Hands-off first look at the MacBook Pro
First off, it was quite the surprise. I was not expecting a pro machine to be released with the Intel architecture, but to be honest, the PowerBook was getting a little long in the tooth. Thank goodness for surprises, and my first impression is WOW!While I was expecting an Intel Core based machine to debut today, I did not think it would be in a Pro machine, nor did I think it would be the Intel Core Duo. It looks like this little beast can pack a portable punch.
Specs are quite good for an initial release, 1.67 - 1.87 GHz Intel Core Duo???s running on a 667 MHz bus. Much better than the 1.67 GHz G4 single FreeScale processor. So it???s a big win there, and up to 4 times faster than the old G4s. I don???t think they used SPECint_rate in older tests, so I am sure there is some bias toward this new spec to make them look faster than the old ones, since Apple has been famous to do this in the past.
In addition to the new dual procs, they dumped in an ATi Mobility Radeon X1600 in this bad boy. That is one heckuva graphics card, plus, it will drive the 30? Cinema Display. Plus the screen is supposed to be brighter than before, 67% brighter. I just hope they are as crisp as the Sony VAIO displays, which are the best I have seen.
They have dropped the PC Card slot with a slimmer ExpressCard/34 (34 mm wide slot). Something new to me as well, as it looks to be
Naturally they have built in USB 2.0, Bluetooth and AirPort, gigabit ethernet and, thankfully, they kept the FireWire 400 port alive. But they did drop the FireWire 800 port. I have been wondering why, but I reckon that the FW800 never really took off, and the only peripheral that could use that bandwidth is a hard drive. There are more external SATA drives coming out, so I would think that that may be a faster solution. Perhaps there will be an ExpressCard SATA adapter
The little new things, that go in the cool category are the built in iSight and the remote control. It???s nice not having to plug in the iSight each time, and with the addition of Front Row, the remote is a nice addition. Not ground breaking, but just nice. It also has a built in optical digital audio.
However, the coolest thing to see the new MacBook Pro is the new MagSafe power adapter. I have broken quite a few power adapters in my time. Either it being tripped on or wrapped to tightly (remember the yo-yo adapter?), or actually tripping on the cord, and getting the actual plug in the lap top yanked loose, this MagSafe adapter is a wonderful creation. The MagSafe only plugs in a fraction of the depth of current adapters, and instead of being secured using friction, it is held in magnetically, breaking away when needed, not damaging the machine or the cord. Brilliant!
Overall I am very impressed