Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3 in. Mac Notebook

Review of MacBook (newest white polycarbonate model as of this writing; 3-8-10)

I am a very technical person who has worked in the IT industry for 26 years. During that time I have worked with all kinds of hardware and technology. Aside from an early experience with an Apple “LISA” (we are going back to 1984 now…that is way back!) – all of my personal computing experience has been on Windows based PC’s and laptops.

If you are someone who is a PC person and is considering trying a Mac, then this review is going to be particularly of interest to you. 

If you are a die-hard Mac fan, then you will find this review satisfying…as you will be counting another convert to the Apple fan base. ;-) 

A final note before I get started, I am not going to go into a ton of detail in terms of a spec sheet.  Not beyond just the basics. If you want the gnats eyebrow level of detail on tech specs, you can get that in 5 seconds on the apple web site. Rather I am going to focus more on a hands-on use and experience with this laptop from an owners perspective.


BUILD QUALITY

The MacBook is a beautifully made laptop. The main case is constructed from one solid piece of white polycarbonate plastic. Why does the one piece construction  matter? It matters because it makes the PC feel very solid and gives it great structural integrity. 

Polycarbonate is VERY strong plastic. This is what most of our eyeglasses are made of today. The very thin, durable, very lightweight eyeglasses many of us wear, the ones that are shatterproof – this laptop is made from the same stuff. 

Bulletproof “glass” is made from polycarbonate –the polycarbonate component of the glass is what makes it “bullet proof”. 
Polycarbonate is also the least likely material to interfere with wireless signals; so this MacBook will have optimal wireless signal strength.

I am not trying to convince you that plastic is better than aluminum, which is what is used for the MacBook Pro. Rather, I am trying to help you have a better appreciation for the value and advantages that polycarbonate has – you definitely should not just dismiss it as “cheap plastic”.

To sum up build quality for the MacBook: it is very good, everything fits perfectly, the lid closes in perfect alignment, the seams are tight and perfectly aligned, the keyboard is aligned and fits the case perfectly, the touch pad looks and feels great, and the whole thing has a solid, high quality feel to it.
 
The other thing I like about the MacBook build is its design. Its clean and simple. Not a tacky bone in its body. Its made to look good as well as work good. Not a lot of flashing lights, no garish stickers announcing the type of processor and operating system inside, etc.  Even the glowing apple on the back of the display screen is tasteful. If you are into style, Apple is your friend.

THE DISPLAY SCREEN

The display is flat out gorgeous.. Its LED backlit, which helps it to be thin and power efficient; and bright.  But at the end of the day you can read all the specs you want – ultimately you will judge a display with your eyes.  The 13.3 inch screen on the MacBook is bright, crisp, and has great color.  Blacks show as deep blacks, and all of the other colors really pop. In my view its one of the best displays you can get in any laptop.
 
Part of the reason is the glossy, glass screen vs a matte finish.  You will notice some reflection from the screen in certain light conditions. Primarily outdoors. But indoors, in your home/office, this display is great – its as good as just about any of the best you will see out there.
 
Go into an Apple store these days and look at any of the display screens. They all look great. In case you are wondering; yes, movies look great on this screen. You can watch a DVD during your flight to New York and really enjoy it.

THE KEYBOARD

For you laptop veterans, you will likely agree with me that the feel and layout of a laptop’s keyboard is one of the most important factors.

This keyboard is the “chicklet” style. The keys are separated with space between them, and the keys fit up through the laptop case. Each key is sort of like a button on the PC case. I like this style of keyboard because it has a very solid, high quality feel. Its not “mushy” like some laptop keyboards. By “mushy”, I mean a cheap feel where you can sense the whole keyboard sort of mushing up and down as you type on it.
 
The spacing on the keys is good, I would say its pretty close to “full size”. You won’t feel cramped typing on it. The keys have nice feedback when you press them. I like keyboards that give good tactile feedback. There is some travel from when you press each key, until it bottoms out. It has a light “clicky” feel and sound. Nothing loud, but it’s a sound that gives you some pleasant feedback to the ear and to the touch.

The area of the laptop where you rest your hands as you type is nice and spacious; however I wish Apple would have rounded the front edge of the case more. Sometimes, depending on how I am situated as I type, the edge of the front of the case can dig into your wrists a little. Its not a major issue though.
 
For you touch typists, you will appreciate the little raised bump on the “f” and “j” keys, to allow you to position your hands at the right typing position. I have been typing on keyboards for a long, long time. I have typed on cheap, crappy ones, that feel all mushy and bouncy, and I know solid good ones when I see them. This is a good, solid keyboard.

To be honest, I like the feel of the MacBook keyboard better than the MacBook pro laptops. This regular MacBook, the keys have just a little more travel to them. Try the two out in the Apple store and see if you notice it.  Don’t get me wrong, the keyboards on the pro’s are great too.

You will hear comments that the MacBook Pro has a backlit keyboard. It’s a nice thing to have. The MacBook does not have that feature. However I have found that when typing in dim light, the light from the computer screen on the MacBook usually gives me plenty of light to see the keys on the white keypad.
 
A final note, for those interested, look closely at the keys on the MacBook and you will see that they act as vents as well, to release heat. Its not like there is a fan blowing heat on your fingers as you type…you don't really notice any heat; but there are openings under the keys to allow ambient heat to rise out naturally. Its not a feature unique to Apple only, but still its clever.

WIRELESS / NETWORKING

The MacBook has built in wireless, and can connect wirelessly to your home wireless network  - or any public wireless hotspot when you are out and about. It is adept at picking up signals and holding them well. I have had no issues with wireless connectivity.
 
And OS X (Apple’s latest operating system is also referred to as “Snow Leopard”) is great for helping you get set up quickly and easily. When you first fire up your MacBook, it will automatically sense wireless networks and walk you through the setup. There is no external switch to turn the wireless on or off, like with some PC’s. But you can turn it on or off as a setting with the software, very easily. You will want to leave it on and forget about it.

If you don’t have wireless but rather connect with a network cable, the MacBook has a jack for a network cable.
 
If you are worried about the Mac working with a non-Apple wireless or wired network, don’t be. Its designed to work with all major network device brands. My wireless network at home is Linksys, it works great.

OTHER CONNECTIVITY

On the side of the MacBook there is a connector for a power cord, a monitor, two USB 2.O plugs, and headphone. There is no separate plug for an external microphone. However there is a mic built into the laptop case.

No, there is no card reader for your camera. However, don’t lament this too much, for $15 you can buy a portable card reader that will read any kind of camera card made, and plugs into (and is powered by) a USB port.  The one I have fits easily into my  laptop case to carry with me.

The MacBook also has built-in Bluetooth. This works great for attaching external keyboard or mouse or headphones without any cords.

One thing to be aware of, since there is no separate jack for an external mic, a headset that has a mic integrated for gaming or chat cannot be used on this MacBook – if it’s the kind that requires the headphone and mic jacks. However, if you have a headset that is based on a USB connection, you can get around this issue.

Some complain that there is no firewire connection on the MacBook. For some that might be an issue. For me, I don’t care. If you absolutely must have firewire, then start strolling towards the MacBook Pro’s.

There is a built in “Superdrive” on the MacBook – it will read and write to CD’s or DVD’s. It is NOT a blue ray drive.

CAMERA

The MacBook has a tiny little camera integrated into the top of the lid. You can use it to take pictures or to do live "chat" face to face with other people who have a similar setup. When you take a picture with the laptop, the display screen blinks bright white to act as sort of "flash" for photos.

BATTERY

Battery is stated to be good for 7 hours. I have yet to see any laptop meet the claimed battery life. And anyway its hard to compare because it depends on how you are using the laptop and how you have it set. But, I will tell you that I get a good, solid 5-6 hours on average using this laptop, with wireless running and screen on full brightness. That is for word processing, surfing the web, etc. I am very impressed with the battery life.

The battery itself is NOT user replaceable, but Apple says it can handle 1000 recharge cycles, and that after 5 years it will still have 80 percent of its ability to hold a charge. This is because Apple has traded the bulk and design of making a user replaceable battery compartment, for a bigger and better integrated internal battery. If the battery needs replacing you can have Apple do it for $129. But honestly it seems to me that the battery on the MacBook is a strength, not a disadvantage.

The only time I would really miss a user replaceable battery, is if I wanted to go an extended period of time on battery and wanted to use a spare one. With this setup, you cannot use a spare battery strategy.

Or can you….even that has a workaround if you are determined. You can buy third party products (go to www.hypermac.com) that are essentially external batteries that you plug into your power cord connector, and in effect it gives you the extra power that a spare battery would. Its just external to the laptop. 

The battery strength can be monitored while you are using the laptop, there is an easy to see indicator on the top right of the screen when you are using the Mac. You can set it to show you either a percentage, or the battery time remaining.

PROCESSOR, HARD DRIVE and RAM

The processor is an Intel dual-core processor. It runs cool and is energy efficient. I won’t get into the clock speed, size of the cache, etc. Most people don’t understand that stuff anyway or are mislead by it. Bottom line, this is not the fanciest, bleeding edge mobile processor. Its a middle of the road performer, but its good value for the dollar - and plenty powerful enough for your average home user. Apple has picked a solid performer that is stable, does not generate crazy heat, and keeps the price of the MacBook reasonable too.
 
The standard hard drive for the MacBook is a 250 GB, 5400 RPM model. It’s a regular 2.5 inch SATA drive. If you order a MacBook from the Apple website, you can have them put in a bigger HD, up to 500GB, for a few extra bucks. Or you can have them install a solid state drive (no moving parts – but SSD’s have less storage per dollar - they are very expensive).

One thing you don't want to do is swing a laptop around (or drop it) when the hard drive is spinning. On the MacBook, there is technology built in so that if you jostle or drop your MacBook, the spinning parts of the drive automatically stop and lock up to help prevent damage. This is a nice feature that does not get much press.

The internal hard drive is easily replaced if you want to do it yourself (for example, a year after you buy your Mac, you realize you want a bigger HD), Apple designed it for user upgrade and shows you how to do it in the user guide that comes with the Mac.

The RAM that comes standard is 2MB, in two available memory slots. You can increase it up to 4 MB. If you order your MacBook from the Apple store, for an extra $100 they will put in the 4MB for you. Or, if you want to upgrade it yourself later, for the same $100 you can order the 4MB of memory from the web (if you order from someone other than Apple; don’t buy it from Apple, they will charge you a lot more for the same memory you can get elsewhere cheaper). Again there are just two memory slots, designed by Apple for the user to be able to upgrade – easy process described in the user guide.

The Mac comes with both memory slots filled, each with 1 MB. If you upgrade to a total of 4 MB, you have to remove the 1MB memory cards and replace them with 2MB cards. Hopefully you can sell the 1MB cards on e-bay or something.  But that can be hard to do. Most of the time when I upgrade memory like this, it ends up in a parts box in my closet for 10 years - and then I throw it out. ;-)
 
Frankly, if you just do word processing/MS Office, surf the web, do email, some simple video or photo work, 2MB of RAM is fine. That is what I have, and I have no issues. If you want to do more heavy-duty photo or video editing, then you will want to go to the 4MB of RAM.

INCLUDED SOFTWARE

Apple’s operating system is a competitor to Windows and is called OS X (pronounced “OS Ten”). The latest version is called “Snow Leopard” (how cool that Apple names its OS version after exotic animals!).

Apple’s operating system will not run MS Windows programs. But Apple includes something called “boot camp” that allows you to install a copy of MS Windows on your hard drive, and it will allow you to start up your machine as Windows if you want. This will let you install and run your huge investment of Windows software if you are an old PC person (MS Office, etc). 

You can buy other software that will let you run Windows while you are within OS X (for example a product called "Parallels"; I have tried that product and it works as advertised - it allows you to run MS Windows as if it were just another application within OS X). But that is a whole other topic I won’t get into. That type of software is not included with the MacBook. Google "Parallels for Mac" if you want to dig into this topic further.

Just keep in mind, with the included Bootcamp software, or with Parallels or any other solution to run Windows on a Mac, you need to have (or buy) a valid windows license. There is no escaping that unfortunately.
 
OS X is VERY user friendly and intuitive. If you are used to MS Windows (especially Vista or Windows 7), you will quickly pick up how to use OS X. Personally I think it’s a gorgeous user interface, and is very stable and takes care of a lot of the nuts and bolts stuff for you. For a look at it, go to the apple website and there are videos and screen shots to let you see what I mean.

One of the things  I love about OS X is that it is very stable. It does not crash as easily as MS Windows. I have known people who have had a Mac for 10 years and never had it crash even once.
 
Part of the reason for that is that OS X is not a prime target for viruses and malware like Windows is. That is because Mac’s are still a very small percentage of all the PC’s out there- and the bad guys go for the volume and attack MS Windows instead. In fact, you do not really need antivirus and anti-spyware software for the Mac. Save the money (and the performance hit that those software tools take from your laptop).

OS X is made to use a limited set of software that is specially made for the Mac only. However, the advantage of that closed environment is that the Mac software is VERY well integrated. All of the applications work really well together. You can “drag and drop” things easily between apps, etc. It makes the Mac easy and fun to use – you will find yourself saying “wow” a lot.
 
Some of those apps included with the MacBook include a calendar, photo management, video editing, DVD player, web browser, email, search capability, address book, automatic hard drive backup, networking software, disk utilities, etc etc. There is a lot of good stuff included. Just a taste – the digital photo management software that comes with the Mac (called iPhoto), automatically sorts your pictures for you when you plug in a memory card; and will use face recognition to organize your pictures by person! (it takes a little training of the software but it works pretty well to organize things by face automatically). It also organizes your photos by date so that different events are automatically grouped together. It can even organize by location, if your digital camera has GPS capability! And dragging and dropping photos to various other applications on the Mac works great.
 
If you want to do word processing, or in general use MS Office, you can buy a Mac version of office. But there is none of this included. So its another expense and thus another barrier to making the switch to the Mac, if you already paid for and own a copy of MS Office for Windows. Personally, I bit the bullet and got a copy of MS Office/Mac version (Home and Student edition - it comes with three license keys so you can install it on 3 separate Macs if you want to) from Amazon.com for $119. I did not want to have to run windows on my Mac all the time to use MS Office.

Apple also makes its own integrated suite of tools similar to MS office if you want to look into that. However, as I said nothing along those lines is included when you first buy your Mac.

The whole subject of running Windows on a Mac is a sore spot, in all honesty. It works okay, better than you might think, but in my opinion its kind of a pain. And who wants to buy a nice Mac with its cool operating system, only to run Windows on it? Again, go to the Apple website for more info, its very easy to navigate and a wealth of information - and has some videos and specific info on how to deal with your Windows "switchover" angst. 

PERFORMANCE

The MacBook is fast if you are using the basic stuff (MS Office, web, email, light photo and video stuff, etc). It boots up in about 15 seconds, and shuts down even faster. When you are browsing the web or opening applications, its quick. You are not sitting there waiting.  If you close the lid, the laptop automatically goes into a very low power “sleep” mode. When you open the lid again, it restarts and “wakes up” to exactly where you left off. For me, every Windows based laptop I have ever had, there has always been some issue that crops up with the sleep mode. With the Mac, it works perfectly every time.

Now, if you open 15 windows at once, and/or you are doing heavy video or photo editing, you will notice the machine slowing down. Adding more RAM will help. But that is the same with any laptop – not just the MacBook. If you do a LOT of really heavy video and photo editing…big files…then reconsider getting a more powerful MacBook Pro. It may be warranted.

THE POWER SUPPLY

Every laptop has something affectionately called “the brick”. It the external power supply for the laptop. All I will say is: the Apple MacBook “brick” is more like a small rock. Its about half the size of other laptop power supplies.

And, it comes with a very cool magnetic connector that will break away from the laptop without damaging anything if someone trips over your power cord. Its just another example of how clever and innovative Apple is.
 
The MacBook power supply comes with a shorter cord and also an attachment to extend it by several feet if you need to. Bottom line, its plenty long enough.

THE TOUCH PAD
 
The touch pad on the MacBook deserves its very own section here. Its is one of the coolest things I have ever seen on a laptop.
The touch pad is big – about 5 inches square. It is made from silky smooth glass. When you swipe your finger across it, its incredibly smooth.
 
There are no secondary buttons on this touch pad, like every other laptop out there. The entire touch pad is a button (just press it anywhere and it clicks). You can program it to do a “right click” by pressing on the very lowest right hand or left hand corner –or by pressing the pad to click it with two fingers instead of one.
 
This last point brings up the “multitouch” aspect of the touch pad. Meaning it can tell if you are touching it with one, two, three or four fingers. Want to scroll up or down in a window? Use two fingers and swipe up or down. What to page right or left in the web browser? Use three fingers and swipe right or left, like turning the page of a book. Want to move the cursor? Use one finger to move it around.
 
The touch pad takes a little getting used to – but the learning curve is very quick. Mainly, because the touch pad is plain old intuitive. Use it for about 10 minutes and you will fall in love with it.

GAMING

If you are seriously into PC gaming – don’t get a Mac. I am a serious PC gamer. Trust me, stick to a powerful Windows PC for gaming. There are not many games made for the Mac, and your windows based games won’t perform great if you are emulating windows on the Mac. Game makers write for the 95% of the population who own PC’s – and its not cost effective for most of them to also write a Mac version. You can find a handful of newer games made for the Mac – but it’s a REALLY limited subset.

Plus, laptops or PC’s that can run heavy duty games require heavy duty CPU’s and video cards. Which are loud (fans) and generate a lot of heat, and draw a lot of power.

I think Apple avoids that whole gig, so its machines can be better form factor, quieter and cooler.

If you can afford to have a Windows based gaming PC for gaming, and a Mac for everything else (like I have done) then you can have the best of both worlds.

WARRANTY

Full year parts and labor. After that you are on your own. You can buy the extended warranty for a couple hundred bucks. Up to you. Apple reputation for service is very strong. They have been rated the best in the business for customer support.

For the first 90 days you get free phone support for tech questions. If you want to extend that, you can buy the Applecare package, or you pay for each time you call for help beyond the 90 days.

Frankly, the Mac is easy to use and there is a ton of help online, user forums, etc. I don’ t think you need the Applecare extended help plan purely for phone support unless you are really worried about the technology.

CARING FOR YOUR MACBOOK

Cleaning: keep linty and fuzzy sweaters and such away from your white MacBook. It seems to be a magnet for that fuz. Wipe it down with a soft cloth dampened with plain water, and you can keep it looking great.

Scratches: some say the white plastic scratches easily. So does the plastic on other laptops, and so does the aluminum on the MacBook Pro. Basically almost any laptop will scratch easily if you put sharp, abrasive stuff against it. Just avoid that. Another note: the aluminum MacBook Pro can be dented. Your bulletproof plastic MacBook cannot. Ha! 

You can buy plastic "hard shell" cases that snap over the outside of your MacBook. They come in a bunch of different colors (or clear). They are properly vented, etc to allow heat to escape as designed. Personally, I would hate to have one of those clunky cases covering up my nice looking MacBook. 

But if you are using your Mac in an environment where it gets exposed to a lot of abuse, where it is pretty sure to get scratched, I could see how it would make sense to protect it. They have the cases at the Apple Store or you can look at them online.

13.3” MACBOOK OR 13.3” MACBOOK PRO?

The specs for the basic white MacBook are about the same as those for the basic 13.3” MacBook Pro. In fact, the white MacBook has a bigger hard drive in the base model vs the base MacBook Pro (250GB vs 160GB). For $200 more, the 13.3” Pro gives you the aluminum case, and an SD card reader built in, and a backlit keyboard. And a smaller hard drive. The rest is all the same.

CONCLUSION

Just let me sum up by saying, I am a long time Windows PC/Laptop user, and ex-Mac critic, who has been won over by actually diving in and really experiencing the modern Mac. I am totally in love with it, because the hardware and the software is well designed and intuitive. The whole platform is very stable and fun to use – if you are willing to buy into the Apple software applications.

You will find that a Mac laptop is a little more expensive than a Windows based laptop of similar hardware spec. You are paying a premium for that nifty Apple design and the slick OS X operating system.  It's up to you to decide if it's worth it.  Keep in mind that if you are a teacher or a student, (or have a family member who is any of the above) that you are buying for, Apple will give you $100 or more discount off the standard price.

I strongly advise you to go into an Apple store if you are in the middle of your decision process. Put your hands on one of these beautiful machines, get the friendly folks in the Apple store to answer your questions and show you around.

The store is very low pressure and a nice environment, its loaded with all models of their machines for you to try first hand. It’s a bit of a geek haven for sure!

Good luck with your decision process – I thought things through very carefully and I am absolutely thrilled with my decision.