Apple MacBook: First Impressions

So, I decided to skip a class today and go check out these 13″ beasts. Let me also add, that since 8:00 this morning, I’ve been back and forth, wondering if I should/could/want to get a MacBook and sell my MacBook Pro.

Edit: Here are some pictures I took at the Apple Store.

Surprisingly, the Apple Store was not crammed with people or long lines hoping for a mere glance of the new computer–I guess I’m stuck in an E3 mindset. In fact, there were two customers and three Apple Reps. conversing casually around the display models.

When I saw the units, my first thought was: This is the PERFECT size for a computer. The screen was a good size–big enough to have multiple windows open at once, but the resolution wasn’t so small that it could only be viewed by magnifying glass. It also wasn’t so big that it would sit awkwardly on my lap (even though it’s a “notebook” and not a “laptop”) or intrude on someone’s personal space during lectures. It reminded me of the good ol’ 12″ PowerBook days…

The keyboards are completely different… I mean, it’s still the QWERTY layout, but instead of having a separate keyboard module, as the iBook does, it’s integrated into the top case. The best way to describe it: the keys come up through the top case (see picture — from AppleInsider.com). Typing-wise, it feels a little weird… I could still type my name correctly, but it’d take some getting use to.

The white model basically looks like an iBook, just widescreen’d—nothing too exciting. The black model, though, is really impressive. When it was closed, it looked almost like a black PowerBook. It has a black matte finishing all around. No glossy iPod-like finishing to attract and collect scratches. The plastic did, however, have a multitude of customer fingerprints–I could just about identify every customer that touched the unit. Considering how many people have probably played with this during the day, though, this probably isn’t anything to worry about.

But, as I stood in admiration, wondering how much I could sell my Pro for, a customer decided to try scratching the lid with his fingernail. Much to my dismay and horror, as well as to the Apple Reps., pieces of a plastic coating on the lid began to flake off… What’s going on here? (EDIT: not a crazy ninja-claw scratch. More like “I’m trying to remove this fingerprint from my computer and accidentally made contact with my fingernail” kind of scratch). The coating reminded me of the kind of protective plastic cover that watches come with as protection from scratching, except… I don’t think this one is supposed to come off. The sales representatives just smoothed off and pretended like nothing happened.

At this point, all my ideas and longing for the new computer flew out the window, Superman-style. I can already see customers coming in for technical help at work, with a noticeable layer of the plastic coat missing from a portion of the computer, like someone got tired of peeling an onion halfway through.

I will definitely hold off on any spontaneous Apple purchases for a while. After the heat and the whine of my MacBook Pro, and the weird flaky skin on the new MacBooks, I am content to let others find the bugs for me before I relinquish control of my wallet to Apple again. No use purchasing another machine that has the potential of mutating any future children I might have, or depositing weird computer dandruff on my workspace.

Oh, and did I mention it also produces a very familiar electronic whine?

UPDATED: So my article was posted on digg.com, received about 35 diggs, 14 comments, and was then abruptly removed from the site. Very interesting… I just hope this information gets out to people before they make a purchasing decision.