New MacBook Pro 17" First Thoughts

At about this time yesterday morning I was delighted when I heard a knock on my door and saw the FedEx truck in front of my home.



My new 17” MacBook Pro had arrived! It was time to begin my new adventure.

Every time I expect an important delivery from FedEx, it is at least noon, so an early morning visit was a pleasant surprise!

However, my last backup with SuperDuper was not yet finished, so I had a slight wait before I could really do much with my new computer.

Apple has built some really wonderful migration tools into the operating system and while I frequently suggest using them, I knew that I really needed to make a fresh start with this computer!

I have been needing a new computer for months. While adding a larger hard drive to my older MacBook Pro would have been a useful stop-gap measure, I had decided to limp along with my old hard drive. My older computer will be handed down to my husband. He has not filled the drive of his PowerBook G4. Adding a larger drive would be an unnecessary expense for his needs.

To make things work, I had used every space-saving technique that I could come up with! Gone were extra printer drivers, languages, documentation--and anything else that would give me a bit more space.

It was time to pull my original CDs off the shelf, download new copies of programs that I had purchased online and fire up that database of serial numbers.

However I had planned to at least move my User accounts from my older computer. Since I also needed to be able to work with clients, I had decided to use the automatic migration assistant to move the files from my OWC portable hard drive that I had copied using SuperDuper.

For some reason, that failed! After 90 minutes of migrating, I received a message that Migration could not create the User account on my new computer!

I quickly decided that I would simply create an account on my new computer and then I would drag the files from my cloned drive to it. I copied my Documents, Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Movies and Sites folders and then I selectively copied files from my Library folder.

In just about an hour, I was up and running with basic items in place and it was time to begin loading applications from their CDs and disk images.

First came the iWork suite, then RapidWeaver, then the Adobe CS3 package, then Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 - FAIL!

No matter what I did, I could not get Elements to accept the license number! I finally gave up and called Adobe. Three hours later, the CS3 package had been removed from my computer along with everything else from Adobe and I was still stuck!

Adobe is sending me a new disk, but I am now WAY behind in having this computer up and running! I had planned to be ready to head to the Apple Store this morning to have one of the USB ports fixed and to have Apple take a look at a problem with run-away scrolling that occurs frequently.

Oh well, my husband will have to wait a few days longer before he gets his “new” computer.

So after all of that, let me tell you what I think of my MacBook Pro.



First, the screen. I had a difficult time deciding between the glossy screen and the $50 matte option. As the picture above shows, I decided to give the glossy screen a try. When I took that photo, I was a little concerned. It certainly makes a fine mirror when the screen is black! However, once there is an image on the screen, I am not able to see much of a reflection. I am sitting with a window behind me now and I have to move my head to find my reflection in the screen.

The colors are vivid and beautiful! The blacks are really black. When this computer is next to my old one, I have to say, I do like this one much better! I am shocked! I ordered the matte version when I bought my older MacBook Pro a little over 2 years ago. While I did not like the plastic screen with a glossy finish, this glass screen is a huge improvement.

As for the keyboard, well-------, so far I do not like it! It is loud. Too much light shines around each key. The Option key does not react like the one on my older keyboard. However, I am not a fan of external keyboards since I am often away from my desk--like right now! I have my computer in my lap as I sit cross legged on my bed. Yes, I am dressed, but I find sitting and writing in this position is very comfortable.

The track-pad is a non-issue for me. Just as I do not use an external keyboard, using a mouse would mean having to remove my hand reach for a mouse. Simply reaching down to use the trackpad is fast and easy for me! As for the missing button, I have not noticed it! I have not had time to rotate any pictures and I have not tried swiping. Those will come in time.

This computer runs much cooler than my older one. The bottom of the computer is essentially at body temperature.

I am loving the 320 GB hard drive. However, I know it will be too small all too soon!

So far, I have not done anything that really points out the speed of the processor, so that will have to wait for later.

So, 24 hours after it was delivered, I would give the experience a 7.5. I will get used to the keyboard. I will eventually get all the software loaded. I will be ready to turn on Time Machine and I will be ready to reformat the drive in my old computer to pass it on to my husband.

Changing to a new computer always causes a few problems! Somehow, the old familiar one seems easier--even if the hard drive was full, the processor was slow and the RAM inadequate. But in a week I will wonder how I lived without this new computer!