MacBook Questions.

[crazyjoeda]

Im going to buy a MacBook soon, but befor I do I have a few questions that I can't find good answers to on the Apple website.

1. Whats the normal battery life and how long does it take to charge.

2. I will probably be getting the Black MacBook, is there any problems with stains or scratching like there are on the White model.

3. Even though I love OSX I still want to install Windows just for Kicks. Which is better Boot Camp or Parallels?

4. I've heard that with Rosetta some Power PC based applications like MS Word and Photoshop run slow. Is this a major concern and are there plans to release a Universal verision of both these programs in the near future?

5. Should I buy soon or wait a bit for an update. The buyer's guide says "No historical data available." , but This link says that there are new configurations.

Anyway if someone knows the answers I would appreciate it.

Oh BTW. I was planning on getting the Black MacBook, with an upgrade to 1gig RAM and 100gig HD.


Thanks

 

[lazymuoio]

1. 2.5 hours full screen watching a dvd over 4.5 when dimmed screen just IMing and surfing the web.

2. none have arose and i have had none, i have a blackbook

3. boot camp runs faster according to cnet, but parallels doesnt require a partition and the speed difference is minimal unless your gaming, but then you probably shouldnt be getting the macbook, unless its light gaming. and someone posted about different file systems, but idk what the deal with that was

4. sluggish but perfectly usuable, wish it was a little smoother but it runs fine

5. released in may maybe a minor speed bump in august or sep but id say buy

i miss anything?

 

[Nikhil72]

I actually get around 3h15m of DVD playback with the screen dimmed to about 2/3rds with WiFi on and Bluetooth off.

No scratching or flaking on a week old blackbook here.

 

[wwooden]

5. Should I buy soon or wait a bit for an update. The buyer's guide says "No historical data available." , but This link says that there are new configurations.

Those are not updates to the Mac Book, they are basically pre config'd custom built machines. They do that because it is very common to buy a computer with more RAM, bigger harddrives, etc. You will so that the price is exactly the same as if you were to take a standard configuration and add all the upgrades to make it how those are.

 

[Bern]

1. On my white 2Ghz 2GB ram MB I get around 4.45 hours of battery life.

2. I didn't buy the black because it shows up every oily finger print

3. I prefer to create a native XP partition with Bootcamp as Parallels is just virtualisation software and using Bootcamp you are installing XP natively like you would any other computer. This gives you full advantage of your machines hardware. Remember XP is not running under Bootcamp. Bootcamp it just creating the partition so you can install XP natively.

4. Yep Rosetta is part of the operating system and yes PS does run slower on it. But Adobe have no intention of releasing a universal binary patch, instead you'll have to fork out for the full version sometime in 2007.

5. There will always be something new around the corner and this question is asked every other day on this forum. If you want it get it.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

1. Whats the normal battery life and how long does it take to charge.
I get a few hours, although i have the display up full, all wireless on, and a few apps open. It doesnt take long to charge.

2. I will probably be getting the Black MacBook, is there any problems with stains or scratching like there are on the White model.
No problems at all on my white MacBook. (except for a few random shutdowns which appears to be a problem with most early MacBook revisions - im going to the AppleCentre later today to get it checked out)

3. Even though I love OSX I still want to install Windows just for Kicks. Which is better Boot Camp or Parallels?
Bootcamp is free, but it takes time to restart and reboot, and it forces you to partition your HDD.

4. I've heard that with Rosetta some Power PC based applications like MS Word and Photoshop run slow. Is this a major concern and are there plans to release a Universal verision of both these programs in the near future?
I use Photoshop for some very light work (im a PS noob) and it runs fine. I dont really have anything to compare it to, though. MS Word seems alright, i havent tried PPT.

5. Should I buy soon or wait a bit for an update. The buyer's guide says "No historical data available." , but This link says that there are new configurations.
Unlikely to be new configs soon. You can wait all you like, but there will be new revisions coming out until the company closes (which hopefully wont happen for a long time)

Oh BTW. I was planning on getting the Black MacBook, with an upgrade to 1gig RAM and 100gig HD.
I recommend swapping one of the 256MB sticks for a gig stick. It will give you more performance than 2x512, even taking into account the benefits of inline memory. Plus you can easily upgrade to 2GB later on and save some money (you wont have to sell your 512MB sticks). Just keep the original sticks in case you need to take it back for any reason.

Enjoi your new MacBook!

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

2. I will probably be getting the Black MacBook, is there any problems with stains or scratching like there are on the White model.
No problems at all on my white MacBook. (except for a few random shutdowns which appears to be a problem with most early MacBook revisions

I find this downright hilarious. Are you serious? Now, don't get me wrong, I've been a Apple guy for awhile, but I also really enjoy XP, and I've NEVER had any "random shutdowns" on my rig. Is it just me, or has Apple quality control really gone downhill recently? Granted this is a Apple site, but the blatant Mac Fanboy!sm is just downright hilarious.

People writing off that all of these problems are attributed to the switch to Intel, new architecture, etc. are just all excuses, and they seem to offer them up without really looking at the actual problems, just excusing Apple for their problems because it's Apple.

I'm getting really sick of seeing all these issues, "random shutdowns," "excessive heat," "mooing," etc. being almost disregarded b/c of these fanboys blind reverance for the all-holy Apple. Some people around here need to open their eyes. I'm not picking on you who wrote that, just using it as an example of a bad trend I see developing around these parts...just my $.02...

 

[will0407]

I have a black MB. it does pick up fingerprints easily, but you can buy stuff to wipe them off if they concern you that much.

I use parallels to run XP, and it works fine(I have 2GB RAM installed, and allocate 512MB to parallels). One thing though- I wouldn't suggest using parallels if you're going to be using your MB on your lap. Whenever I turn parallels on, the temp goes up to almost 80C, which may be pretty uncomfortable if it's resting on your lap- I use it on desk mainly. (you could always put something underneath it I guess.