Thursday, September 22, 2011

MackBook Pro First Impressions

The new MacBook Pro has finally arrived!

I unboxed it this evening and am currently in the process of downloading my "free" copy of the latest OS, Lion (since I purchased my MBP after July, I get it free). It came with Snow Leopard but I want to be up to date. Lion appears to be a pretty large download if the status of the progress bar is any indication.

First impressions: wow, the 17" model really is big! I love the screen but my eye sight isn't what it used to be. I may end up changing the resolution or at least increasing the font size.  I love the build quality and overall feel.  Even the power cord (with the "MagSafe")- it has a magnetic latch.  The power brick is pretty big, basically similar to what comes with the IPhone / IPad but about 3 times larger.

After connecting to wireless and registering, one of the first things I tried out was FaceTime with my IPhone and the wife/kids. It worked really well. I also went through a few of my pre-installed applications (part of the package deal) and everything seems to be working quite well. The icons on the bottom of my screen practically fill the entire width so I've got a lot of exploring to do.

First impressions are great! Some of my next tasks will be downloading from my video and digital camera to see how well that works. I also need to get TimeMachine working on my external hard drive which is shared out from my PC.  Looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me!

After having it on for about an hour, I'm starting to notice the aluminum is getting a little toasty under my left wrist. Not too bad but I may be springing for an external keyboard. I am also noticing that the missing home / end key are a little awkward as I suspected.  However, control-arrow seems to work ok (though it doesn't go back to individual words like it does on the PC, instead it goes to the start of the line).  The keyboard is very nice and comfortable though. I also like the back light.

That's all for now- got a lot more exploring to do!

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