Review by KSBAY for Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
The white Macbook was updated on May 18 2010. There are minor differences between the 2010 Macbook and 2009′s model, detailed below.

The UPGRADES are

1) Geforce Nvidia 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is better than the Geforce 9400M in last years model. Useful for content creation.

2)Mini display port now supports video AND audio with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter. (Last years model only supported video)

Thats it.

STANDARD FEATURES – from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets)

Polycarbonate unibody

Core 2 Duo processor (2.4ghz – up from 2.26 ghz)

1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen,

iSight camera,

2 GB Ram – 1gb ram sticks x 2

250gb hard drive

8x slot-loading SuperDrive dvd burner

Large multi-touch trackpad ( Intertial scrolling is now enabled ),

2 USB 2.0 ports ,

Wi-Fi – 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Inbuilt battery – (which Apple advertises as capable of lasting between 9 to 10 hours.) Not true. Real world battery life is between 3 to 6 hours depending on what tasks you use your computer for.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

The Macbook as it is – is good for basic computing activities – such as browsing the web, typing articles or watching movies. However, if you’re planning to buy a Macbook for multimedia work, such as editing high resolution photos or HD videos and plan to use multiple applications at the same time, please ensure that you upgrade the ram from 2gb to 4gb.

Why?

Because using a macbook with 2 gb of ram (such as this one) to multitask is a GREAT way to drive yourself crazy as the computer struggles to keep up. Try editing 10 megapixel RAW images while playing music in iTunes with Safari open. 2gb of ram is not at all adequate for multitasking / using processor intensive applications on a Macbook. I understand that Apple has to differentiate between the Macbook and MBPro to justify the price differences but skimping on the ram and putting 2gb inside a $999 product and thus, affecting the user experience is not the way to do it.

Upgrading the ram yourself from 2gb to 4gb is a great idea – EXCEPT – the price of DDR3 1066 mhz ram (compatible with Macbook and MB Pro) is still high. Currently, Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2) costs $90.99. So that brings your total to $1060 ($969 MB + $90.99 Ram) if you upgrade your Macbook’s ram

So for only $100 more than your Macbook, (if you take into account the cost of the ram upgrade) a viable alternative is the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop which costs $1160 on Amazon. The MBP 13 comes with the added benefits of a more durable aluminum unibody, a backlit keyboard, an SD card slot, a firewire 800 port and most importantly, 4gb of ram. Which allows you to multitask effortlessly.

If you’re going to use the Macbook for any computationally demanding activities such as content creation, editing large RAW images or HD videos you should upgrade the ram to 4gb or just buy the standard MBPro 13 inch. The processor and hard drive are the same in both the MB and MBPro 13 ( 2.4 ghz Core 2 duo and 250gb hard drives ) But the 4gb ram will make a big difference in the daily usage experience.

However, if you only want to use the Macbook for general tasks like writing articles, browsing websites or watching movies, it will handle those duties adequately. At the same time, also keep in mind that if you only need a laptop for basic duties, many other manufacturers offer less expensive laptops which are just as capable.

Hope this helps!

Review by E. Kellum for Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
As a student, I was pretty hesitant to get the MacBook, but after MONTHS of exhaustive research looking for the right laptop (I’m a networking student, and also I am working on my A+ PC Repair certification, so I know a thing or two about PC’s and Windows), I decided that I needed a change in my life. I’ve had an IBM ThinkPad T60 last me four years through school, but after 4 re-install’s of XP, I’ve had enough of the constant attacks of viruses, spyware, etc…and I decided to go with the MacBook.

PROS:

Perfect for web browsing, e-mail, and document creation.

Comes with great features right out of the box: iLife simply rocks; it comes with PhotoBooth, Garageband (where you can create your own music or learn to how play an instrument), Preview, and iMovie (it’s basically an easier version of Windows Movie Maker)

Time Machine for backing up documents and pictures, which is FAR SUPERIOR than using the Backup Feature in Windows.

Wi-Fi is SO EASY to set-up using what Apple calls “Airport”, just go to the wi-fi antenna at the top of the right-hand corner and set-up right there.

Printing: Coming from a Windows world, and living in a household with a wireless network, setting up a printer was a pain in the butt with Windows, with Mac, it’s SO EASY to set-up and begin printing.

BlueTooth: BlueTooth is common in all laptops nowadays, and again, like setting up a printer, it basically connects with the BlueTooth device automatically.

MagSafe Adapter: Apple introduced this idea called MagSafe. If someone got caught on your power cord, it would take the cord and not the computer. I can’t tell you how many times my dogs got caught on my IBM power cord and basically almost took the computer with it.

Battery Life: Wow, what a difference. I was coming from a half-hour battery life on my IBM, although Apple says that the battery can last on a 10 hours on a single charge, in the real world, it’s falls under 6 hours, but still this is pretty incredible.

CONS:

2GB of RAM. Now coming from a Windows world, Windows is a memory hogger, so the more RAM you have in a Windows system, you are good to go, but with a Mac, it’s different. Now if you are compressing 1080p video on a MacBook, the system starts to hick-up trying to catch-up. My advice? Upgrade to 4GB or get the MacBook Pro.

EXPENSIVE: Like all Apple products, it’s pretty expensive. I was pretty hesitant to buy a MacBook because it was pretty pricey and being a student i.e. poor, I needed to save up a good chunk of money to buy one of these machines.

So if you are in the market for a new laptop, only need to do some document creating, and web-browsing this Mac is for you. If you want to do some high-end video compression, go with the MacBook Pro since the Pro lines are more aimed at high-end video production. This is definitely a perfect system if all you want is just web-browsing and document creation.

Happy Shopping!

Review by Richard H. Milbourn for Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
So your in the market for a new laptop, maybe your a student. You need something portable, no 17 inch screens here. It needs to be light, well built, and easy to slip into a bag, for say, a ten minute walk on campus. But at the same time, you don’t want a netbook. You don’t want to squint at an 11 inch screen, type on a cramped keyboard, or put up with hardware that was out of date five years ago. In other words, you need something that just works, and doesn’t complain about it. Well my friend, the Macbook might be just right for you. To me, it’s the perfect “in between” product: its not so small and underpowered that your overall computing experience is compromised, while at the same time, its not so big, hot, and heavy that its only ever at home on a desk.

So what kind of computing is the Macbook built for, exactly? Its absolutely perfect for your day to day tasks, emails, word processing, web browsing (Hats off to Apple, after you get used to the multi-touch touchpad, every other laptop you touch feels sluggish and outdated) I’m sure with a serviceable C2D and a GT320, you could get away with some light content creation (Photo/Video editing, etc), but if you plan on using more intensive applications regularly, you’d probably be better off with a MacbookPro, or any number of higher powered Windows laptops.

Also worth noting are a couple of the Macbooks other superlative features. Exceptional battery life for one, I can easily make it 6 hours on a charge, under moderate use, Wifi, max brightness, everything that drains the battery. Speaking of brightness, the 13 inch LED is spectacular, it’s bright without being washed out, colors are vivid and vibrant and despite a relatively low resolution, everything looks sharp. The overall construction and feel of the device, also, is excellent. The key’s are well spaced and easy to type on. I also mentioned the touchpad, which combines a glass cover with multitouch to make probably the easiest to use notebook navigation I’ve ever seen. The laptop itself is very well built, very light, but still very stiff and solid. It doesn’t feel fragile, in other words. The bottom can get warm after sustained use, but its also worth mentioning that there are no fan vents, and aside from the HDD spinning up, you won’t hear the guts of this machine making a single peep.

To sum up, so far I’ve loved my experience with the Macbook, its perfect for my needs. Mac OSX fits well on a light processing laptop, and despite modest hardware, for the most part you won’t feel it lagging or hanging. It’s worth mentioning that I am NOT normally a fan of Apple. I will never buy an Iphone, iMac, or a Mac Tower, and I barely use my iPod. Unlike most Mac users, I am perfectly comfortable using Windows, am a big fan of Windows 7, and i’m no stranger to the unforgiving, enthusiast side of a PC. I’ve built PC’s before, and my main computer right now is a high end, self built gaming PC (PII955/GTX 480). In other words, I’m not the normal Apple customer. But when it comes to a portable laptop that will breeze through every day tasks while providing stability and superb battery life, all wrapped up into that premium hardware/software bundle only Apple can provide, the macbook might just be the only way to go.