Apple MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz Quick Review

A few months back, I bought a MacBook Pro laptop with the 2.33 GHz Core 2 Processor, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT, 160GB 5400RPM HDD, Firewire 400/800, USB 2.0, Ethernet 10/100/1000, Wireless internet, Bluetooth and that neato little webcam built in.  If I remember right, it was $2799 as configured, but I got the education discount down to $2499.  

I bought it for running music recording software (MOTU Digital Performer 5 & Pro Tools LE 7.3), capture and edit video (no HD yet, but I'm hoping to soon) and to dual boot Windows and OS X with Boot Camp.  

For these specific uses, I've been very happy with the machine.  The software is mostly stable and intuitive and I can accomplish all the things I set out to do with relative ease.  However, OS X in general feels slow.  I see that damn spinning beach ball (equivalent to the windows hourglass) way too often abd it pisses me off every time.  Also, when I close the lid to put the thing to sleep, it doesn't resume properly half the time.  It will either prompt me for my user name and password with a spinning beach ball for the cursor (preventing me from inputting anything) or it will just go back to sleep.  If it goes back to sleep, I have to hard reboot it by holding down the power button.  That's my biggest complaint with the system.  It seems like such a basic function to resume from sleep...I don't understand why it's so problematic.  It does work sometimes, but I've mostly just taken to shutting it down when not using it.

Dual Booting Windows XP or Vista with OS X using Boot Camp is really easy and works well.  It even allows you to burn a Windows driver CD before installing, so you don't have to go hunting to make things work.  

Battery life is acceptable at best at about 2 - 2.5 hours with the brightness most or all the way up, doing normal tasks (internet pornography, etc etc).  There's no built in card reader, which I guess would be nice, but I don't use those much anyway.  It's a little heavier than I wish it was, but still not bad.  Ooh...and it's insanely ridiculously hot.  Whoever approved this thing for "lap" use should be beaten savagely upon the head and neck with a shoe.  If you'd like to procreate someday, plan on using it away from your junk. Still, the machine feels sturdy and well built, but seeing as it's Apple, I doubt it actually is.  

All cynicism aside, I do like this computer.  it's does what I need it to do and more and it looks great.  The ability to dual boot windows makes it totally worthwhile for me and it's something to consider when shopping for a new computer.

*Smacks Forehead*  Damn!  I did remember to wear my aluminum foil hat though.  Gotta make sure none of that iPropaganda doesn't seep out of my head.