a little patience to learn the Apple OS, but in no more than one week you should be feeling confident while moving around in the Apple world.

The MacBook Pro has essentially everything you could want in one, well-designed package. To say this is a really great computer is an understatement. I highly recommend it. I enjoy all the little additions that apple has put into it the design that make it so user friendly.

Major features of this computer are the illuminated keyboard, the built-in iSight camera (which is really fun especially with kids), built-in Bluetooth, and its ultra-sharp LCD screen make it very attractive to someone looking to buy a new computer. I am also amazed at how slim it is, especially when you consider how much it has inside it. When it's connected to my Logitech 2.1 speaker system, I find that the sound quality I get when using iTunes is outstanding!

There are two areas of improvement that I am eager to see overcome. One is that I wish there was more available native software that works on the Intel-native MacBook Pro. I've been reading that there are software companies working on updating/revising their products to work on the new system so I don't really see this as being a long-term problem, rather just a minor annoyance (all the old software works, but the speed is much slower than when using a native Intel app). Second observation is this machine can get very hot. I had to buy a notebook-cooling pad so it doesn't overheat. I have a ThinkPad I use for work (not by choice), and when comparing the heat it generates compared with the MacBook Pro I realize how hot the MacBook Pro can get compared to other computers.

In the end, I looked at a lot of other computers and decided to get this one. I am glad I did.

It's the most stunning idea, isn't it? This top of the line MacBook Pro is the fastest Mac Notebook ever, and probably one of the fastest Macs period.

When Steve Jobs announced the new Macs, with Intel Core Duo processors I was almost certain I wanted to buy one. Why? Macs are well known for ease of use and capabilities, but they have managed all that for years, with processors that are not always top-notch. That all changed in January 2006.

Processor in the new MacBook Pro

The Intel Core Duo processor in the new MacBook Pro is an amazing chip. What have I noticed about the speed of the machine featuring this chip? It is incredibly fast. You'd be surprised by how much faster even web browsing is, when you have a processor as powerful as the Core Duo. However, what I've really been impressed by is doing things such as video encoding. I've encoded videos in H264 as much as eight times faster than my Powerbook G4. Furthermore, the iLife applications that are included on the MacBook Pro fly, with the speed. iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and Garageband perform like never before. I've really been impressed by the speed.

The Core Duo is a great processor. It offers exceptional desktop PC performance, in a design that can fit in small computers and notebooks. It features two cores on a single die, which effectively gives you the performance of two processors. Don't let the 2 GHZ clock speed fool you. This Core Duo Chip will outperform 3+ GHZ Pentium 4 processors. It really is an amazing breakthrough, from Intel.

Video Card

The new MacBook Pro 2 GHZ model features an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor using PCI Express 256 MB of GDDR3 video memory. This is the best graphic card Apple has *ever* included in a notebook. This graphic processor will work well for most gaming, and it is great for viewing back complex H264 movies, including high definition videos. You can enjoy high definition H264 videos, without drop frames.

Ports -

The MacBook Pro features 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Firewire 400 port, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in/out, and Expresscard (34 slot).

Display - Apple touts the display on the new MacBook Pro as bright as the cinema displays, and there is no question: these displays are bright! Depending on your lighting condition, you'll almost certainly not turn the display to full brightness. I had to turn down the brightness, for it was hard on my eyes. However, it is nice to know the brightness is there, when needed. The native resolution is 1440x900 giving you plenty of screen real estate, to keep the applications you need visible.

Video out - The new MacBook Pro has a DVI video output. An adapter is also included to output VGA. There is an optional adapter available to output S-Video and composite video. Furthermore, the DVI video out supports up to a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display (or other comparable display). This gives you great possibilities. You can easily use your MacBook Pro on the road, but plug it into a keyboard, mouse, and huge display, when at your desk. The perfect all around system.

Memory - This Mac is a powerhouse and 1 GB of memory (thats included) will get you started nicely. However, you may consider adding even more memory at some point. The MacBook Pro supports up to 2 GB of memory. It uses PC5300 DDR2 - SODIMM modules.

Applications -

Apple includes iLife '06, which has iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD, and Garageband. There is the Safari web browser, the always useful iCal, AddressBook, iChat, etc. Overall, I was pleased with the included software.

iLife 06 is particularly great. I love the new full-screen photo editing, photo comparing, etc. You can now also order calendars and greeting cards made with your photos, direct from Apple, by using the iPhoto software. iMovie has new themes, which helps make professional-looking home movies, and iDVD now supports widescreen DVDs. iWeb is a brand-new applications, which makes it easy to create professional quality webpages, quickly. I can't wait to rebuild by site using iWeb. Apple continues to make it easy to create music, manage your digital images, make movies, and create web sites.

A trial (30 day) of iWork '06 is also included, which includes the page layout program Pages, and the presentation program Keynote (which makes presentations that blow away presentations made by rival Powerpoint).

Hard Drive -

This model of the MacBook Pro includes a 100 GB 5400 RPM hard drive. This is going to be sufficient for most people to hold their photographs, music, and some videos. However, others will need more space, so you can always use an external drive, when at your desk. It is also important that you remember to backup your important files to either another external hard drive, or DVDs. I only point this out because today with great machines like the MacBook Pro we're storing more of our great memories on computers than ever before, so make sure you don't lose them, if something happens to your machine. Apple includes a great backup program called Backup 3, if you subscribe to the .mac service. I use it all the time, and it simple interface helps me keep peace of mind.

Superdrive-

The optical drive included with the new MacBook Pro allows you to watch DVDs, listen to music, burn DVDs, and burn CDs. It is a slot-loading drive, so the disks slide magically in and out of the computer's right side. There are no drawers to break off. Note - The drive does *not* burn dual layer DVDs.

Front Row Experience - Apple has included a new software title that at this time is only available on the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro. Front Row. Front Row comes with your MacBook Pro, and a remote control is also included. Front row allows you to watch and listen to media items, on your computer, from across the room. Click one button on the remote, and bring up Front Row, for quick access to your music, movies, podcasts, DVD, and more. I like this feature, but I wonder how useful it is, since I'm usually sitting right in front of the computer and can just use a mouse, to access this content.

PowerPC Applications on Intel Machine

If you own a lot of software for Mac, then most of it is probably compiled for PowerPC. Developers are working hard to make titles run natively on both Intel and PowerPC, but many titles are not yet ready. However, many titles you can use on an Intel Mac because Apple has included Rosetta, which translates the PowerPC code into something the Intel machine can read. However, you never see Rosetta for it works quietly in the background and makes running PowerPC applications seamless. Microsoft Office, for example, works perfect under Rosetta. Intensive applications such as Photoshop will run under Rosetta, but it will be slower until Adobe has an Intel compiled version of Photoshop. Rosetta does work and if you add memory to your iMac, you may find such application somewhat equal to how it would perform on a 1GHZ PowerPC G4, from my experience.

Two titles I use EyeTV and Toast 7 are not yet compiled for Intel, but they run fine on my Intel Mac, under Rosetta. Again, you don't have to open anything special to use Rosetta. Your Mac knows when it needs it and uses it.

Wireless- The MacBook Pro can still connect wirelessly to networks using its included Airport Card. Furthermore, it features a Bluetooth module to connect wirelessly to devices.

Design - This MacBook Pro is beautiful, and you notice the quality as soon as you begin to open the box. It is packaged with care, in beautiful packaging. The MacBook Pro is thin, and the display is beautiful. The Mag Safe Power Connector is another amazing design feature on this machine. If someone or something pulls on the power cord connected to your notebook, instead of the notebook flying, the magnet on the connector releases, leaving your MacBook Pro safe.

Overall, I am very excited about the MacBook Pro. It is incredibly fast on Intel-native applications, and it does a very good job running PowerPC applications. If you're upgrading from a G4 Mac like myself, this machine will seem to fly. If you're upgrading from a G5 based Mac, it will be faster on native applications, but the increase in performance will be less significant to you. The Intel machines are the future of Apple, so there is no question this is a good machine, and it is powerful enough to be a good computer, for quite some time. I'm happy with my purchase, and I look forward to continue exploring my Intel Mac in the coming days