MacBook arrived.

So maybe it's the reason I started this blog in the first place. Shut up. This is my first adventure into Macland and nobody is going to ruin it for me, except for me. And maybe Kevin Federline.

I was at work when FedEx tried to deliver it, so I had to pick it up in Cambridge. Strike one. Just kidding, that wasn't Apple's fault. The unboxing of the hardware was most definitely documented, I'll post photos of that slightly erotic experience shortly. I ordered the white 13" Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz MacBook with 1 GB of RAM and the 160 GB HDD. Apple definitely knows what they're doing when it comes to minimalist industrial design. The sleek white casing is very smooth and iPod looking. There are plenty of reviews of the new MacBooks out there, so I won't waste any more time of yours with my new obsession.

However, there are 2 issues I have with my new laptop:

1) The wrist-rest has a very sharp edge and although you aren't supposed to rest your wrists there while typing, everyone does. It is a minor discomfort if anything, but still.

2) Wireless issue. My house's wireless router uses WEP encryption with a 4 key system. I assume the reason there are 4 WEP keys is so that you can periodically toggle them for security's sake. My system admin (read: Dad) had the index set to the third key at the time which isn't a problem for any of the Windows wireless users. When I started up AirPort, I tried to input the third key and was faced an incorrect key dialog from AirPort. The first key did work, but it would not allow me to access the internet, just our internal network. After about 2 hours of Googling, I discovered that Mac OS X does not recognize this wireless protocol and only reads the first key index. I switched the router to use the first key and voila! Access! But how stupid is that. I know that UNIX supports 4-key WEP, so apparently Apple has removed it for simplicity's sake. Why not add an "Advanced" tab where users can input this kind of information though? It's not just musicians and graphic artists using your hardware anymore Apple.

Once I got up and running though, using the Mac was a lot of fun. The battery lasted around 4.5 hours browsing the web, using iTunes, iPhoto, and chatting online. There are a few applications that are really cool. Quicksilver is like Google Desktop but faster, better, and smarter. Adium is the all-in-one IM client and is a pleasure to use; no more flashing orange tabs in my taskbar. iSquint rips .avi files to .mp4 files for my iPod seamlessly, quickly, and freely. Please feel free to post any other free must-have apps and I'll give them a try.

My favourite part of Mac OS X is its Unix underbelly. I love having all the configuration options and power of Unix with that pretty Aqua interface. Any time I feel like getting dirty, I can open up Terminal.app and dive in.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 6 being the highest, I give my new MacBook a 6! Stay tuned for more comments on my switch from Windows to OS X. Not that I'm going to fully make the switch, Bootcamp is going on the MacBook tonight.