Apple MacBook Pro MB471LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Slot Loading SuperDrive)

My last portable mac was a 1GHz Titanium PowerBook - the TiBook. Since then, I've been waiting for a suitable replacement. After a few years of weak aluminum G4 "PowerBooks", I switched over to a G5 Tower. A few more years later, I wanted to move back to a portable machine and started looking at the new unibody MBP.

1. The new MBP is as fast and quiet as a PowerBook should be. The late G4 machines always seemed underpowered at the Apple Store. The early Intel machines were either too loud or too hot. The MBP is just right.

2. Style is back. The previous generation of aluminum machines always struck me as a matte-gray version of the Snow iBook/MacBook design. That design works very nicely in brilliant white and matte black, but felt clunky to me when executed in aluminum. The new unibody design does a great job of mixing a glossy black display with a block of carved aluminum.

3. Power too. OSX is Unix and a GUI in one well-integrated system. Everything good about OSX that has been written elsewhere applies here.

4. Upgradability. Open the battery cover and you have access to both the HD and the battery. 250GB is plenty for me today, but when I can get a 2.5" 1TB drive spinning along at 4200 RPM, the upgrade will be easy. All the screws appear to be phillips now, so I won't need my T8 driver anymore.

5. Magsafe is a big win. The old power cables were very easily damaged, and easily damaged your mac

6. The DVD drive is finally where it belongs - on the side! Actually, I wish I could order a MacBook Pro without an optical drive at all. Who uses optical media anymore?

7. The new trackpad is simply great. I was going to order a nice laser mouse to go along with the MBP. After 15 minutes with the new giant trackpad, I don't think I'll ever plug a mouse or external keyboard into this machine. I wish apple made external trackpads for desktop computers.Buy Apple MacBook Pro MB471LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Slot Loading SuperDrive)!