Ionrock Dot Org

This past weekend Lauren and I went with a friend to get a laptop. He had already decided on what he wanted. He mainly just wanted some moral support and someone to make sure he didn't walk away buying stupid extras. In the end he bought a MacBook and got a free iPod Nano (2gb). It was a pretty slick deal.

I had a bit of time to play with the MacBook and was very pleased. The biggest concern I had was the keyboard and I am please to report it was pretty awesome. I expected it to be rather awkward and potentially cheap feeling. The keys are almost completely flat, which ended up being rather nice. The space between the keys is very consistent as well, which made searching for keys much simpler. Instead of running your fingers over the ridges of the keys, you could more easily depend on the key being where you though it was. The best part was how the keys felt when pressed them. Old hackers always seem to comment on how nice old keyboards were because you could feel the resistence of each key. Having typed on these noise makers I could see the appeal tactically, although the noise was always too distracting. The MacBook keys feel very similar in that they have a solid impact that feels anything but mushy. My iBook for example, has a very mushy feel.

The magnet that holds the lid closed if very strong making things feel solid when it is closed. The model at the store was *very* hot on the bottom, but it sits so flat on the table I wonder if the lack of air flow is why. With that said, I don't think I have ever had a laptop that has not been warm on legs, so no worries. Overall, it is a really great machine and I am thinking whenever Lauren is ready for a new computer, this would be a great choice.