MacBook Pro ~ first impressions

• The slight change in the proportions of the case is surprisingly noticeable
• The built-in camera and Photobooth application are daft and fun – fun is good
• The playback sound is much improved – and nice and loud
• I’m seeing more of the spinning beachball than I’d like, I hope that’s more to do with cacheing and running the machine in than something that will be ongoing
• Optimised apps run a bit faster, but again it doesn’t seem a radical improvement. With XP, launching MS apps feels almost like turning a lightswitch on, OSX is more like fading a dimmer switch up.
• Photoshop’s slower, but not radically so – I haven’t done much with it (I’m nervous), so will have to see what it’s like when I do. Haven’t tried Dreamweaver yet
• It definitely runs warmer (verging on hotter) than the G4 Powerbook
• My LaCie 500GB drive misses the Firewire 800
• Reviews said the screen was much brighter than the G4, I find it a little brighter, but not remarkably so
• The twin latches on the screen are an improvement over the G4′s single one
• The larger size of the trackpad isn’t really noticeable at all
• The higher resolution screen is a subtle improvement
• I like the remote and being able to look at slideshows, etc via Front Row. The remote makes me relate slightly differently the laptop which is interesting. Front Row’s pretty crap for large musical libraries like mine though.  The MacBook doesn’t have a magnet to secure the remote, unlike the iMac (would have been nice to see something like a slot instead) – how long before I lose it?
• The magnetic power lead? Load of bollocks and means I can’t use the three leads I’ve amassed.
• Overall, I’m pleased – reminds me of the G3 Pismo, as a marque it feels like it’s reached a good standard, I’m just hoping to see less of the beachball…