365 Days Later...

A little over a year ago now, I got frustrated with a customer at CyberMedics. I had one of "those weeks" and just wanted to go home early and watch TV or sleep the day away or something. Since I was in the middle of work, I didn't do any of that. But I really wanted to treat myself to something, so since I was getting ready for a new laptop, and the new MacBooks had been on my shopping list, I ordered one right from work.

The Positives
A few weeks later, what would later become known as Akira (A for Apple), arrived. An Intel Core Duo MacBook SuperDrive (DVD+RW DL), with upgrades from the standard model of 1 GB RAM and an 80 GB SATA hard drive. It came preloaded with OS X 10.4.7 (now Running 10.4.10).
Score: + 1
The hardware is still better than industry standards

I must say, the laptop has impressed me in ways I couldn't even imagine. It dual boots with Windows XP, thank you Boot Camp. The dual core processor has made emulation and virtualization not only easy, but also low-impact on the system.
Score: + 1
Booting XP or Vista on a Mac? It's still insane.

The built-in iSight and microphone makes for quick and easy "myspace-esk" photos or simple audio blogs. I still love tinkering with some of those simple "time-waster" games that were preloaded on my MacBook, the ones that will automatically load up my iSight if I'm playing with another person. It's just fun.
Score: + 1
Cool, but it's a time waster.

I've been really getting to love iPhoto. Especially when I was on vacation and wanted to just load up the photos from my camera quick... Without really having to spend half of the day configuring the program.
Score: + 1
This program is just awesome.

The white coloring of the MacBook allows it to stay cooler in the sunlight, making it just that much easier for me to utilize outside and near windows, without having the fans on the unit kick up to full power.
Score: + 1
White? Perfect color for a notebook computer.

Speaking of power, the MagSafe power adapter has already saved me a few times from having my MacBook tossed to the floor, or worse, going into CMC for a "laptop powerjack replacement."
Score: + 1
Powerjack Replacements are Expensive! Yea for big savings!

The power brick also came with a "travel adapter," which instead of having the power brick with the detachable wall cable, the wall cable could be removed and the travel adapter used in place of it, allowing for one to keep cabling to a minimum while traveling (as a matter of fact, the 5' power cable for the MacBook was the only cable I need to run it).
Score: + 1
Travel adapter: added convenience that I soo love!

The magnetic latch is quite excellent. It really gives the notebook a sleek look and feel to it, without having those ugly little latches sticking out.
Score: + 1
Style. Need I say more?

The Negatives
There is a little "divot" in the bezel of the laptop so it's easier to pull up the LCD display... Unfortunately, this is right in front of the iSight on the notebook, making it easy to get finger prints on the lens of the iSight.
Score: - 1
Blury iSight Photos... That sucks.

The MagSafe power adapter has a tendency to fall out a little easily, not a major problem, and it is basically "playing it on the safe side," but it does become a problem when the MacBook is running low on battery power.
Score: - 1
MacBooks going into suspend when least expected. Not cool.

The LCD is designed to be flush with the bezel of the MacBook, however, mine is slightly off set by the smallest degree. However, it annoys me to no end to see such a beautiful device, with such a flaw, albeit minor.
Score: - 1
Minor structural failings, not cool.

Vibration! For some reason, when I first got my MacBook (Akira), there was a major vibration sound coming from it when the LCD was in certain positions or when the back light was set to specific intensities. It didn't really make much sense to me, but it eventually went away. I was happy when it did so.
Score: - 1
Vibration noise... Annoying!

Final Total: 8 out of 12
Not bad, for a first edition.