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Black is Back

And it's beautiful. But...


Apple, the company who not only provide but also define good design, have done an about face with their new successor to the iBook. Coming from shell white the MacBook not only sports a wide screen display but comes in a sexy black long used at the Apple website.

In fact, appearance wise the new laptop seems to have it all over the bigger (and klutzier) MacBook Pro - especially in price. The above model is a full $1000 cheaper than its 'pro' counterpart.

And even though it also has the 'dumbass' camera in the rim, the rim is no longer aggravatingly imbalanced - it's only egregiously thick.

But for all that sex, and a price tag more amenable by $1000, look what you get - and don't get.

You get: 13.3 inch wide screen display; 1280x800 resolution; 2.0 GHz Core Duo; 512 MB RAM on two SODIMMs; 60 GB 5400 rpm ATA HDD; and a 'SuperDrive'.

And that gets you the yucky 'ER' white finish.

If you want that sexy black, you have to pay $200 more. (And you also get 20 GB more disk space - but that's it. Black costs you $200.)

None of the models include a modem. Either sweat out another $50 or stay away from Backwater Kansas, Motel 6, and Red Roof Inns that haven't been renovated yet.

Now here's the funny one: a HDD upgrade to 80 GB for either of the other two 'tiolet' coloured models costs only $50.

That means that just for a different colour you're paying $150. For that and no more.

How much of a fanboy sucker are you?

ModelMA254LL/AMA255LL/AMA472LL/A
ColourWhiteWhiteBlack
Processor1.83GHz Intel Core Duo2GHz Intel Core Duo
L2 Cache2MB
System bus667MHz
Memory512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) 2 SO-DIMMs up to 2GB
Hard drive60GB 5400 rpm serial ATA60GB 5400 rpm serial ATA80GB 5400 rpm serial ATA
Optical driveSlot loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)Slot loading SuperDrive
(DVD±RW/CD-RW)
GraphicsIntel GMA 950 GPU 64MB DDR2 SDRAM (shared with main memory)
Video cameraBuilt-in iSight
Display13.3-inch diagonal glossy TFT widescreen display 1280x800
PortsOne FireWire 400 port (8 watts); Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps); Mini-DVI port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video output (requires adapters sold separately)
AudioBuilt-in stereo speakers, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/headphone out
NetworkingBuilt-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit
WirelessBuilt-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi 802.11g built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Price$1,099.00$1,299.00$1,499.00
MacBook specs from the Apple website. The only differences between the 'white' MacBook for $1299 and the 'black' MacBook for $1499 are the hard drive upgrade ($50) and the different colour. Mac fanboys will be paying $150 for a black coat of paint.
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