MacBook

Infobox computer
Name = Apple MacBook
Developer = Apple Inc.
Type = Laptop
Photo =
Caption = A white MacBook, first released in 2006
Released = May 16, 2006 (last updated February 26 , 2008)
Processor = (Early 2008) 2.1 / 2.4 GHz 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo
Baseprice = USD$1099, EUR€999 (€950 spain), GBP£699, CAD$1149, YEN￥139800, AUD$1499, RON2598, HUF264000
Website = [http://www.apple.com/macbook Apple — MacBook]

The MacBook is a Macintosh notebook computer by Apple Inc. that replaced the iBook G4 series. The original MacBook was released on May 16, 2006, and utilized the Intel Core Duo processor and 945GM chipset, with Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics on a 667 MHz front-side bus. Later revisions of the MacBook moved to the Core 2 Duo processor.

The fifth and most recent update to the MacBook line occurred on February 26, 2008. It uses the Intel GM965 chipset, with Intel's X3100 integrated graphics on an 800 MHz system bus.

Overview

The MacBook features a widescreen 13.3" glossy LCD display with a 1280x800 resolution, and a built-in iSight webcam. Input and output ports include mini-DVI, built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme 802.11 wireless, two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, and Bluetooth 2.0. Sound capabilities include built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, audio line in, and headphone audio out. The MacBook closes with a magnetic latch mechanism. The MacBook uses a Scrolling TrackPad. Its hard disk is protected by a Sudden Motion Sensor. The memory controller operates in a dual channel memory mode when RAM is installed in each slot. Using a matched pair of memory modules (e.g. 2x1 GB (2X1 GiB) is called interleaved dual channel, and theoretically results in higher performance than asymmetric dual channel when the modules are mismatched.cite web|url=http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/datashts/309219.htm|title=Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset Family Datasheet|publisher=Intel|date=April 12, 2007] The MacBook also includes a Trusted platform module chip.

The MacBook is pre-loaded with Mac OS X v10.5, which includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, iTunes, and Xcode Developer Tools. It comes with iLife '08, which includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand.

pecifications

"Notes:
¹Some of these early MacBooks had problems with "random shut downs". According to Apple, [cite web|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304308|title=MacBook: Shuts down intermittently|date=1 February 2007] software and firmware updates have solved the issue.
²Hard drives listed are configurations available from Apple. Since the hard drive is a user replaceable part, there are custom configurations available, including the use of faster 7200 rpm drives.
³Enabling Wireless-N functionality may require an 802.11n-capable AirPort Extreme Base Station, which includes wireless-N enabler software to be installed on older MacBooks. Alternatively, the enabler software may be purchased from Apple separately. [cite web|url = http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=6C04E07A&nplm=D4141ZM%2FA|title = AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler for Mac|publisher = Apple, Inc.|accessdate = 2007-04-15]
⁴Noted optical drive speeds are the maximum possible for each drive."
⁵Comencing with the Early 2008 revision, the Apple Remote became an optional addition.

Appearance

The MacBook's appearance is loosely based on that of its predecessor, the iBook G4. In addition to the classic white case, Apple is offering a premium black case option; both cases are made of polycarbonate, the thermoplastic Apple is known for using in many of its products. The base black model originally cost US$150 more than a white model ordered with the same hardware configuration.Assuming same configuration. Based on cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macbook.ars|work=Ars Technica|title=Review: Apple MacBook|date=May 18, 2006|author=Clint Ecker|accessdate =2006-12-23] With the latest price revision, this difference has been decreased to US$100.

Manufacture defects

Some early MacBook owners complained of discoloration that appeared on the palm rests of their white MacBooks. [cite web|url=http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/13/white-macbooks-showing-premature-discoloration/|title=White MacBooks showing premature discoloration?|author=Evan Blass|work=Engadget.com|date=June 13, 2006|accessdate=2006-12-23] Apple acknowledged the issue and replaced the defective part. [cite web|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Acknowledges-MacBook-Stains-As-Manufacturing-Defect-28129.shtml|title=Apple Acknowledges MacBook Stains As Manufacturing Defect|author=Victor Mihailescu|date=June 29, 2006|work=Softpedia| accessdate =2006-12-23] [cite web|url=http://rmfo-blogs.com/raekwon/archives/2006/07/13/my-stained-macbook-and-what-apple-did-about-it/|title= My Stained MacBook (and what Apple did about it)|author=Rae Whitlock|date=July 13, 2006|publisher=not another blog.| accessdate =2006-12-23] [cite web | title =About white MacBooks' palmrest area | publisher =Apple Computer | url =http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304058 | accessdate =2006-12-23 ] There have been quite a few of customers complaining about the cracks on the MacBooks bottom case after weeks or months of careful use due to the poor quality of the plastic and over-tightening of those screws. [cite web|url=http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook/] The case crack problems have happened to both white and black models, even including some MacBooks purchased in early 2008. So far, Apple's policy towards these manufacture defects is providing free repairs for cracks that appear on the keyboard plate, not the bottom case.

Display

The MacBook was the first Apple portable to feature a glossy display. The different reflective properties of glossy displays are said to increase color saturation when compared with anti-glare displays. The display has a more narrow viewing angle versus the anti-glare displaysFact|date=January 2008 and may reflect lighting glare. The earlier versions of the Intel-based MacBooks are noted for having very inexpensive screens, making them incapable of using the millions of colors promised by Apple. This seems to have been rectified and Apple has settled a lawsuit in court. [ [http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/26/apple_settles_millions_of_colors_class_action_lawsuit.html The issue with the LCD screens was addressed with a lawsuit.] Apple Insider. March 26, 2008] The defect was due to the use of inexpensive 6-bit Twisted nematic LCD screens, the use of which is nearly universal throughout the portable market. It was partially concealed through the use of dithering. [ [http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/31/apple_hit_with_another_millions_of_colors_lawsuit.html Twisted Nematic Film LCDs were also used in the recent 20 inch iMacs. This article points them out specifically.] Apple Insider. March 30, 2008.]

Keyboard

The MacBook also features a new sunken keyboard design. Unlike the iBook, PowerBook G3, and Titanium PowerBook's keyboards, it is not removable; instead, each key is individually integrated into the casing with about 1.5 mm between neighboring keys. This is ostensibly intended to give the keyboard a sturdier feel and to avoid keyboard contact with the screen when closed. There are two physical keyboard layouts: an ISO/international layout with a vertical return key crossing two rows, and a US/North America layout with a horizontal, wider return key in one row. With the late 2007 revision, the keyboard underwent a slight redesign of offered functions and now closely mirrors the keyboard that ships with the iMac and includes the same player function hot-keys, removing the embedded virtual numeric keypad and the Apple logo from the command keys. [ [http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/the-vanishing-numeric-keypad/ The Vanishing Numeric Keypad] , David Pogue, New York Times blog, 9 January 2008.] This presaged removal of the included remote control at the February 2008 revision. The color scheme for keys and labels is white with grey lettering for the white model, and black with white lettering for the black model.

Integrated graphics

The Early 2006, Late 2006, and Mid 2007 revisions of the MacBook used an Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics processor.

Starting with the Late 2007 revision, the MacBook uses an Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics processor. Intel's integrated graphics chipsets have been criticized in the past for being unable to handle graphically-intensive tasks such as complex 3D gaming and other heavily GPU-dependent processes. [cite web|url=http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/15/are_intel/|work=Tom's Hardware|title=Are Intel's Integrated Graphics Processors Good Enough for Gaming?|date=September 15, 2005|author=Bruce Gain|accessdate =2006-12-23] However, the GMA X3100 is capable of playing most older games,cite web|date =February 12, 2007|url = http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/intelgm965/sb/CS-026146.htm|title =Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family Game Compatibility List|publisher = Intel|accessdate = 2007-04-12] and of rendering the Aero GUI when running Windows Vista.

Apple most likely used integrated Intel graphics as a cost-cutting measure, as the Intel GMA chipset is cheaper than most discrete GPU solutions from ATI and NVIDIA. [cite web|url=http://theinquirer.net/?article=24729|work=The Inquirer|title=Intel's Lakeport threatens nVidia and ATI|date=July 19, 2005|author=Fuad Abazovic|accessdate =2006-12-23] While the Intel GMA X3100 lacks dedicated video memory, it is, according to Intel, highly optimized for video playback and requires less power to operate than discrete graphics solutions, such as those offered by ATI and nVidia. [cite web|url=http://support.intel.com/products/chipsets/g965/prod_brief.pdf|work=Intel.com|title=Intel 965 document|format=PDF|author=Intel|accessdate =2006-12-23] [citeweb|url=http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/gma950.pdf|work=Intel.com|title=Intel GMA 950 Brief|author=Intel|accessdate=2008-05-11|format=PDF] However, the X3100 chip does not include hardware acceleration for H.264 video, though at the time of its inception this would have put its features set in line with most discrete graphics options. [cite web|url=http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=2256&cid=14&pg=4|work=hardwarezone.com|title=Intel 965 review|format=HTML|author=Hardwarezone|accessdate=2007-05-12]

Despite the fact that the Intel GMA X3100 chipset has shown remarkable improvement over previous Intel chipsets, many owners of MacBook computers with the chipset have reported very poor performance under Mac OS X.Fact|date=October 2008 In many cases, MacBooks with the X3100 chipset exhibit far inferior performance to Macs with the previous GMA 950 chipset, and even older low-end PowerPC-based Macs, such as older iMac and iBook models. The cause of the issues has been linked to poor-quality drivers in Mac OS X. As of yet, neither Apple nor Intel have done anything to resolve this issue.

Benchmarks comparing the MacBook and MacBook Procite web|date = May 29, 2006|url = http://www.barefeats.com/mbcd3.html|title = MacBook 13" Core Duo versus two other Macs doing iMovie and iDVD|publisher = Barefeats|accessdate = 2007-04-12] indicate that including a dedicated video solution would have placed the performance of the "consumer" oriented line close to the performance of the more expensive "professional" line.

Recent rumors have indicated that the new MacBook line may utilize integrated GeForce 9 series chipsets as opposed to earlier Intel chipsets. [cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/09/21/updated-macbooks-may-use-new-lower-power-nvidia-chipset|title=MacBook: Possible geforce replacement|date=3 October 2008]

User serviceability

The MacBook is different from its iBook predecessor in terms of user serviceability. Apple has made it easier to disassemble compared to the old iBook, which required removing many components such as the EMI shields to get to anything, whereas the MacBook requires simply the removal of the outer shell to access almost any interior component. In addition, the MacBook's internal hard drive and RAM are now easily accessible by simply removing the battery. [cite web|url=http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1750|work=AppleInsider|title=Apple's MacBook sports user-replaceable hard disks|date=May 16, 2006|author=Kasper Jade|coauthors=Katie Marsal|accessdate =2006-12-23] via the underside of the unit. Further, the RAM and hard drive are considered user replaceable parts by Apple, meaning that these parts can be replaced by the end user without violating any terms of the warranty. Although, if a hard drive problem does occur after the user replaces it, it won't be replaced under your warranty. Apple provides step-by-step directions for replacing the hard drive and RAM. [cite web|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303721|publisher=Apple Inc.|title=MacBook: How to install memory|date=2006-05-03|accessdate =2007-06-03] [cite web|url=http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY.pdf|publisher=Apple Inc.|title=MacBook Hard Drive Replacement Guide|accessdate =2007-06-03|format=PDF] In contrast, replacement of the MacBook Pro's internal hard drive is more difficult, requiring disassembly by an authorized service provider to prevent risk of voiding the warranty.

ee also

* Comparison of Macintosh models
* MacBook family
* MacBook Air
* MacBook Pro
* Axiotron Modbook

References

External links

* [http://www.apple.com/macbook/ Apple - MacBook]
* [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/HardwareDrivers/Conceptual/MacBook_0611/ MacBook Developer Note]
* [http://guides.macrumors.com/MacBook_Buyer's_Guide MacBook Buyer's Guide]
* [http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/ MacBook Disassembly Instructions] Navbox with columns
name = Navbox with columns/doc
state = uncollapsed
title = Apple Model Navigation
colstyle = text-align:center;background:silver;
colwidth = 25%
col1header = Replaced
col2header = Current Model
col1 = iBook G4
col2 = MacBook
col1footer = Preceding Family Model
col2footer = May 16, 2006