Ok so I decided earlier this year that I was going to get a Macbook Pro to replace my ugly tablet and it's terrible, grainy screen. I knew there was a pending refresh and so I waited and waited and finally the refresh came. I quickly put a bunch of stuff on eBay so that I could order my new MBP and it arrived this morning.
My first reaction was "Wow, that's a small box". I opened it and I quickly noticed how solid the computer was and the lack of tacky stickers all over it was refreshing. I turned it on, set it up and began to play. The first thing that I noticed was odd was that there was no true maximize button. I kept wanting Chrome to take up the whole screen, but I quickly realized that the window was the perfect size to fit the content, if it were larger I'd just have lots of blank white space on the right side. This way is clearly more useful.
I also notice a lack of a hibernate option and that has me debating what to do between uses. I can't decide if I should let it sleep in my bag between breaks at work (which will undoubtedly eek some battery life) or just turn it off (the boot up is really fast so it wouldn't be a big deal like it was on Windows). I'm curious to know what you guys do? Let is sleep all the time or just shutdown?
Then I researched some more and discovered that this computer has all kinds of hidden surprises with new ones popping up all the time. I've always like the idea of using it as a portable media center to bring HD movies to my families house, but that concept has gone leaps and bounds beyond what I expected or what it would have been two months ago.
- First, there's the audio over mini DisplayPort (new to the 2010 models). This means no crazy adapter and having to choose between stereo sound over USB or a three pronged $60 adapter for multi channel sound. It should all work easily through a single HDMI cable with compatible adapter now.
- Second, there's the built in IR port. Why did no one tell me about this? I don't have to worry about bringing some crazy HP dongle with me and I can use the uber portable Apple remote. XBMC even extends it's functionality by changed the functions when you hold the buttons down. Brilliant!
- Third, the recent API for x264 acceleration is icing on the cake. Plex already implemented it for buttery smooth 1080p playback with less CPU stress. And today it got even better with the new flash plugin (although I haven't tested it yet since I'm still at work).
I've barely cracked the surface of what this computer can do obviously. I was afraid I'd have buyer's remorse like one of the other guys here (on specs alone $1200 seems like a lot for what you get), but the total package is really worth it. This thing is quick...so quick. I know I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my new toy, but I'm happy. Instead of finding let downs I keep finding new surprises around every corner. I wonder why I waited so long to get a mac, but I think now is a perfect time. If you are on the fence...JUMP! It's worth it.
