Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, MacBook
APC's ten things you didn't know about the MacBook
For machines that have only been in users' hands for 24 hours or so, the hits just keep on coming for the new unibody MacBooks. APC magazine has posted a "ten things you didn't know" review, covering some surprises and some well-we-thought-so's for the laptops.
Confirming our reporting from yesterday, APC spoke to an Apple representative in Australia who closed the door on any hope of Target Disk Mode availability via USB on the new MacBooks. Migration Assistant, which has been updated for these machines, will work over Ethernet or from a disk image of your source Mac, but not over TDM. The machines are running a new OS X build (figures); if you break the glass on the screen, you replace the whole screen (ouch!), swapping hard drives is much easier than on previous models (yay!) but if you lock your machine with a Kensington security cable, that will also block access to the bottom case (phew).
APC also notes a new internal feature on these laptops, and presumably on the MBPs as well, that MacMerc, HardMac and the Ars forums have pointed out: immersion sensors at various spots inside the case (previously seen on the iPhone). These adhesive dots change color when exposed to liquid, so the conversations at the Genius Bar where you insist "No, I'm sure that nothing was spilled on it!" just got quite a bit harder. AppleInsider has a diagram showing the locations of all eight sensors inside the machine, if you've got really really good aim with your spilled Dr. Pepper.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Carlo said 11:22AM on 10-16-2008
Wouldn't it have made sense to provide a link to the APC list in this article ABOUT the APC list? Thanks.
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XIV said 11:29AM on 10-16-2008
+1 to you !
Victor Agreda Jr said 12:04PM on 10-16-2008
We always link out to sources of information via the Source link at the bottom of every post (unless it spilled out of own very own noggins, naked and wet and alone in the world).
It's something we've done since day 1, around 4 years ago, but the link used to say "Read." Mike has put the link in the post, thanks for pointing it out.
Dave said 11:30AM on 10-16-2008
I don't get why people are making a big deal about the FW400 not being there. You can just use an adapter and use the FW800 jack. No biggie. And as an editor myself I'd much rather have FW800.
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micah said 11:43AM on 10-16-2008
there is no firewire period
Simon Arch said 11:43AM on 10-16-2008
The MacBook has NO Firewire. THAT'S the big deal. To get Firewire you have to plump for the MacBook Pro, which is $700 more than the entry-level MacBook.
alex said 11:47AM on 10-16-2008
Uh, I don't know. Maybe because the "Pro" model just lost a FW port?
Being an "editor", I'll assume that you already know that attaching a FW 400 & FW 800 device on the same chain reduces the transfer speeds of both devices down to FW 400 levels.
Oneshare said 11:32AM on 10-16-2008
http://apcmag.com/top_10_things_you_didnt_know_about_the_new_macbook.htm
I took the liberty
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John said 11:32AM on 10-16-2008
http://apcmag.com/top_10_things_you_didnt_know_about_the_new_macbook.htm
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Michael Rose said 11:45AM on 10-16-2008
It's there, albeit subtle. See the "Source" icon underneath the post? I forget that nobody notices that.
Adding a link in the body...
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Big John said 1:04PM on 10-16-2008
Some folks will never be pleased. Thanks for chiming in, Mike.
Zoli said 11:48AM on 10-16-2008
I did the Migration assistant over the Gigabit Ethernet yesterday- it was very fast- I hope they come out with some type of target disk mode via ethernet- setting up the IP addresses is a pain, and is sometimes not gigabit speeds.
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Mystic said 12:00PM on 10-16-2008
Is the screen really covered by glass? I haven't read anything from Apple that says it is. It seems strange that you would be able to push on the screen and see the LCD ripple. Are people mixing up the glass trackpad with glass covering the screen?
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matthew said 9:42PM on 10-16-2008
Yes, Steve mentioned it repeatedly in the keynote.
Also, see Apple's site:
"Ultrathin 13.3-inch LED-backlit display. Seamless glass..."
http://www.apple.com/macbook/
"Ultrathin 15-inch LED-backlit display. Seamless glass..."
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
It's the second feature highlighted in the marketing material, right after the unibody.
Mystic said 11:24AM on 10-17-2008
Ah, well that's cool then. There was such a difference between the plastic glossy screen on the white macbook and the glass screen on the iMac. That's fantastic the laptops are now glass!
Tim said 12:03PM on 10-16-2008
I read in the article that it should work if you replace the optical drive with a second hard drive. Honestly, I wouldn't be against that. I feel like they got it right taking out the optical drive on the Air, as I very rarely use a CD drive these days, and I could use the Network Drive app (or whatever it's called) to get discs.
The idea of two drives acting as a RAID on a laptop is so cool. Or, if you have an SSD, you could supplement that with a big, cheap, and slow laptop drive to use for MP3s and movies and keep the apps on the small SSD. Personally, I have Time Machine so I'd love to see RAID 0 compensate for the slowness and smallness of laptop drives and don't mind if I risk the occasional drive failure.
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ShALLaX said 12:05PM on 10-16-2008
Heres another thing you didn't know about the MacBook Pro... You cant hold it up at 90 degrees without the screen closing under its own weight anymore :(. Say goodbye to being able to use your MBP whilst laying down!
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Ariel said 12:34PM on 10-16-2008
How do you know, do you have one? Because the thin LED displays, despite having glass, actually weigh less than the old displays.
ShALLaX said 1:22PM on 10-16-2008
Yep, I got one yesterday. I'm going to go back to the store to make sure that my hinge isn't just too slack (I'll compare against the display models).
nick@mixdmedia.com said 12:25PM on 10-16-2008
w00t
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