MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

that keyboard looks like it's built for "style", not for "utility".

Take a look at even a crappy $20 Dell keyboard and you will see the keys are gently curved to the shape of your fingers...I don't know many people with flat fingers.

Interesting keyboard-- will have to see it in person to feel it. I'm not sure of dark keys, however, especially without backlighting. Makes me think of my old iMac DV. Hat that keyboard...

I don't think any comment is going to be valid until we actually head out to our local stores and give this a try.

The black Macbook looks better than I expected, kinda retro/oldschool

That keyboard reminds me of the awful chiclet keys on the PC Junior back in the '80s.

Although I have some faith in Apple, I'd still have to try it out myself.

That keyboard will be hell to clean.

At first glance it kinda looks like an IBM thinkpad. Only sexier.

But that keyboard also looks strange... like a calculator's even.

It's great to see nice piccies too (by someone who knows what they're doing I mean.)

Man!

Makes me want a black one now!

keyboard looks cool!

I like the keyboard for one simple reason. It will be much easier to clean. When I type on my keyboard, I often get some strands of hair underneath the keys.. (thanks to all the nice shampoos that I use).

The space between the keys is a definite plus to cleaning. I think of it this way. Currently, the keys are curved a bit around the edges. But, are we really using those space where the keys curve? No. We still keep our fingers on the center of the keys. All they have done right now is to end the keys at the point where they usually bend.

I personally don't think it's a big deal.

I still love the KB on my 12" PB, and it will be hard to give up.

Plus the MacBook is not only bigger, but weighs 1/2lb more (not clear if that is with the battery installed or not).

Look at me lamenting the loss of my 12" even before replacing it!

I think there'll be less finger oil on the screen now.

Sheesh, I like the black one, but, I don't want to pay $400 more for it!

me-
i don't know many people who's fingers curve exactly to the key's curves, on any laptop/keyboard. i've always thought the feedback given by firm keyboards is way more important than the design of the keys,but that's just me.

mw-"turn"...the black macbook will turn some heads, that's for sure.

I think this laptop is soooooooo UGLY! I thought I hated it before, but now it's worse. The part I really don't like is the large space between the actual viewable screen and the edge of the notebook. Looks like a 90's laptop!

Arrrgggghhh!!!

They went for the damn "glossy screen" CRAP that Dull started last year.

Those are the MOST eff-ed up screens on the planet, glare city! In any place with overhead lighting, you're getting blasted with reflected light onscuring the screen, and any fingerprint, smudge, speck of dust shows up like CRAZY.

They SUCK SUCK SUCK! They learned a LONG time ago that non-glare screes work better, why did they go back?

MDN MW: Physical, as in the last time this shiny screen crap was in vogue, "Get Physical" was on the damn charts...

I like that MacBook. Can't beat the price. Two years ago, I paid a lot for a 14" iBook with specs that weren't as high. This one is feature complete. Next Mac might be MacBook, in white, unless they make a cheaper black one, then it will be black. Ah, the black is back.

Let's count the ceiling lights in the store.
If the camera had been closer, we could tell what brand camera it was... and maybe identify the photographer.

Glossy screen... Arghhhhh!

There's a point where style gets in the way of functionality. I believe Apple has gone past it.

I was hoping for a new replacement for my iBook. It's not going to be this. Guess I'll have to give up on the convenience of small and go with a 15" Pro version.

New products and the stock goes down a lot. That is worse than good news, which only sends it down a little.

What a world!

Yes, the glare might be a deal killer. I've never seen a glossy screen I really liked. Sony started that stuff, calling it XBrite. I rather have anti-glare, but consumer like the glossy thing. People will switch because of the gloss, believe me. As I will be using the MacBook mostly at home and occasionally to work, glossy might still work for me.

more photo's here:

http://looprumors.com/macbookphotos.php

no one has commented on the missing latch????

I've heard several people say "my next laptop will have a glossy screen. If apple doesn't make one I just won't get a mac" I have no idea why they say that, I'm not going to buy one until they get rid of the glossy screen. Maybe they're hoping that all of us who know what crap the gloss is will upgrade the the powerbook. (i'm trying to keep the old names. mac book pro sucks)

There is still a space where things can fall into to. The keys are flat plastic over holes in the other plastic layer. Let's hope dust and hair and whatnot doesn't pile up in there.

the black macbook so ugly. it really does look 10 years old already. And the thick one inch of black around the screen is awful. What's up with that? The white one is much nicer - but still too thick of a border around the monitor.

RE: glossy screens

I think the issue with glossy screens is that you can make the numbers on the spec sheet look good:

Brightness? Better
Black Density? Better
Contrast? Better
Colour Saturation? Better

Since there is no simple Figure of Merit to describe glare, the marketers win on this one.

And we get screens that you can't use in a typical office.

I'm gonna get one, anyway.

Last weekend I watched a movie on a PC laptop with a friend.
It had a glossy screen.
It was AWFUL!

I thought, typical PC design… Apple would never do that.

All I could see during the dark bits of the film was the patterns on the wall behind us. Awful.

For the rest I like the new iBooks… but let us be able to choose mat, please.

Dude, that new keyboard is incredible. It makes my MacBook Pro keyboard look clunky and outdated! The pure magnetic latch is really awesome too. I can't wait for MacBook Pros to get those features.

I have only two words to say about the new Black MacBook...

PISMO FOREVER!

Those looprumors pictures give the black Macbook the appearance that the entire case is either made of black aluminum or a matte plastic finish. Can anyone confirm or correct this?

Black MacBook $150 Extra?!

http://www.imacazine.com/index.html#unique-entry-id-13

we detail in this blog how a Black MacBook with the same specs as a White MacBook (80BG hard drive, 2.0GHz Core Duo, super-drive) is $150 more. Will people pay $150 just for color?

The new keyboard looks like it takes into consideration the screen markings that the previous generation of PowerBooks and iBooks got from their keyboards.

Will have to try one out to see how it feels.

The new mag latch is a great idea. Apple's ID team just keeps distilling the laptop to the essentials, very clean, very elegant, unlike the arbitrary swoops and textures of the also-rans that just clutter the look of theirs.

It's interesting to note the pairs of screws on the left and right sides of the MacBook which are more in line with the construction of the 12" Al PowerBook than the polycarbonate iBooks.

It'll be interesting to see the next interation of the MacBook Pros, which MacBook design features will be incorporated into them. The sunken keyboard, magnetic latches.

Remember how the single drop hinge debuted on the white iBooks before making into the "pro" line redesign of the Al PowerBooks (doing away with the flimsy Ti hinge design).

Kudos to Johnny Ives and his crew.

Cool! With the new reflective, er, I mean, glossy screen, I'll be able to see when my boss is sneaking up behinid me while I'm dicking around on the internet!!! Way to go Apple!!! It might make actually working on something through all of the reflections a little difficult, but a rear view screen! Brilliant!

The magnetic latch system was adopted from the old clamshell iBooks

cool.

you'll be able to see your boss walking in? no likely, since you'll be sitting in front of the MacBook.. which means.. YOU'LL BE IN THE WAY!

rdbvideo wrote, "I was hoping for a new replacement for my iBook. It's not going to be this. Guess I'll have to give up on the convenience of small and go with a 15" Pro version."

I'm with you. Never have cared for glossy screens. That fact alone is the deal buster for me. Now that the MacBooks are out I too am considering a 15 inch MacBook Pro. If I had a choice of screen types, then the MacBook would have been my next computer.

Hmmm... maybe the MacBook is clever advertising for the MacBook Pro.

Peace.

I believe the old clamshell iBooks use a springloaded clutch system to keep closed rather than a magnetic latch.

"And the thick one inch of black/white around the screen is awful."

This hasn't changed from the last iBook to this new MacBook. You're splitting hairs that don't exist.

And yes, the old clamshell iBooks use a springloaded clutch system rather than a magnetic latch.

Never bought anything with one, never will. I can't believe Apple STILL uses this type of design. If you like it, I am verry happy for you. I HATE them.

the keyboard feels strange at the begining but we get used to it. It's just the looks like a big calculator.
For the glossy screen it's not that much of a problem : in the apple store (Southpark mall, Charlotte, NC) the reflections of the lights were not a probleme at all.
BUT THE HUGE HUGE THING is that the screen is much better than the macbook pro : caracters are better, no bad edges, everything looks nicer and more detailed, going back to the macbook pro screen is really a difference : less bright, less sharp.
For me it's still a little overweight. The apple guys confirmed, the black one will sell like hell and is a pure marketing thing : hence the 150$ to pay

Well, you can have your opinion but dont spread FUD to those who haven't seen one. Went to the Apple store yesteday and the GLOSSY screen is PHENOMENAL. So don't let the partisans above fool you. The new Macbooks are slick, well-priced and the screen is AMAZING. Crisp. Clear. Even from a distance. The glare problem may also relate to people's vision, so please check it out yourself. Whenever I show photos on my Razr phone to people, about a third of them have trouble seeing them, no matter the light or the angle. I have perfect vision so I am lucky, but vision is a very personal thing and some people seem to have trouble with ANY laptop or phone screen. For those of us who SEE the new screen will be a wonderful addition. I am so glad I went yesterday and looked at the screen. Having seen it in person I can laugh at the postings, all over the web, complaining about the screen. For me, matte finish screens are much harder to see, no matter the lighting. I have a G4 Powerbook and could not for the life of me figure out why the screen finish is so DULL.

Finally, a GREAT screen on an Apple portable. I am thrilled you can also add this to a POWERBOOK. And, yes, I will take a rag and wipe the glossy scree now and and then. Of course, I don't touch the screen but those posters who put fingerprints everywhere, then, well, duh, you will have to wipe off the glossy screen.