The new MacBook (Pros): the fine print

I am interested to find out if there is a big difference between the older MacBooks with the 4MB of cache vs. the new models with the faster CPU speeds (2.4GHz) but smaller L2 cache (3MB). Any thoughts?

Sad to see enter go - Adium uses it to distinguish between making a new line and sending the message.

Enter and return are both printed on the return key because option-return is 'enter'.

I never used the numpad on the slant like that, so I;m not sad to see it go.

The eject icon and "esc" is now centered, I guess this ties in with all the keys along the top row. Probably similar to the new kbs.

also the page, home, end have been removed from the arrow keys.

I wonder why they still put both "enter" and "return" on the enter/return key?

I'm glad the numlock has gone. I never used it and when I tried it was terribly confusing. It also makes the kb look cleaner, with at most two chars per key.

If they had kept it the numbers should have lit up green as well, but what's the point of having a number pad that you have to look at?

Just another comment about "battery life":


If you go to ANY Apple news source (e.g. AppleInsider) or even a NON-Apple news source (ARSTechnica), you would see that even YESTERDAY, it was made rather plain that "Apple has now completely changed its approach to measuring battery life with the introduction of the new MacBook lineup."


I used to thoroughly enjoy TUAW and recommend it to new Mac users. However, it seems like you all very rarely have anything that actually differentiates you from any technology/Apple news source/blog unless it's filled with factual inaccuracies or coming a day (or 2 or 3) later than every other site has posted about it. Or it's some non-sense story that is entirely pointless ("Hey guys! We're some random teenage boys with no lives and we changed the 'Connect to iTunes' image that you will virtually never see! YAY!")


It's rather disappointing.

I wonder how much blu-ray drives cost, and if they have any different power requirements than a standard CD/DVD drive. A friend of mine got a combo HD/blu-ray drive that he had to file down to stick in his Mac Pro, and now he has to keep the side open with a fan pointed at it. Now, I don't know if that's just his particular drive or if those are part and parcel with blu-ray. Also, are any blu-rays players backward-compatible with standard DVDs? Maybe Apple is waiting for more market penetration?

If you hop over to the Oh, so wonderful, Gizmodo, you will find yesterday's story where Giz had confirmation from Apple that the battery life has improved, but that their tests have changed... No cause for concern here! Just that tests are becoming more tailored to "normal" usage rather than the ridiculous "You get this many hours if you turn EVERYTHING off. (And might as well not use your laptop at that point because you can't get Internet anyway)"

I'm glad I didn't wait for the upgrade...

wouldnt the LED help in battery life as well?

We have numerous MB Pros and no one gets the battery life Apple projects. If you turn off bluetooth, airport, spin down hard drive and use the screen at 1 bar of brightness, you may come close. But what kind of computer is that? It's like the new mpg standards on cars for 2008 which have all been reduced. Apple is just getting more realistic about the "real" battery life.