I got a MacBook

A few weeks ago I went and got a MacBook. I’m really digging it, it feels so much faster than the MacMini. Plus I’m loving the widescreen on the MacBook, I’ve been wanting a widescreen monitor for a while, but have never had the opportunity to get one.

In case anyone out there is wondering about the pro’s and con’s of getting an ICBM (Intel Chip Based Mac), I thought I would toss out my thoughts on the topic:

• Speed- It is sooooo much faster than the old PPC machines. Don’t get me wrong, the PPC machines are fast, but the duo core aspect of the MacBook makes everything that much faster.
• Ease of Upgrade- I bought 2GB of RAM and dropped it in the machine after I got it all set up. That has made all the difference in the world. The Mini only had 512MB, and I think that really holds it back. Being able to get 2GB for less than $200 was a no brainer, and the performance is phenomenal.
• Heat - The MacBook gets hot. Real hot in some spots. The Mini is one of the best combinations of speed and coolness that I have ever seen. Most of the time I don’t have the MacBook on my lap, but I’m still concerned about heat.
• Compatibility - The Intel based machines are supposed to support the old PPC binaries, and for the most part I have found this to be good. However, I did find two glaring problems right off the bat: Eclipse and NeoOffice. Both of these programs would not start up. It turns out that Universal Binaries are right around the corner for both. I thought it was odd though that both apps (which are Java based) wouldn’t run. It turns out there is some JNI in the background and that’s where the problems were. Once the Universal builds are released (I think Eclipse is already out with its 3.2 release) that should solve those problems. Also, I’ve found that PyGame isn’t 100% functional on the MacBook, but I’m thinking I might have done something to cause that. (More on that later)
• Form Factor - Both the Mini and the MacBook are just slick looking machines. Thin, compact, yet packed with power. Its great! I recently took the MacBook on a trip and it was a breeze to bust it out and knock out some code. The built in Wi-Fi is great, though sometimes I wish I could get a little more detail out of it (Windows machines have a really good interface for its WiFi stuff, its great for users who want more advanced information).

Overall I’ve got to say the MacBook just rocks.