Dan Warne reports for APC Magazine, “We’ve had one of the new MacBooks for 24 hours and have discovered some interesting secrets hiding within…”
1. Target Disk Mode: Without a Firewire port, the MacBook can’t do target disk mode as we know it. You may have hoped that Apple had hacked it to work with USB. Sadly, I confirmed with Apple Australia yesterday that the answer is no.
2. The system migration tool has been updated
3. The system chipset has changed, not just the GPU
4. Break the glass screen fascia; replace the whole screen: Should you drop the machine and bend the aluminium or break the glass fascia, you’ll have to replace the entire screen and top case. Apple Australia confirmed that it’s all one part.
5. The MacBooks run a special build of OS X, not yet released to other Macs
6. The battery indicator is now on the left side of the notebook
7. The chicklet keyboard on the MacBook is very firmly supported: Try as we might, we couldn’t get the keyboard to bend to pressure.
8. The speakers are surprisingly good
9. The viewing angle on the LCD is still lacking: Although the new MacBook’s LED panel has made some advances in this respect, it’s still nowhere near as good as the 15″ MacBook Pro screen.
10. Installing a hard drive is now even more superbly easy
Much more, including an 11th thing you might not know (“These go to eleven.”), plus even more extra things you might not know, along with photos and screenshots, here.
#11-The list now goes to eleven….
4. Rob Enderle now has another excuse to claim Macs could be fatal in an earthquake.
12. Jerry Seinfeld will not magically appear and offer to help you check out the “Conquistador”.
4. Break the glass screen fascia; replace the whole screen:
Well, yes, it’s one piece. But isn’t the idea of it being one piece that it is sturdier and less likely to break?
6. The battery indicator is now on the left side of the notebook
The quality of secrets these days is distinctly poor.
Steve mentioned the battery indicator during his keynote presentation. Overall, a much improved product, although the original MacBook was/is a winner and very popular for a reason.
The updated product will help to integrate the models into one
major product line.
As a Mac admin (about 600 Macs, mostly MacBooks), the missing FireWire is a HUGE disappointment. I mean HUGE. For users who need a loaner while theirs is repaired, I can’t just drag over their home folder. I’ll now have to remove HDD’s and use a DriveDock for file transfers. A big giant WTF to Apple on this one. Wow.
Somehow, The idea of glass on a laptop screen scars me. Laptops do fall & glass usually breaks when it falls.
Why couldn’t they just replace the White MacBook’s casing with aluminum & do additional upgrades like Ram, HDD, & Speed.???
What I love about my iBook is that it’s flexible to some respect. @ least the screen won’t break when bent or flexed a bit. Heck I’ve even accidentally sat on my 12 inch iBook G4 1.2Ghz once & it didn’t break ( I’m 6ft 2in) & weigh 220lbs)
I think I’ll skip this new design & get a REGULAR MacBook pro off the reconditioned Mac Section or just get a New White MacBook.
I don’t yet like the idea off glass screens on a laptop, thats unless someone actually does a drop test to see if the screen would break. The Glass is not necessary & would not make it environmentally safer. Just continue the Metal Frame to the front & Glossy LCD like on the old MacBook. IT’d actually more hazardous because if the screen breaks of shatters, the glass can fly up.
??????
No Target mode.
Sorry, as a consultant that takes care of Macs, I’m not going to carry around an external USB2 box so I can “easily transfer files from the removed drive to another Mac”.
Not to mention opening up the laptop to get the drive out.
This just goes against the the whole Apple experience, “It just works. Ease of use.”
Kinda like the old auto chairman that said, save a nickel anywhere you can on the design of our car. Guess what, that started the race to the bottom of quality and you saw cars just falling apart in the 70s and early 80s.
“The idea of glass on a laptop screen scars me.”
Nice Freudian slip.
” # 6. The battery indicator is now on the left side”
Deal breaker.
Missy Pants
Dam, you’re tough!
I thought target disc mode was now available via ethernet? I asked at the apple store how I would migrate from my current MB and they said when you start the new one it asks to do it via ethernet. This would be faster than usb as well.
Use the updated Migration tool, and you can migrate them using a straight ethernet cable between the systems, or over airport even (though would be MUCH slower than using Ethernet). This was a painless and fast process to move my data over from my older Macbook to the new one, in fact its basically the same technology you would use to migrate data to a Macbook Air!
‘Use the updated Migration tool, and you can migrate them using a straight ethernet cable between the systems, or over airport even (though would be MUCH slower than using Ethernet). This was a painless and fast process to move my data over from my older Macbook to the new one, in fact its basically the same technology you would use to migrate data to a Macbook Air!’
Must be great to have all that spare time
Target disc mode SOLVED- Go to frys and buy a firewire 800 to 400 cable. Works great. This is the reason I voted “Does not effect me on MDN poll.
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4. Break the glass screen fascia; replace the whole screen:
Wow. That’s sooo “green”.
Do you people play frisbee or something with your laptop? I’ve never dropped my laptop (at least not since they switched to the magsafe connectors).
Even still, I am guessing it’s pretty durable glass, not all glass is fragile. It’s probably very similar to the (very durable) glass they use on the iPhone/iPod Touch, which I have been unable to scratch as of yet.
Addfwyn came up with a good point, is the glass on the laptops the same as the iPhone/iPod Touch?
I have personally dropped my iPhone several times to my horror to a hard floor and have yet to see any problems.
I was initially worried at the sound of ‘glass’ and ‘laptop’ in the same sentence but now…
I’m getting the high end 15″ Macbook Pro anyhow…*grin*
“Do you people play frisbee or something with your laptop?”
Not until Apple put in Sudden Motion Sensors. Now I can really get some distance.
“I’m not going to carry around an external USB2 box “
Because those 32GB USB keys are just monstrous, and sometimes it’s just hard to find a cat5 drop cable to use instead.
@binarypackrat
And where are you planning on plugging that cable in?
There is no Firewire on the MacBook. No 400. No 800. None.
#4 is not fully correct. If the display is damaged, it can be replaced…the top case is seperated and it is not necessary to replace this when the display is damaged.
@jake-o-The white plastic one has a firewire port, it’s called a macbook or maybe he got confused and meant the macbook pro.
Glass screens scare or scar you?
So you are terrified of your windshield on your car?
@Jake-o …I see
Somebody please tell us HOW system migration is accomplished without target disk mode???