Ok, so Apple finally released the MacBook today. I’m not sure what I think yet. The pictures on Apple’s site don’t leave me highly impressed. It looks smallish and overly thick, even though it is thinner than the iBook. It does have the magnetically sealing lid instead of a clasp mechanism. I’m also not sure about this, because it gives the casing a big groove right on the front of it that looks kind of ugly. I’m also not fond of the black case. It looks kind of Darth Vader-ish, like a ThinkPad. Maybe someone can explain this to me, but as near as I can tell, the only difference between the high end white and black MacBooks is 20G on the hard disk. Since the disk can be upgraded for only $50, so that leaves a $150 paint job being the only difference. Am I missing something here?

The keyboard, however, I think is the biggest innovation. You can see the MacBook’s new keyboard on ThinkSecret’s photo page. I’d have to type on it to know for sure, but it certainly looks cool. I think I wish my MBP had one. I also noticed that in the bottom right column of the MacBook’s wireless page that Apple is no longer shy about quoting battery times. They still aren’t as strong as the PowerPC lifetimes, but since the MacBook Pro debuted people have gotten over the shock of the reduced battery life.

All in all, they look good, and I’ll be recommending them to my friends in search of a new laptop. But I’m still glad I got the Pro.