Digital Trends

Apple MacBook 2.0GHz

June 12th, 2006 | by Jason Tomczak

As a matter of genealogy, the white MacBook has the same basic design features as the iBook - glossy white body, standard FireWire, USB 2.0, Ethernet, external video and audio ports. Apple has removed ye olde dial-up modem and carrier-pigeon ports from its newest line of portable and desktop computers and in doing so, has ordered us to wake up and smell the broadband. While the MacBook Pro comes with an ExpressCard/34 slot (an upgrade from the PCMCIA slot in PowerBooks), the MacBook does not. The iBook never had a PCMCIA card slot, nor did the 12" PowerBook, so not too many people are losing sleep over the absence of an ExpressCard slot.

The MacBook SuperDrive 

The MagSafe power connector was recently introduced to the world when it was added to the MacBook Pro. As I mentioned in an earlier review, the MagSafe is one of the best little innovations added to the MacBook (and MacBook Pro) line. Standard power adapters on laptops plug into the side of the laptop body and are intended to fit tightly so they do not fall out. The downside to this tight male-female fit is the fact that when someone inevitably trips over the power cord, the tip of the power cord and the power-supply's connection to the logicboard can be damaged. Many laptops have been sent flying to the floor from tables, desks and counter tops. MagSafe successfully cures "Airborne Mac Syndrome" by using magnetic attraction and surface-to-surface electric conductivity - simple, yet brilliant. A small array of magnets holds the tip of the power adapter to the charging port on the MacBook Pro. While connected, electricity flows and charges the battery. Tripping over the power cord (or simply unplugging it from any angle) harmlessly disconnects the MagSafe from the MacBook Pro. No more Airborne Mac Syndrome, no more internal or external damage, no more tears.