Apple's MacBook Leaves Its Predecessors in the Dust

In other tests, the machine ran for 3 hours and 59 minutes while playing a loop of music with the screen dimmed halfway (with WiFi on and Bluetooth off); a best-case test, with the screen dimmed as low as possible, both wireless systems disabled and only the TextEdit program open, yielded 4 1/2 hours of use.

Unlike most PC vendors, Apple remembers that power adapters add weight and bulk, too; the MacBook's compact hardware weighs only nine ounces. It connects to the MacBook with a new, magnetically attached MagSafe plug that gracefully falls away if yanked instead of dragging the computer off a table or damaging the inside of the power socket.

The MacBook, however, may be less attractive once the flight ends. The review unit repeatedly lost the wireless signal of an Apple AirPort Extreme WiFi access point, even while Windows laptops in the same room stayed online. MacBook users have posted similar complaints in Apple's discussion forums.

Weirdly enough, this problem didn't emerge when I rebooted the MacBook into Windows -- which suggests that Apple should be able to fix it by updating the MacBook's software.

The unit stayed nearly silent most of the time, but a different side of its personality surfaced when copying some music CDs to the hard disk. The CD/DVD drive and cooling fans revved all the way up to a sustained, low-level howl -- as if the computer were readying for takeoff -- and the already hot left rear corner of the machine became outright scorching. The plastic in front of the screen hinge, just above the MacBook's vents, felt even hotter.

It's not that other laptops run much cooler, but after all the time Apple has spent advertising the "performance per watt" advantages of its new Intel processors, you'd expect something a little less sizzling than the average Windows notebook.

It can be instructive to compare the MacBook with PC laptops built around the same Intel chips. Dell's Inspiron E1405, when configured with the closest possible specifications to the base MacBook, costs $18 more, while HP's Pavilion dv1000t costs $145 less when set up to match a MacBook.

Those price differences are far smaller than what a lot of people believe about Macs. On the other hand, a lot of people don't need or want all the extras that Apple bundles. And they'll be able to save substantially more by getting a slower, heavier laptop from somebody else.

Price alone won't lead people to get the MacBook (and it certainly won't sell the high-end MacBook Pro, which has a bigger screen and more powerful graphics hardware and starts at $1,999). You have to want that extra refinement of an Apple machine -- software like the virus-resistant, low-maintenance Mac OS X and hardware such as the MacBook's ingenious trackpad, which lets you scroll through windows or bring up right-click menus by dragging two fingers across its surface.

Glitches such as the MacBook's erratic WiFi reception and almost painfully hot surfaces undercut that appeal. Apple has taught its users to expect better, and it ought to be able to deliver as much before long.

Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro atrob@twp.com.