I have spent a week with my brand new black MacBook now, and it is amazing.
I set it up on Thursday while I was at work. It was extremely simple to set up. I had a external USB hard drive containing a backup of my Mac mini. I just plugged in the drive and the first-run setup assistant asked if I was transferring from another Mac. I selected the “transfer from another partition” and my USB drive came right up. An hour or so later, my user account, files, settings, desktop background… everything was back to normal.
I also bought a DVI to Mini DVI adapter that works great with my external monitor. I now have 2 displays for my Mac… it has made me a lot more productive with everything. Definitely an improvement. Add the 3rd display from my Windows box, throw in Synergy and I have what could be the ultimate computer workstation.
I take it to school a few times a week and carry it around all day. Although the MacBook was heavier than I thought it was initially, it really doesn’t feel very heavy in my backpack. This thing is very useful… it is so convenient to have everything with you all the time: being able to burn a DVD for someone on the spot, school files, music, movies, photos… all available instantly by waking the computer from sleep. It’s great.
As far as usability, the keyboard is great, the key spacing isn’t as bad as I thought. The glossy display also is better than expected: the glare isn’t as bad as some pictures suggested. I have yet to run down the battery but I had 75% or so power remaining after spending an hour in Panera using WiFi last night. I typically keep it plugged in. The included power brick is worthy of praise all by itself: it’s square, with interchangeable “plugs” that allow for using a long cord or a flip-out plug for use on the go. Tangling up the wire never happens thanks to flip-out clips that you can wrap the cord around for easy storage in a bag.
Finally, his thing looks gorgeous. I was initially concerned that the black case would not be as good as white, however, it is still distinctly Apple, gets attention, and after a week of use, is more durable that I expected. (Thanks to everyone at work who helped with the color choice!)
So, these are some of my first impressions with my new notebook… and everything is good so far. I hope it stays that way!