[nun4db]

About three and a half years ago I purchased my first Mac - a 1GHz Titanium Powerbook G4 with 1GB of memory. If you recall, this was when the 12" and 17" Aluminum Powerbooks were already out, but before the 15" Al replaced the TiBook. I made the decision to go ahead and get the TiBook, figuring that since it was in its final generation it would be virtually problem free, as opposed to the 1st gen AlBooks. And I was pretty much right. I loved that machine. Still do! It's still a fantastic laptop. Once I replace the hard drive, which is just about maxed out, I'm sure I will continue to use it for years to come.
Be that as it may, the powers that be at the public school system with which I am employed recently decided it was time for my work laptop-- an old beat up 500MHz Ti-- to be replaced. I was overjoyed at the news that I would be receiving a shiny new 15" 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM! I waited in sheer agony for the next three weeks for the order to go through and my beauty to arrive. Yesterday, that day came.
I've spent the last 24 hours or so testing out my new beast of a laptop, and comparing it to my old faithful TiBook at home. Here are my thoughts so far:
I love my TiBook. In fact, I still prefer it.
Yes, I know, I must sound CRAZY, but it's true. No doubt this MacBook Pro is one amazing machine, but it has certain major flaws that I just can't get past.
Number 1: The display. Any TiBook owners out there? If so, you know the luxury of being able to open your laptop to a full 180 degrees if you so wish. Well, it's not even close with this thing. I do recall when the initial generation of Aluminum Powerbooks came out that the displays could no longer do the full 180, BUT they came pretty darn close. In fact, I was just a friend's place last night and noticed his 12" AlBook sitting on the table, so I decided to do a little side by side comparison. His laptop could open about, I'd say 160. The MBP, a pathetic 110 to 120. Of course, I haven't done the measurements, but it is a staggering difference.
Now, with the Aluminum Powerbooks I was all for the change in the way the display was hinged to the rest of the laptop, mostly because it resulted in a much smoother open. I was willing to deal with the loss of ten degrees or so. But I can't believe it got even worse with the MacBook Pros!!! And I can't see any mechanical reason why it should have been necessary to do so.
Anyone out there use a Podium Pad to elevate their laptop and thus keep it cool and more ergonomically friendly? If so, then you feel my pain. The Podium Pad raises the rear of the laptop about three or four inches, thus requiring the display to be open at a greater angle in order to get a straight on view. This is especially true if you happen to be 6'4" like me. What's more, having the laptop on a stand such as this eliminates the basic problem of the bottom end of the display casing actually coming into contact with a surface such as a table, therefore stopping its mobility. So had Apple simply designed the hinge to allow the display to continue opening in a scenario like this, I would be a much happier customer.
Example number 2 of needing greater mobility in the display is when the user is standing. I, for one, do this quite a bit, as I am a DJ at a college radio station. I bring CDs, records and my laptop to the studio with me. I use the laptop to play various live or rare tracks that I might only have in digital format. I am always standing on my feet (remember 6'4") in the studio, therefore when I am working from the laptop I am generally looking down on it almost completely vertically. The TiBook was great for this. The MacBook...crap.
Complaint Number 2: The Display again. Now I'm talking about the actual screen. My employer opted for the matte finish as opposed to the optional glossy. I've actually grown to love the glossy screens on my friends' macbooks, so I was hoping for one of those, but I wasn't too disappointed to hear that I wasn't getting one, figuring that my TiBook's screen was always good enough for me. If anything, this new one should be even better since it is higher res and brighter. WRONG. It's brighter alright, and definitely higher res, but something else is just not right. It is hurting my eyes to look at it. If I look closely, the "anti-glare" finish has some kind of rough texture to it. It's really strange. It isn't smooth like my TiBook. Also, there is a definite sweet spot of brightness in the center of the screen, whereas the area surrounding it is darker. It's hard to convey exactly what the problem is, it just definitely is not as nice to look at as my TiBook's display. My eyes really are suffering.
Number 3: USB 2.0. Alright, I know this is old news, but I think Apple's decision to abandon firewire support for the iPod in favor of USB 2.0 was the most infuriating thing they have done since I became a fan of Macs. Why am I just now complaining about this? Because this is the first computer I have used with USB 2.0. My TiBook only has 1.0. This was never an issue until I got an iPod Shuffle six months ago. My main iPod is a 3G, which still works flawlessly. It, of course, uses firewire, and is therefore fast as lightning. The Shuffle, on the other hand, was obviously miserably slow on USB 1.0. But I always figured that USB 2.0 must be just as fast as firewire, otherwise why on Earth would Apple pick it in favor of firewire? WRONG AGAIN!!! When I got this MBP I couldn't wait to sync up my Shuffle and see how fast it loaded. Well, it was certainly faster than 1.0, but compared to firewire, still slow as poop.
What is wrong with you, Apple?! Seriously, that was such a blow to loyal mac users. Obviously the USB move was meant to please PC users, but was it worth betraying Apple users??? In terms of dollars, I suppose it was.
My final complaint is that iTunes 7 is total garbage. Garbage.
Oh, and I miss having all my ports in the back. All these cables coming out the sides are in my way.
I can't wait to get a new hard drive for my TiBook and continue giving it the love and attention it so deserves.


- Dan

[ohno]

Not going to debate the merits of your other issues (you obviously have well formed thoughts) but your 3rd complaint is really against your iPod, not your MBP, as it has firewire capability.

[nun4db]

Quote:

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Not going to debate the merits of your other issues (you obviously have well formed thoughts) but your 3rd complaint is really against your iPod, not your MBP, as it has firewire capability.

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haha, good point. I guess it came up in conjunction with the MBP because it was my first experience with transferring music via USB 2.0, and I was rather disappointed.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Given your uses I would probably agree about the screen angle. I haven't used a matte Intel system and so I can't make an opinion but I really enjoy the glossy. The Ti was sleek -- I also had a Ti 1GHz -- but the only port problem I had was with some ethernet cords and trying to get at the tab to release them.
About the iPod. I too agree that FW and USB use would still be superb but it isn't going to happen. I've also noticed that I don't think it is USB 2.0 -- Despite my opinion of using that technology for high rate data transfer -- maybe isn't at fault here. I recently helped my brother's sister-in-law setup a new 2G shuffle on their 1.67GHz Athlon XP, 512MB, Windows machine with USB 2.0 and I was also very disappointed in the transfer speed. I would honestly have to guess it has to do with the shuffle. Maybe a slow microprocessor, slow USB controller, or slow flash memory. I don't know but I do know that the transfer speed of my video iPods was "night and day" compared to that shuffle.