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This is a repost of an article I just posted on my site, Living With a Nerd. In the original article, I spent the first three paragraphs ranting about Apple. I've removed these paragraphs in the interest of space here on the [H] forums. If you want to read the original article (with the rants intact), just Google Living With a Nerd, and you'll see the article on my site.
I am keeping in mind that this is an older Apple device, and isn’t necessarily indicative of their current hardware. Let’s do this!
The Hardware
There’s no denying that, even with a couple of scratches and a slightly creaky hinge, this is a great looking laptop. The overall shape and design of the laptop itself is simple and functional, with a comfortable keyboard, an adequate array of ports, a decent (if not slightly washed-out) screen, and a responsive trackpad. While it took me a couple of days to get used to the keyboard (everything felt “shifted” slightly to the right), I’m typing away on it with no problems now. The keys have just the right amount of pressure, and sound pretty good (although the spacebar is a bit clicky-sounding, when compared to the rest of the keyboard…admittedly, that’s nit-picking, but it’s noticeable enough to mention.) The trackpad works quite well, and I definitely like having the two-fingers-to-scroll gesture rather than having to move my hand over to a separate scrolling section on the trackpad. The single mouse button feels good and isn’t too loud, and the texture of the trackpad itself feels comfortable enough.
I would love to comment on battery life, but unfortunately the battery in this one is pretty much dead (which is part of the reason the price was right
). When fully charged, it only lasts for about 30 minutes, and the battery indicator in the upper right-hand portion of the screen is off (it jumps from 10 hours down to 50 minutes, up to 3 hours back down to 15 minutes…it’s useless. I've tried calibrating the battery and resetting the SMC, but neither the battery life or the battery indicator have improved at all.) The battery is only at 158 cycles, so this is a bit surprising…in all fairness though, the models from 2006 commonly had battery problems, AND the battery sat completely discharged for over a year, so I can’t really mark it as a negative. From my understanding, the expected battery life on this particular model is 3-4 hours (which sounds about right for a 2006 laptop), and the time is closer to 6-7+ hours in the recent Macbooks. I’ll likely pick up a new battery for it eventually, but for now, it’s Good Enough®, since it will keep the laptop running when the power adapter accidentally gets knocked out of place.
The original power adapter suffered from the dreaded burn-out and fraying that afflicted the old straight-style MagSafe connectors, but after buying a brand new one with the redesigned “L” shape, it works perfectly without issue. It’s worth noting that I didn't have to upgrade the firmware, as you apparently have to do with some older Macbooks when coupled with the newer L-shaped MagSafe power adapters. It's also worth noting that the physical dimensions are really great...the screen (13.3") and the size of the laptop (1.08" thick x 12.78" wide x 8.92" deep) provide an excellent blend of portability and usability, while the weight (5.2 pounds) is heavy enough to feel solid, yet light enough to transport easily. Beyond anything else, I think the size of the laptop is my favorite part.
This particular Macbook is one of the early-2006 models, which means it has a Core Duo CPU instead of a Core 2 Duo CPU. Still, it’s the 2GHz model, and it already has 1 GB of RAM in it (which I’m going to bump up to 2 gigs for pocket change. On a side note, RAM prices are INSNAELY cheap at the moment…if you’re looking to upgrade the memory in your desktop or laptop, now’s the time!) The Intel GMA 950 integrated video card makes it pretty much useless for newer games, but it handles older DOS games with no problems (yay DOSbox!) It can even play some more recent titles, like Morrowind and Deus Ex! I wasn’t really looking for a modern gaming laptop, and I was fully aware of what I was buying before I bought it, so this isn’t a big deal; again, it’s Good Enough® for what I wanted, and that’s what matters. Besides, with the lower screen resolution of 1280 x 800, older games look much better than they do on the 1920 x 1080 monitor hooked up to my gaming desktop. With that in mind, this will likely become my “classic” gaming computer.
That's the other thing, though: yes, this Macbook is asthetically pleasing, and yes, the system itself is well-built...but it doesn't really provide me with anything that I can't find elsewhere for cheaper. It's a five-year-old model, and five years in the tech industry is a lifetime, but even taking that into account, I still haven't found the "magic"...nothing about it seems all that particularly special, although the newer Macbooks and Macbook Pros do indeed have impressive battery life, especially when you consider the potent hardware they contain.
OSX
My first week with OSX has been relatively successful (this Macbook is currently running version 10.5.8) It’s taken some time to learn the ins and outs of where everything is and what to do with it, but I’m pretty confident in navigating and using OSX at this point. It’s easy to learn, and easy to use…and for me, that’s part of the problem. It’s a little bit TOO simplified.
There are certain things that I really like: not having to install or uninstall software since every program acts as a mountable image, the ease of navigation from screen to screen and program to program, how quickly the system copies files to and from external drives, the overall layout of the GUI, the functionality of the dock…it’s all very easy to figure out at a glance, easy to maintain, and easy to just jump in and start using. But as I said before, it’s a bit TOO simplified; I’m used to being able to dig real deep into the operating system, to change and modify every little thing about how it functions, looks, and feels. Not so with OSX: most of those things are either completely absent, or accessible only through a command line. While I recognize they are trying to make the software as easy to use as possible, I think they should at least provide the option of getting down to the nitty-gritty without forcing people to resort to a command line. I realize they spend a lot of time and money on the interface, but what works best for them doesn't necessarily work best for me. On more than one occasion, I found myself trying to figure out how to do something, only to Google it and learn that I couldn't. (EDIT: some users on Reddit pointed me towards this a few utilities, which certainly expand on what you can tweak. Thanks all!)
The oversimplification is my main gripe with it (which extends into iOS as well, for whatever that’s worth.) Aside from that though, I like it well enough. I couldn’t see myself making my main computer an OSX-based one, but I likely won’t be dual-booting this laptop with Windows XP as I had originally planned.
Conclusion
I like this little Macbook well enough to keep it and use it on a fairly regular basis, but considering it doesn't provide me with anything unique or worth the artifically-inflated price tag, I certainly couldn’t picture paying full price for it. Who knows, that may change in the future, but as of now, I think my own personal investment in Apple started with a new power adapter and will end with a new battery.
If nothing else, I'm no longer opposed to personally owning used Apple products...so there's that.
I am keeping in mind that this is an older Apple device, and isn’t necessarily indicative of their current hardware. Let’s do this!
The Hardware
There’s no denying that, even with a couple of scratches and a slightly creaky hinge, this is a great looking laptop. The overall shape and design of the laptop itself is simple and functional, with a comfortable keyboard, an adequate array of ports, a decent (if not slightly washed-out) screen, and a responsive trackpad. While it took me a couple of days to get used to the keyboard (everything felt “shifted” slightly to the right), I’m typing away on it with no problems now. The keys have just the right amount of pressure, and sound pretty good (although the spacebar is a bit clicky-sounding, when compared to the rest of the keyboard…admittedly, that’s nit-picking, but it’s noticeable enough to mention.) The trackpad works quite well, and I definitely like having the two-fingers-to-scroll gesture rather than having to move my hand over to a separate scrolling section on the trackpad. The single mouse button feels good and isn’t too loud, and the texture of the trackpad itself feels comfortable enough.
I would love to comment on battery life, but unfortunately the battery in this one is pretty much dead (which is part of the reason the price was right
). When fully charged, it only lasts for about 30 minutes, and the battery indicator in the upper right-hand portion of the screen is off (it jumps from 10 hours down to 50 minutes, up to 3 hours back down to 15 minutes…it’s useless. I've tried calibrating the battery and resetting the SMC, but neither the battery life or the battery indicator have improved at all.) The battery is only at 158 cycles, so this is a bit surprising…in all fairness though, the models from 2006 commonly had battery problems, AND the battery sat completely discharged for over a year, so I can’t really mark it as a negative. From my understanding, the expected battery life on this particular model is 3-4 hours (which sounds about right for a 2006 laptop), and the time is closer to 6-7+ hours in the recent Macbooks. I’ll likely pick up a new battery for it eventually, but for now, it’s Good Enough®, since it will keep the laptop running when the power adapter accidentally gets knocked out of place.The original power adapter suffered from the dreaded burn-out and fraying that afflicted the old straight-style MagSafe connectors, but after buying a brand new one with the redesigned “L” shape, it works perfectly without issue. It’s worth noting that I didn't have to upgrade the firmware, as you apparently have to do with some older Macbooks when coupled with the newer L-shaped MagSafe power adapters. It's also worth noting that the physical dimensions are really great...the screen (13.3") and the size of the laptop (1.08" thick x 12.78" wide x 8.92" deep) provide an excellent blend of portability and usability, while the weight (5.2 pounds) is heavy enough to feel solid, yet light enough to transport easily. Beyond anything else, I think the size of the laptop is my favorite part.
This particular Macbook is one of the early-2006 models, which means it has a Core Duo CPU instead of a Core 2 Duo CPU. Still, it’s the 2GHz model, and it already has 1 GB of RAM in it (which I’m going to bump up to 2 gigs for pocket change. On a side note, RAM prices are INSNAELY cheap at the moment…if you’re looking to upgrade the memory in your desktop or laptop, now’s the time!) The Intel GMA 950 integrated video card makes it pretty much useless for newer games, but it handles older DOS games with no problems (yay DOSbox!) It can even play some more recent titles, like Morrowind and Deus Ex! I wasn’t really looking for a modern gaming laptop, and I was fully aware of what I was buying before I bought it, so this isn’t a big deal; again, it’s Good Enough® for what I wanted, and that’s what matters. Besides, with the lower screen resolution of 1280 x 800, older games look much better than they do on the 1920 x 1080 monitor hooked up to my gaming desktop. With that in mind, this will likely become my “classic” gaming computer.
That's the other thing, though: yes, this Macbook is asthetically pleasing, and yes, the system itself is well-built...but it doesn't really provide me with anything that I can't find elsewhere for cheaper. It's a five-year-old model, and five years in the tech industry is a lifetime, but even taking that into account, I still haven't found the "magic"...nothing about it seems all that particularly special, although the newer Macbooks and Macbook Pros do indeed have impressive battery life, especially when you consider the potent hardware they contain.
OSX
My first week with OSX has been relatively successful (this Macbook is currently running version 10.5.8) It’s taken some time to learn the ins and outs of where everything is and what to do with it, but I’m pretty confident in navigating and using OSX at this point. It’s easy to learn, and easy to use…and for me, that’s part of the problem. It’s a little bit TOO simplified.
There are certain things that I really like: not having to install or uninstall software since every program acts as a mountable image, the ease of navigation from screen to screen and program to program, how quickly the system copies files to and from external drives, the overall layout of the GUI, the functionality of the dock…it’s all very easy to figure out at a glance, easy to maintain, and easy to just jump in and start using. But as I said before, it’s a bit TOO simplified; I’m used to being able to dig real deep into the operating system, to change and modify every little thing about how it functions, looks, and feels. Not so with OSX: most of those things are either completely absent, or accessible only through a command line. While I recognize they are trying to make the software as easy to use as possible, I think they should at least provide the option of getting down to the nitty-gritty without forcing people to resort to a command line. I realize they spend a lot of time and money on the interface, but what works best for them doesn't necessarily work best for me. On more than one occasion, I found myself trying to figure out how to do something, only to Google it and learn that I couldn't. (EDIT: some users on Reddit pointed me towards this a few utilities, which certainly expand on what you can tweak. Thanks all!)
The oversimplification is my main gripe with it (which extends into iOS as well, for whatever that’s worth.) Aside from that though, I like it well enough. I couldn’t see myself making my main computer an OSX-based one, but I likely won’t be dual-booting this laptop with Windows XP as I had originally planned.
Conclusion
I like this little Macbook well enough to keep it and use it on a fairly regular basis, but considering it doesn't provide me with anything unique or worth the artifically-inflated price tag, I certainly couldn’t picture paying full price for it. Who knows, that may change in the future, but as of now, I think my own personal investment in Apple started with a new power adapter and will end with a new battery.
If nothing else, I'm no longer opposed to personally owning used Apple products...so there's that.
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