Another of my chief concerns was value. I originally bought a Titanium 1gHz G4 in 2002 for $2,300. A year and a half later, a hammer wielding Apple tech destroyed it and the gave me a brand new G4 (that's a whole 'nother post!) For my trauma, I was rewarded with the 1.5gHz PB I sold to my brother for steal of a deal — $600. He is family after all.

Initially, I had some trouble with my newest conquest. I bought the Macbook refurbished, so I knew I could be expecting something to happen. After a day, the damn thing wouldn't charge. After taking it in, they replaced the power unit, but the replacement blew immediately. It turns out that the entire logic board was bad (and probably why it was returned in such exceptional condition.

Now that I have a new logic board, all is well. The Macbook Core 2 Duo runs circles around my mom's MBP (eto be fair, I have 1GB RAM and she's only got 512MB). But I've used others' MBPs and the fans kick on pretty quick compared to my new trusty little pal.

Optimal viewing angle is a bit weird; colors seem washed out unless the screen is tilted pretty far away from me. My previous experiences with laptops LCDs gave the expectation that I'd have to be looking at the screen dead on to get the best color. The glossy screen was a welcome change, and hasn't vexed me nearly as it has other users. It's a wee bit of a pain in the ass unless you have a microfiber cloth (as is the plastic casing of the entire computer). I wipe the Macbook down weekly with a moistened napless towel to cut back on the oil marks that come from regular use.

Miscellaneous stuff... Ah, battery life. Awesome. I can rely on my laptop to last exceptionally long in comparison to my previous 1.5 gHz G4 Powerbook. And it doesn't get that hot at all. The keyboard is unusual at first, but has made using MBP keyboards seem awkward in comparison. Airport range is also awesome. I see unsecured wireless networks everywhere I go, where my Powerbook gave me nothing.

All in all, I'm glad I found a good home for my previous baby, and at present couldn't be more pleased with my new sidekick. It's worth mentioning that refurbed macs don't come in the cool packing, so I haven't taken any pics of the MB, but someday soon I'll hit you with an update.