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Mossberg reviews Apple’s new MacBook: I like it a lot; a terrific choice for consumers and students

Thursday, October 23, 2008 · 12:14 am · 30 Comments

“According to the sales-research organization NPD Group, the midrange model of [Apple's] MacBook has been the single best-selling laptop of any brand in U.S. retail stores for the past five months,” Walt Mossberg reports for The Wall Street Journal. “So, when Apple completely revamped the design of the MacBook last week, it was a big deal, not only for Mac die-hards, but for anyone shopping for an everyday laptop.”

Mossberg reports, “I’ve been testing the base model of the new MacBook for the past five days, and I like it a lot, despite a few downsides. I found this new MacBook to be speedy, solid, innovative, and comfortable to use, with very good battery life.”

“The new model sports a sturdy aluminum case, instead of the old plastic one, and looks gorgeous,” Mossberg reports.

“Like all current Macs, the new MacBooks come with Apple’s Leopard operating system, which I consider superior to Windows. But the new MacBooks can run Windows as well,” Mossberg reports.

“Apple’s new MacBook is a terrific choice for consumers and students, if you can handle the $1,299 price,” Mossberg concludes.

Full review – recommended – here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Citymark" for the heads up.]

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Comment Feed

30 Comments

1 2 Next »

Mike F

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 12:42 am · Reply

He said snappy…haha
ken1w

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 12:53 am · Reply

> He said snappy…haha

Snappy at running Windows!
Roger Knights

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 12:57 am · Reply

It may have sounded like “hardly,” but what he said / meant was “heartily.”
Whatever

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 12:57 am · Reply

Now why the hell did he have trouble with the track pad? I used one in the Apple Store and it works just like the old track pad in that you can click at the front edge just like the old button. What is the big deal – maybe he is getting too old to review things? So hi major gripe is the price?

Wow I am shocked that the main reason he can hardly recommend it is price.
dave

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 1:12 am · Reply

Um, the ‘base model’ MacBook is $999, not $1299. The $1299 model would probably be termed “mid-range” as it is between the cheapest and the most expensive models for MacBooks.
MikeK

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 1:13 am · Reply

Sorry Walt, The last generation MacBook DID NOT come with a choice of glossy or matte.
DJM

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 1:36 am · Reply

In the end, he says, “I can highly recommend it”… it’s mumbled, but it’s there.
Jubei

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 1:56 am · Reply

Im Walt Mossberg and I approve this MacBook.
Mac Ed

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 2:22 am · Reply

Who cares what this guy has to say…. seriously…
makemineamac

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 3:10 am · Reply

@ Mac Ed – Quite a few people care what he has to say – seriously. He’s a big Apple supporter, and when he questions certain things Apple-related, people do notice…
L.A Punk

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 4:01 am · Reply

I haven’t heard a peep from Moss or Pogue in a long while.
SKY LARK

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 4:51 am · Reply

Maybe Mac Ed, as you don’t like the serious stuff, would you prefer Uncle Walt said it in a … hysterically funny, thigh slapping kinda way, could suit the funny glasses and nose gag …

Maybe Walt could do mystery version; with a suggestion of the dramatic and foreboding, undertones of Noir, add an angled Venetian blind shadow on the background, diss’ the low key-light and just bash in from the right an open faced, key-light controlling spill with doors and cutters.

How about a more seraphic (not sapphic ☹) version. Bring the 3/4 kicker around and down, slip in some Lee HT 254 New Hampshire frost to create a soft liner on his left cheek, shoulder and arm. Key from 35∘cam left, slightly low with a Dedolight with softbox, Add a point 3 ND filter to camera, add a ProMist 1 filter to the lens, overexpose by a 1/4 stop and a slight crush on the black pedestal. Scatter pink, gold and powder blue soft furnishings in the background, subtly wash areas of the background in Lee 791 Moroccan Frost, introduce side highlights with Lee 798 Chrysalis Pink; Now, let Walt bust out with the lovey-dovey smooochyness of his lurrve report on the new MB.

No! Ok, I’ll get me coat.

@The Great Apple Fanboy Massacre

Ha Ha Ha !!! “unsuspecting consumers”
Old Guy With A Beard

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 5:10 am · Reply

Sure, I recommend it heartily too…

UNLESS you are interested in editing home movies, because without firewire you will have no way to get all those DV tape-based movies into the MacBook for editings.

AND every one of the new USB and flash-memory or hard drive based HiDef video cameras cannot import directly into iMovie or Final Cut. The MacBook and the movie editiing programs cannot work directly with the HiDef video codecs, so you need to use the camera manufacturer’s proprietary program as a bridge…

… and they drop frames and unsync the sound tracks.

Every one of the dozen or so new cameras we tried in the last two months were marginal at best, but mostly simply didn’t work with iMovie or FCP.

Don’t believe me. Try it for yourself… go purchase the latest flash based HiDef video camera of your choice, then take it to your local Apple store and say “Please show me how to edit this in iMovie”.

Go ahead. Just make sure you can return the camera for a refund.
Older

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 5:35 am · Reply

Old Guy With A Beard tells the truth about the high definition and flash video cameras. They don’t work directly with iMovie and the codecs are unstable. This will probably change in the future but we’re looking at a year or so down the road.
Macaday

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 5:52 am · Reply

I feel for Pogue and Mossberg – everytime they express their opinions they get attacked by the Anti-Apple-Taliban – see Mac Ed, The Great etc.

Quite incredible. Idiots.
Macaday

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 5:57 am · Reply

It did sound like he said “I can hardly recommend it” One assumes he said, or meant to say: “heartily”…
flappo

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 6:00 am · Reply

wouldn’t a video editor ( pro ) buy a macbook pro ?

although i DO agree leaving out firewire is pretty daft

i’ve got several hard disk backups and they’re all firewire based , so that’s me stuffed
Old Guy With A Beard

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 6:31 am · Reply

A professional editor would probably purchase a MBpro, but millions of other people love to put together a little movie of the kid’s birthday party. That is the promise of iMovie and it is a great little program that can produce excellent results for ordinary people.

Too bad that Apple didn’t think that the tens of millions of people who already own DV cameras were important enough to include as potential customers for the MacBook. With one bad decision about firewire, Steve Jobs eliminated tens of millions of potential customers.

It was a bad decision and the MacBook sales will show that.

Not to mention the fallout when the ordinary people who have a brand new thousand dollar video camera realize that their brand new MacBook cannot be used to edit their videos.
Twenty Benson

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 6:48 am · Reply

Mossberg downside – ‘Glossy screen’.

AD2

Hi, I’m a Glossy screen.

Hi, I’m a Matte screen

Matte: ‘Hey what you got there Glossy?’

Glossy: (large beat box on his shoulder, nodding to hip-hop track) ‘It’s my new sound system Matte

Matte: ‘Hmmmm, nice’
Glossy: (proudly) ‘Yep, they’ve decided to apply the same idea used for my super-clear screen to my sound.’

Matte: (looks curious) ‘Oh, I see.’

Glossy: ‘Yes, Matte… hear those deep driving drums, those sharp vocals and…
(Glossy turns slightly and a crackly-sounding Bob Dylan song plays on top of the hip-hop track)

Matte: ‘Hey, what was that?’

Glossy: (slightly guiltily) ‘What? – oh nothing’
(turns slightly again and a tinny Beethoven’s 5th replaces Bob Dylan as interference)

Matte: ‘THAT – every time you turn… I hear, like, other music in the background.’

Glossy: ‘Oh that. Just ignore it Matte and concentrate on those deep driving drums, those…”

Matte: (bemused) ‘…but Glossy, isn’t the idea that I can just listen to what I want to?’

Glossy: (tilts box upwards slightly and cacophony of different music tracks are heard).
It’s all about ‘choice’ Matte, you see… we like to give our customers ‘choice’.

(Matte dances of to screen left with the cacophony still playing. Matte turns to camera and shrugs ironically).
ED

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 8:53 am · Reply

if you want firewire, then get the Pro, you cheap bastards
ed

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 8:56 am · Reply

as for that poll on the left, apple should really buy sirius Xm. it is only .33 a share. They then could add sat radio to a special edition ipod/ iphone and own the sat market
Not a Cheap Bastard

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 9:06 am · Reply

IANACB but I want to edit my home videos.

I can’t do that with the new MacBook. I can do it with my Windows machine. (a Dell)

I would like to switch to an Apple laptop, but I do not wish to spend $2500 on a MacBook Pro. Mostly I like to make videos with my Sony PD100 video camera.

I will therefore stay with my Dell laptop and make videos. Maybe I’ll look at a new iMac when they come out. Maybe not. I really want a laptop but I don’t want to pay two thousand plus dollars!
DH

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 9:11 am · Reply

Perhaps Walt is pre-Parkinsons, which would account for his problems using the trackpad. Walt seemed to overlook the fact that previous higher end models of the MacBook started at $1299, the same price as the new MacBook. I would have liked for him to place more emphasis on the new graphics chipset in the new models. This is not a model that will lure those bargain shoppers that use price as the only consideration in their purchase. WalMart will still be their referred vendor.
@Not A Cheap Bastard

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 9:19 am · Reply

If you’re serious, you could get a much better laptop from Apple than that crappy Dell. It’s the $999 white MacBook WITH Firewire. The technology is still better than that in the Dell, and it will certainly fit your budget. It even looks nicer–much nicer–than the Dell. What’s that? You’re just a whining troll? Oh. Thought so.
Another IT Guy...

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 10:19 am · Reply

Wow…Apple’s favorite shill Mossberg approves of yet another Apple product?

I’m shocked–shocked–at this unforeseen event!