Or so far, at least. Apple has replaced their übercool iBook line of notebooks with something they call MacBook. As with any new product, a few good things have happened. For one, they're finally widescreen. About time, too. They get audio in and dvi out, and will support screen spanning without an open firmware hack. Also the MagSafe thing is definitely good, I've also snagged my leg behind the power cord before, and they finally get Gigabit Ethernet. Nice as all that is, the list of disappointments weighs slightly heavier.

  • The name. iBook versus MacBook. iBook definitely wins. (Of course this also goes for PowerBook versus MacBook Pro, but I suppose not wanting Power in the name for non-PowerPC machines makes some sense).
  • The keyboard. Since the beginning of time, Mac keyboards (actually, all keyboards I've ever touched save a rubber one) have been slightly hollow. The MacBook does away with all that. I predict lots of typos for future MacBook-owners.
  • The colour. Now, this doesn't hold true for the white one of course but the black makes it look like a generic PC laptop. The white colour was the single most differentiating feature of the iBooks (until PC laptop manufactureres started making iBookalikes, anyway). And indeed: when the white colour is replaced, iBooks no longer look like iBooks. They look just like any other laptop, just done right (i.e., without two million lights and buttons and stickers and whatever).
  • The processor. I still don't like this Intel deal.
  • The screen. Biggest letdown for me. Glossy screens are just unacceptable. If I wanted to buy a mirror, I'd visit IKEA. Not the Apple store. This is another reason the black one looks like a generic PC laptop: all those things come with piece-of-shit glossy screens, too. They're unworkable as soon as you're in any kind of light, at any angle that isn't a dead-on 90°. Of course the good thing is you can tell immediately after opening your laptop that you forgot to do your hair in the morning.

So far, I'm not even so much as considering buying one until that final point gets fixed. No glossy screens for me, please, thankyouverymuch.