Apple MacBook 13.3 in. (MB404LL/A) Mac Notebook

After reading specs, and comparing with various laptops, my team now uses this as a standard equipment for everyone.

Instead of cutting and pasting specs from Mac, let me talk about differences and why you'd want this laptop.

Macbook vs. Macbook pro
Macbook has in addition/instead of this MacBook:
1. Bigger screen/higher resolution
2. Faster graphics card
3. backlit keyboard
4. Firewire 800 vs firewire 400
5. DVI output (instead of mini-dvi)
6. Optional 7200rpm drive
7. pinch to expand videos

Why buy MacBook Pro?
- You need to do graphics related stuff like video editing, or gaming
- You want a desktop replacement laptop and don't care hauling a big 17" (or 15") beast around. (I have 17" and it does get tiring)
- You have a need to attach to external drives a lot. (Firewire 800 is faster)
- Backlit keyboard is nice, but I don't look at my keyboard.
- You have no good reason but to spend a lot of money.

Black loaded MacBook vs base macbook
1. 2.4gb vs 2.1gb
2. CD/DVD burner instead of CD Burner/DVD Reader
3. Bigger HD

Why buy black vs white?
If you have 2 of the 3 needs, then the cost of getting a black one is only $100 more.
- You want to burn DVD.
- You want a slightly zippier system.
- You need tons of storage.

Why MacBook instead of other 'inexpensive' systems.
So this is the question many people have asked. We get a substantial discount from a vendor. Yet I purchase this laptop and have convinced everyone to buy it. I'd like to share these reasons.
Compare to units that cost $500 less, you get
- Choice (yes, it's a choice) of running Mac, AND/OR Windows. Yes, you can run Windows on this system just fine.
- Built in camera, which is often a $20-$50 upgrade
- Cheaper units have 2ghz cpu. When you look at 2.4ghz systems, all of sudden you notice a good $300 jump. Not certain, go to one of the online pc manufactures and look at a laptop's CPU selection. I am staring at a $275 upgrade to 2.4ghz.
- More disk space. 250gb upgrade is $100.
- Wireless 'N'. 'N' is often not available and when they are they are $20-$50 upgrade. (Used to be more).
- Great screen. Cheaper laptops have poor screen. The resolution is often the same, but bigger. Higher pixel rate means more $.

When you add all the little upgrade ($275+$100+$50+$50), people realize MacBook is actually a good deal. And the build quality is actually quite good.

-What about Windows? I still need it.
Recently, I discovered a FREE virtualization software that will run on Mac called 'VirtualBox' by Sun (http://www.virtualbox.org/). And I run Windows in this now. Yes, a laptop that runs Windows inside the Mac. And the performance? You can't tell that it's running inside a Mac. You can run all your old software. (Make sure to have a proper Windows license.)

So you get a hardware that's top notch, and you get a choice of running OS/X AND Windows.

Con:
Well, I personally find that screen for day to day is a bit tough. It is not a desktop replacement and would recommend that people attach a monitor to it. Which runs into one problem. You can't close a lid of the LCD and use it like a desktop as the laptop goes into power save mode. Turns out that smart people at Apple figured out a way to use keyboard area to vent heat so you can't close the lid.

Summary:
If you want a high end features in a compact sized notebook, MacBook is great. If you are looking for a cheap, inexpensive laptop where you are willing to sacrifice performance, then this is not a laptop for you.