I've had this MacBook  about two months. So far so good. There are a few things I don't like about it and a few things I really like, but not much has changed from my earlier impressions.

Heat:
The recent firmware update to fix the MacBook's internal fan has greatly reduced the heat generated by this thing. That has been great, but my MacBook  still gets pretty hot in certain situations. Although I don't fault Apple for this, my MacBook gets insanely hot when I use it outside. It's the black case, I know, but the already hot MacBook really sucks up the sun.

Glossy Display:
Love it more and more. Inside it's now my preferred display surface. I now consider my 20-inch iMac's display slightly grainy or dusty. Outside the glare is pretty bad, however, but I am able to angle the display in a way to make it serviceable. Wearing a black top helps a lot, actually. Just a little tidbit.

Palm Rest:
This thing hurts. Seriously. I haven't found a way to get it not to hurt, either, except to use it at the table or desk. Using it on my lap for more than a few minutes gets painful within a few minutes. This isn't Apple's fault, as each user's experience will be different, but a more rounded leading edge would help a lot.

Speed:
Well, now we're stepping into dangerous territory. I've done it before and I'll do it again: This Intel Mac isn't all that fast. In fact, some stuff is slower. Sure, boot time is half, but when accounting for everything else my 2.0GHz G5 iMac is faster than this 2.0GHz Intel Mac. And, no, I'm not just experiencing slow Rosetta experience. It's overall.

Fit and Finish:
Awesome. Really. This thing is well built. No complaints, really, except for the mouse-button action which sucks. The feet, a part of every Mac portable that I've studied pretty carefully since my first, a PowerBook 520c, are perfection. What took you so long, Apple? All parts of the case are still nice and solid. The black soft-touch surface hasn't started peeling yet, which is great as that's really the only aspect of this MacBook  I worry about. The keyboard is great. The hinge mechanism is great. It's all great.

Battery Life:
Sure, everyone thinks about this aspect of owning a portable. I do, of course, but after years of taking Apple's battery life claims seriously, you can consider me reformed: I have no expectations. Zero. Well, to be fair, I expect a solid 2.5 hours out of my portables, but that's it. After that it's all gravy.

Overall, I'd say that this is one of my favorite Macs that I've owned. That's saying something considering that I bought my first Mac in 1986. But I do have a message for Apple: bring back some panache to the case design of the Macintosh. All of them. This rectangle and square theme is long in the tooth.

Should you buy a new MacBook ? I say a huge YES if you're looking for what the MacBook has to offer. If it fits your needs, don't wait any longer. You're going to love it.

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