Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited
by Dan Knight
- 2006.06.08
MacBook Special Report
There's so much 'Book news again this week that we've created a
special MacBook only 'Book Review. Our normal 'Book Review will
appear tomorrow.
MacBook reviews continue to appear all over the Net, and most of
them are exceedingly positive. John Martellaro likes the glossy
screen and loves the keyboard. Dave Nagel shows how easy it is to
swap out the hard drive. Darryl Ponting finds it more sturdy than
most Windows laptops, and says it's both cool and quiet when it
runs.
Not all have the same experience. MacBooks have been running
hot, and one cause has been a bit of plastic over a cooling vent
inadvertently left on at the factory. Pierre Igot complains that
his MacBook seems to be mooing, which has soured him on the
model.
General Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. News about Apple's
transition to Intel CPUs and other Intel developments is covered in
The Macintel Report.
News & Opinion
Tech Tips and Info
News & Opinion
MacBook: 'It's That Good'
MyMac's John Martellaro reports:
"I played with a MacBook
over the weekend. I was prepared to be skeptical of the glossy
screen. I ended up liking it a lot. The coating seems to direct
more of the light perpendicular to the screen, so the display seems
brighter and more saturated. I tested the MacBook at the Apple
store in the Aspen Grove shopping Center in Littleton, CO where it
was right next to the front windows filled with light. There was no
noticeable washout. Then I went over and looked at a 15-in MacBook Pro without the
coating, and it looked, well, washed out.
"Then I tested the keyboard. I was also prepared to be skeptical
of the MacBook keyboard because it reminded me of the chiclet
keyboards of the past. Well, I'm here to tell you that this is a
very good keyboard. As a writer, I'm excessively picky about my
keyboards - so much so that that on the basis of Charles Moore's
reviews over at Applelinks, I went out and bought two Matias
Tactile Pro keyboards. I was looking for the holy grail of
keyboards, which some define as the IBM Selectric typewriter of
long ago. Anyway, I typed for some time on the MacBook's keyboard,
and I could spend all day on that keyboard. It's that good."
Link: MacBook:
First Reaction
Swapping Hard Drives in the MacBook
Creative Mac's Dave Nagel says:
"Sixty gigabytes don't amount to much in this day and age.
That's the size of the drive that comes stock in the 13-inch
(white) MacBook. So it's likely you'll want to replace it for
something larger and, possibly, faster. Here's a step by step guide
for doing just that.
"Apple's made the process of swapping hard drives extremely
simple in the 13-inch MacBook - just about as easy as replacing
memory...."
Link: Swapping
Hard Drives on the 13-Inch MacBook
MacBook 'an Extremely Sturdy Laptop'
Notebook Review's Darryl Ponting reports:
"One thing I noticed about the Apple MacBook which wasn't entirely
apparent from all the photos I'd seen swarming the net was the
contrast between the glossy white and the matte grey of the inside.
Everything I'd seen so far suggested a difference far more subtle
if at all! In reality the difference is pretty large and I'm not
too sure if I'm keen on it yet. I was extremely close to going for
the Blackbook but common sense prevailed, the £100 or so
difference meant an extra 1 GB of RAM which was far more
useful. Besides, I've seen the way my Navy Nintendo DS Lite and my
Logitech Midnight Black MX1000 mouse pick up fingerprints, and I
despise dust and dirt!"
"The MacBook is an extremely sturdy laptop, I compared it with a
Dell at work and an Acer at home. The Dell (although it is around 2
years old) creaked all over the place, it doesn't help that there's
flaps and slots all over the place. With the Dell you could also
press the back of the screen and see the results on the LCD, as
many of you would've done at some point. With the MacBook there
wasn't a hint of shimmering...."
"Yes everyone has heard the horror stories regarding the
MacBook Pro and when the
MacBook came out everyone feared the worst . . . I'm just
going to let you know how my MacBook is. Under normal load it's not
even warm to the touch, the whole of the surface where the keyboard
lies is cool to the touch all over. Under normal load the fans
don't even come on, the MacBook is absolutely silent. Under normal
load I hear no whine, moos or anything of the kind...."
"There are two kinds of people out there, those who like laptop
style keyboards and those who don't. If you fall into the latter
category then I don't think you'll like the MacBook keyboard at
all. If on the other hand you do then I think you'll love
it...."
Link:
MacBook Review for 2.0 GHz White Color Version
The Mooing Noise Disaster
Betalogue's Pierre
Igot says:
"I am afraid we are going to send our brand new MacBook laptop back to Apple. And
we're not going to get a replacement either. Here is why.
"Based on my own experience with noise problems, and on all the
on-line reading I had been doing about noise issues in Apple
hardware in the past five years, I was a bit concerned about what
the noise levels would be with this new MacBook.
"After all, the Titanium PowerBook
G4 might be slow by today's standards, but at least you can't
complain about the noises it produces. Simply put, in normal daily
use, the fans never kick in, and all you hear is the continuous,
low-level noise of the spinning hard drive. In five years of using
this TiBook, I have only heard the noisier internal fans kick in on
a handful of occasions, and it was always in rather extreme
conditions (very warm weather, lack of air flow, intensive use,
etc.).
"So when I got this new MacBook and turned it on for the first
time, I was a bit apprehensive. And the initial impression did
little to reassure me. The MacBook booted up as expected, and then
immediately launched the setup assistant. During the setup phase
. . . I heard a weird kind of noise where it sounded like
the MacBook was trying to start one of its internal fans, but was
failing to do so repeatedly....
"In the first couple of days with the MacBook, I also noticed
another rather annoying noise, but this one coming from the power
adapter of the MacBook, not from the laptop itself. It was a
constant 'sizzling' type of noise coming from inside the power
adapter, and I didn't feel it was normal. In fact, it sounded a bit
scary, because it sounded as if the power adapter was about to
catch fire or something. So I got on the phone with AppleCare, and
did a little bit of experimenting while talking with the girl on
the phone, during which we discovered that the noise would only
occur when the power adapter was connected to the laptop and
charging it. If the power adapter was only plugged in, but not
connected to the laptop, there wouldn't be any abnormal noise.
After consulting with product specialists, the girl said the noise
was not normal, and organized a replacement shipment.
"Since I had her on the phone, I thought I'd mention, in
passing, this mooing noise that I had noticed on occasion. She
confirmed that it was indeed a 'normal' noise and that it would
occur when using certain CPU-intensive applications, such as
Photoshop, or Photo Booth, etc. She could hear it on her own
machine too, she said....
"Then today disaster struck....
"And this mooing black MacBook is going back to Apple, because
the noise is, quite simply, unacceptable in a laptop product used
for simple computing tasks such as e-mail or word processing.
"I am afraid that, at this point in time, I have to say I have
no trust left for Apple when it comes to noise issues. If they
really feel that such a noise is 'normal,' is to be 'expected,' and
is something that most people can easily get used to, then I am
afraid that they might experience a surprisingly high percentage of
product returns in addition to getting a bunch of very peeved
customers...."
Link:
MacBook: The Mooing Noise Disaster
Apple Acknowledges MacBook Vent Cover
Problem
The Apple Core's Jason D. O'Grady says:
"Two weeks ago I reported on an issue where some MacBooks were coming from the
factory with a piece of clear plastic film covering the rear exit
vent - which made the machine run (understandably) hot.
"Some would peg this 'problem' squarely on the end user for not
noticing it in the first place, but regardless of who you blame
Apple has come clean about the plastic 'cover up' with a spankin'
new Knowledge Base article.
"In 'MacBook may
run warm because rear vent is blocked' (Article ID: 303848)
Apple explains the film issue.... "
Link: Apple Comes
Clean on MacBook Vent Cover Up
Parallels Desktop RC2 Looks Good on a
MacBook
O'Reilly Net's Todd Ogasawara says:
"I installed Parallels
Desktop RC2 on my 2 GHz MacBook with 1 GB RAM this
evening. After going through the simple setup procedure, I
installed Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and then a couple of apps
(including some beta release software). Everything looks good so
far."
Link:
Parallels Desktop RC2 Looks Good on a MacBook
Tech Tips and Info
MacBook May Run Warm Because Rear Vent Is
Blocked
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says:
"Some MacBook computers
may appear to be running too warm, with the fan running
consistently and heat emanating from the top and/or the bottom of
the computer.
"If this happens with your MacBook, check the rear vent of the
MacBook to make sure it's not blocked.
"Some MacBooks may have left the factory with a thin piece of
clear plastic covering the rear vent. This is used in the factory
to prevent dust from getting into your computer. If your MacBook
has the plastic still over the vent, simply remove and discard
it.
"If your MacBook does not have the thin piece of clear plastic
over the vent but is running warm, see article 30612, Apple
Notebooks: Operating Temperature."
Link: MacBook May
Run Warm Because Rear Vent Is Blocked
Apple Notebooks: Operating Temperature
An updated Apple Knowledge Base article says:
"The bottom surface and some areas between the keyboard and LCD
hinge of your Apple notebook computer can become hot after extended
periods of use. This is normal operating behavior. With processor
and bus speeds in portable computers often matching, if not
exceeding, those of desktop systems, increased operating
temperatures in portable computing products are common throughout
the industry.
"For prolonged use, place your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or
MacBook Pro on a flat stable surface. Do not leave the bottom of
the computer in contact with your lap or any surface of your body
for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause
discomfort and potentially a burn.
"Here are some suggestions for working with your portable
computer to address any concerns you may have with the operating
temperature:
- When using your portable computer, place it on a hard surface,
such as a desktop or a tray. A hard surface allows air to flow
under the computer to dissipate heat. Placing it on a soft surface
such as a towel or pillow (or lap) is not recommended because it
does not allow air to flow under the computer.
- Under the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences, set the
optimization to Better Energy Savings.
"The computer's internal fans turn on automatically within a
temperature range that is selected to ensure proper operation of
the computer."
Link: Apple
Notebooks: Operating Temperature
