Bought a 2.53 a few days ago (was using a late 2006 MB C2D - Blackbook, actually, with 2GB RAM). Some thoughts.
1. Migrating was interesting. I use SuperDuper as well as Time Machine, but realised quite quickly you can't go from FW400 to FW800. Oops. Thanks, Apple. Booted the new MBP and when it gave me the option to migrate from another Mac, I figured I would try using Ethernet, even though I read here that it can take ages. Well, wouldn't let me because it says it couldn't find an operating system on the MBP. Oh wells. I decided that maybe, after all, it would be a good thing to do a full re-install of everything from scratch, even though the system on the old MB was running absolutely fine. So, I set up an account and let the MBP set itself up. After that, I was looking at my external hard drive on my desk - the one with both a Time Machine backup and a SuperDuper clone from the MB - thinking "maybe I'll try Migration Assistant with FW800 just to see". Sure enough, it worked. Only a few small things didn't make it over in the migration, but nothing serious. Took about two hours while we had dinner.
2. Screen is fine for my tastes. Using in an office environment without overhead lights, so glare is not an issue. Very bright and crisp, no flickering. Obviously much better than my MB.
3. Keyboard is top-notch, but then I'm used to the concept coming from a MB and using one of the newer 'thin' external keyboards. Has a very solid feel to it.
4. No perceptible flaws in the unibody that I can see.
5. This thing is quiet. I have yet to hear the fans spin up, including using Parallels and an old game (Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon). Has been on 'better battery performance' the entire time. Need more recent games, however, especially now that I'm on holidays for December (it's summer here!).
6. This thing is 'cool'. No perceptible hot spots or uncomfortable hot areas on the body, mind you I've not used it for extended periods on my lap.
7. Sound from the speakers pleasant enough to listen to internet radio (i.e., news, etc., but not music) - volume is obviously much better than my MB.
8. Weight and size are great. I was expecting heavier but was surprised. And, it fits in my STM 13" Rogue backpack - just not in the dedicated laptop compartment. I've gone almost completely paperless, so I never carry books or papers anyway. I like the size of the 13" Rogue backpack, so I'll probably stick with it (besides, it's almost brand new).
9. Speed. It feels quite a bit faster, as is to be expected. Load times on some apps (e.g., Office 2008) are not faster, but with 4GB of RAM I can certainly have more applications open with the entire thing bogging down. I live, for example, in DevonThink Pro, and often have quite a few other applications open simultaneously. With the old MB, this would be enough to really drag down performance (constantly using virtual memory, for example), but this thing handles it all with speed and grace.
Built in Shanghai, Week 47 (November) (following from this thread).
Colour me satisfied (so far?).
1. Migrating was interesting. I use SuperDuper as well as Time Machine, but realised quite quickly you can't go from FW400 to FW800. Oops. Thanks, Apple. Booted the new MBP and when it gave me the option to migrate from another Mac, I figured I would try using Ethernet, even though I read here that it can take ages. Well, wouldn't let me because it says it couldn't find an operating system on the MBP. Oh wells. I decided that maybe, after all, it would be a good thing to do a full re-install of everything from scratch, even though the system on the old MB was running absolutely fine. So, I set up an account and let the MBP set itself up. After that, I was looking at my external hard drive on my desk - the one with both a Time Machine backup and a SuperDuper clone from the MB - thinking "maybe I'll try Migration Assistant with FW800 just to see". Sure enough, it worked. Only a few small things didn't make it over in the migration, but nothing serious. Took about two hours while we had dinner.
2. Screen is fine for my tastes. Using in an office environment without overhead lights, so glare is not an issue. Very bright and crisp, no flickering. Obviously much better than my MB.
3. Keyboard is top-notch, but then I'm used to the concept coming from a MB and using one of the newer 'thin' external keyboards. Has a very solid feel to it.
4. No perceptible flaws in the unibody that I can see.
5. This thing is quiet. I have yet to hear the fans spin up, including using Parallels and an old game (Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon). Has been on 'better battery performance' the entire time. Need more recent games, however, especially now that I'm on holidays for December (it's summer here!).
6. This thing is 'cool'. No perceptible hot spots or uncomfortable hot areas on the body, mind you I've not used it for extended periods on my lap.
7. Sound from the speakers pleasant enough to listen to internet radio (i.e., news, etc., but not music) - volume is obviously much better than my MB.
8. Weight and size are great. I was expecting heavier but was surprised. And, it fits in my STM 13" Rogue backpack - just not in the dedicated laptop compartment. I've gone almost completely paperless, so I never carry books or papers anyway. I like the size of the 13" Rogue backpack, so I'll probably stick with it (besides, it's almost brand new).
9. Speed. It feels quite a bit faster, as is to be expected. Load times on some apps (e.g., Office 2008) are not faster, but with 4GB of RAM I can certainly have more applications open with the entire thing bogging down. I live, for example, in DevonThink Pro, and often have quite a few other applications open simultaneously. With the old MB, this would be enough to really drag down performance (constantly using virtual memory, for example), but this thing handles it all with speed and grace.
Built in Shanghai, Week 47 (November) (following from this thread).
Colour me satisfied (so far?).