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New Laptop!


Black Six

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It's going to be a fun weekend.

 

Last week, I had the pleasure of ordering a new laptop. My current one, while only two years old, has been giving me a lot of trouble and has the unfortunate drawback of being unable to easily run Mac OS X. It's battery died this past summer for the second time (first was spring 2006). I considered just buying a replacement battery, but what was the point, chances were it was going to die again. Everyone in my college class was given the same laptop (included in our tuition) and at least half the people I know have had their batteries die. Sounds like a faulty design if you ask me. Anyway, I saw this as an opportunity to get a MacBook Pro.

 

Obviously once you order something like a new computer, you get excited. The past week I was periodically checking the tracking information to see when it would arrive. FedEx informed me that today would be the day. Just in time for the weekend!

 

So I was surprised when yesterday upon returning from work there was a notice on my door saying they had tried to deliver the package but that no one was available to sign for it. I was confused by this, and kind of annoyed, especially since I had already printed out the signature form and was going to put it on my door the next day so they could drop it off while I was working. Upon closer inspection of the notice, however, I discovered another option. I could drive to the FedEx distribution center and pick it up that night. This sounded like an adventure, one that I would record for your reading pleasure!

 

A quick trip to Google Maps later I had an expertly crafted route taking me through various backroads so I could avoid the major highway that was undergoing construction. I hopped in my car and drove off. A short while later (after only one wrong turn) I found myself at the lovely FedEx facility in Mount Olive, New Jersey.

 

tn_MBP_01_Fedex.jpg

Lovely, ain't it?

 

I presented the helpful employee with my notice and identification and a short while later I was in the proud possession of a new MacBook Pro. I brought it out to my car and strapped it in tight for the ride home.

 

tn_MBP_02_Car.jpg

Buckle up kids, it's the law.

 

I sped home as fast as local speed limits (and the cars in front of me) would allow. I really wish some people didn't think that 40 MPH means go 33 MPH though...

 

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Follow that cab!

 

I managed to make it home nonetheless, and was ready to open the box.

 

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Nurse, hand me my scalpel.

 

I ripped and tore my way through the durable cardboard enclosure so I could reach the amazing Mac goodness inside. Or maybe I just took a knife and cut it open, take your pick.

 

tn_MBP_05_Box1_Open.jpg

Hmm, that doesn't look like a MacBook Pro...

 

Inside the box was – another box! The suspense was building, nearly too much to handle.

 

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I could've sworn I rotated this before I uploaded it.

 

Once that box was breached I was finally able to get a look at my new computer. It is a thing of beauty.

 

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Look at that shiny laptop.

 

I took it out, plugged it in, and powered it on.

 

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*Bong!*

 

And since that moment, there's been no looking back. I've spent the time since then installing various applications, Firefox, Thunderbird, Adium, NetNewsWire, Gimp, Office, Audacity, and many others that I use regularly. It's gonna take a while to set all that up, and then time to sync up some files with my desktop. I also have to get files off of my old laptop. Right now I'm making a VMWare image to use with Fusion, that should be fun.

 

So far it's been a blast. I miss my middle trackpad button for opening links in new tabs and such, but command-clicking works almost as well. I love the two finger-sensing trackpad, makes it easier to right-click and scroll, more than making up for the lack of three buttons. It's got lots of other great features too, the backlit keyboard, sudden motion sensor (there are some fun games that make use of it), and of course, all the wonders of Mac OS X. One thing I don't like it the location of the optical drive. If the laptop is on my lap, the drive if pointing right at my stomach, it makes it hard to get CDs in and out compared to most other laptops I've used that have drives the eject on the side. Still, it's just a little thing. Overall it's a great computer, one I expect to use for many years.

16 Comments


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Macs FTW :D

 

I'm planning to get one as soon as I can.

 

BTW, this is an awesome program for Macs, although I think it's kind of expensive. Still, I use it on my cousin's computer every time I go over there.

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My taaaaablet's better than your maaaacbook. ;)

 

Hahah, congratulations on getting what looks like a beautiful piece of machinery. May she be in your loyal service for many years.

 

I woulda gotten a Dell.

personally I'd have stuck with a Dell or HP.

You both know nothing. Toshiba is the king of Laptop Land.

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I woulda gotten a Dell.

personally I'd have stuck with a Dell or HP.

You both know nothing. Toshiba is the king of Laptop Land.

Smeag you are pure win for saying that.

 

I hope you haven't forgot how I feel about Macs. :P

 

Kohaku

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The first thing you do to your laptop is expose it to your driving? I guess that's one way to make sure it works, if it knows what's good for it.

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Um....the Ownage?

 

I'm not a Mac person, sadly. Well, I was, but I like Microsoft better.

 

2 boxes? A bit much, don't you think? Be glad it wasn't 4, like mine.

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I'm not really a Mac person. Windows let much more light in. *is not incredably jealous becouse I just got my own new laptop that rox the sox off B6's Apple*

 

 

Then again, I suppose I would choose an apple over windows if I was starcing to death... not really ny other time.

 

 

 

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*is not incredably jealous becouse I just got my own new laptop that rox the sox off B6's Apple*

Really? I'm intrigued. First off, for those of you that are out of the loop, current Macs can run Windows if you really want to. Second, your laptop's specs are better than this?

  • 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
  • 2GB of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory
  • 800MHz frontside bus
  • 60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 6 hours of battery life
  • Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
  • Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
  • Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor with dual-link DVI support 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
  • 160GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
  • 8x slot-loading SuperDrive
  • Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness
If it beats that, congratulations, I'm sure you just spent a lot of money on a high end laptop (we're talking $3500+). But I somehow doubt it "rox the sox" off of my MacBook Pro.
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Don't really like Macs, but I respect 'em. It's all we use at school, but I plan to bring in my Dell Inspiron 4100. (It's being typed on right now, if you couldn't guess.)

 

Yeah, it's really old, but it still works. That's the main reason I dislike Apple, they are constantly upgrading everything. Ipods, the Iphone, the Laptops (though not as much), just everything's changing. I think this laptop is 4-6 years old, and it is still as awesome as ever.

 

Yes, I didn't make the "i" in Iphone and Ipod lowercase on purpose. ;)

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