Friday, 20 Mar 2009
Macbook (Pro Mini)
They call it the Macbook Pro Mini. Updated with the same unibody aluminum shell with which they created the Macbook, the Macbook is now essentially the equivalent of the 15” Macbook Pro but in a smaller body. Sporting a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and an NVIDIA 9400m 256Mb it processes digital images with ease.
Here are the full specs:
Enclosure: Aluminum unibody shell
CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 3MB L2 cache
Memory: 4GB of 1066Mhz DDR3 SDRAM
Display: 13.3” LED-backlit glossy widescreen 1280x800 native resolution
Graphics: NVIDIA 9400M 256MB DDR3 SDRAM
Storage: 250GB SATA 5400RPM
OS: Mac OS X and Windows (XP or 7 I haven’t decided)
Misc: Multi-Touch trackpad and Illuminated keyboard
More specs here
Why I got a Macbook: I purchased this computer to replace my 5-year-old VAIO TR3A that utilized a 1.0GHz Intel ULV processor with 2MB RAM. I needed a new laptop that would post-process the large Nikon D3 files in Lightroom and Photoshop.
I hadn’t thought of getting a Mac until I saw Eugene’s new Macbook. Intrigued but not convinced I spent the entire weekend in the presence of his Macbook and not really giving it a whole lot of thought. Upon doing more research, I realized that a comparative laptop with similar specs would cost only $300 less than a Macbook. For example, Catherine purchased a Dell m1330 which cost about $1,300 and has similar specs.
In the back of my mind I knew that at some point of time I would have to make the leap. If not for graphics processing then for sure for knowledge-base reasons. Sooner or later I was going to have to learn Mac OS X and pass this knowledge onto others such as Catherine. This was my foray into the Apple world. Much like my friend Eugene, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this would be THE computer/laptop for me. Truthfully I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.
Transition: Where the hell’s my DEL button? Getting used to the APPLE button instead of navigating Windows via CTRL, SHIFT, ALT has been more difficult than I had originally thought. It amazes me how many keyboard shortcuts I use for Windows that make navigation a breeze. Also, NOT running antivirus software is a very foreign concept to me.
On the other hand, the Multi-Touch trackpad is quite incredible. Two-finger, three-finger, and even four-finger actions are incredibly intuitive and make navigating windows a breeze. Furthermore the addition of Expose and Spaces make multi-window operations even easier.
My impressions of the Macbook are thus far positive but not purely so. There are many things that I miss about Windows; primarily my familiarity with it. But for the time being, I am still in a partial honeymoon phase with my new laptop and enjoy learning what it has to offer.
Here are some more pics of the Macbook I took earlier this week:
