You know the drill—and by the drill, I mean the electric screwdriver. Apple releases a new gizmo, and three or four different firms race to be the first to tear it limb from limb. The team at iFixit is on the case (and the screen, and the motherboard), pulling apart the new MacBook and MacBook Pro to ogle its sweet, sweet aluminum unibody.
The MacBook Pro teardown is an eleven page masterpiece, including a comparison against the previous MacBook Pro model. The new case construction apparently lends itself to a cleaner interior than earlier models, including better cable routing and fewer screws.
Similarly, the seven page MacBook teardown is likewise detailed. The optical drive is now SATA, and apparently there’s a subwoofer packed in there too. Crazy. Of the MacBook, iFixit proclaims “This may be the most beautiful laptop we’ve disassembled. Apple has a right to be proud of their engineers and manufacturing team.” Awwww.
iFixit remarks that there’s a lot of similarities between the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air on the inside as well as the out which, while not surprising, suggests that Apple is trying to standardize as many of the parts as possible.
So, folks, does this wanton display of innards convince you that you need a new laptop? Because I am seriously on the fence about it.
Just visited Apple store and played with the MacBook and Pro. The screen and keyboard were my focus (looking to replace a 12" Powerbook).
Overall, exterior is very nice, austere, with solid feel and look. Keyboard fine. Screen 'bright', with common 'glossy' highlights that are defined versus the muted highlights on a matte screen.
Glossy screen, is tolerable, but would prefer a matte screen. Lack of IEEE 1394 on the MacBook is contentious, and I believe wrong, given the small price to have designed in to the unit. The Pro is likely to be my choice for the access to HD & Firewire.
OK, looks pretty nice.
Now, an obligated question: Do I void de waranty by opening the MBP for RAM Upgrade ?
Yes you void the Apple warranty if you install the RAM by yourself. The warranty states that a Apple certified technician should install it for you.
@Bharat: Not true, actually. If you look at the manuals for the new MacBook and new MacBook Pro, they tell you how to upgrade the RAM yourself. Of course, if you damage anything while doing so, that's on you, but you don't void the warranty by opening the case or anything.