Apple MacBook Pro 15.4 in. (MA091BA) Notebook

Apple computer users have been waiting a long time for a more powerful notebook computer to appear in their product lineup. Ever since the PowerMac G5 systems first appeared, the Mac faithful have longed for one of these processors to make its way to a portable computer. Alas, it wasn't to be, since they weren't able to get the power consumption and heat levels down to anywhere near what was required in a notebook.

I've been using a Powerbook 17" notebook (1.5Ghz G4 processor inside) for the last year, watching it fall further and further behind compared to new Windows PC laptop offerings as time went on. In many ways, it was and still is an amazing machine. It still remains one of the thinnest, lightest-weight notebooks with a 17" LCD screen, and the backlit keyboard is a really nice touch. But play a modern 3D game (like Doom 3) on it, or edit some video footage with special effects inserted, and it immediately becomes obvious it's struggling to keep up. Even the 1440x900 native screen resolution pales in comparison to UXGA displays on many newer PC laptops.

The new MacBook Pro provides a nearly perfect sequel to the Powerbooks though. It retains the same beautiful aluminum enclosure (managing to make it even thinner than the last generation of Powerbooks!), the same elegant slot-loading CD/DVD burner drive (no annoying tray to accidently break off!), and comparable battery life. BUT - utilizing the new Intel Core Duo processor, it offers blazingly fast performance and an upgraded LCD panel giving the same 1440x900 resolution of my 17" Powerbook on a 15" screen.

As is practically expected from Apple these days, they innovated in more of the little areas too. Most notably, they now include a new "mag safe" AC adapter. The adapter magnetically "jumps" onto the jack on the side of the laptop when held up to it, and disconnects easily if someone accidently pulls or steps on the cord. This should prevent quite a few computer repairs due to such mishaps breaking the power jacks on the system boards! They also include the "Front Row" application, turning the MacBook Pro into a "media center" - and throw in a wireless remote control for it. You can view your digital photo collection, watch a movie, or remotely queue up your choice of music from your iTunes music library. It even accesses movie trailers of recently released films, stored on Apple's Quicktime web site.

If there's any "downside" to this new notebook, it's the fact that Apple's very recent switch to using Intel processors means a lot of software rewriting and updating is in order. Apple claims that all of their "pro" applications (Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, etc.) will be offered as "universal binaries" that work equally well on traditional G4/G5 based Macs and Intel Macs by March -- but other companies won't be nearly as quick to follow. Adobe, most notably, may not have applications like Photoshop or Illustrator ready until at least this Fall. As another result of this switch, Apple is dropping all support for their older "Classic" versions of MacOS with Intel-based Macs. Therefore, your MacBook Pro will not be able to run the older MacOS inside of OS X to make older software work.