MacBook

The MacBook is the successor to the iBook range, just as the MacBook Pro became the replacement for the PowerBook. And the first editions came in black:

The range was completely redesigned on 2008–10-14, upgrading the consumer line to most of the specs of the former Pro range:

…but on 2009–06-08, the entry-level unibody model was recast as part of the Pro range, leaving only the white polycarbonate model under the MacBook name. There are teardowns here and here.

That was then re-designed on 2009–10-20 to get a new, curvier look:

Previously, the older plastic range had been refreshed on 2007–11-01, replacing the dated GMA 950 with a GMA X1300 video chipset as part of its Santa Rosa revamp.

Here’s the baseline architecture for the original revision:

Resources:

• Developer Note

Oddities of Plastic Models:

• List of Common Problems . Wow.
• Random shut-downs after upgrading to 10.4.7 OS X/10.4.7 . More power management issues? No, manufacturing ones.

Benchmarks of Plastic Models:

• Macworld Editors’ Note – in which we find that a white model can be faster than a black one.
• Final Cut and other stuff.
  h4. Casing:

• Discoloration Issues – the black matte looks like a better option if you’ve got sweaty hands.
• Hairline MacBook cracks appearing

Fan Noise Issues:

• Apple MacBook “Moooing” sound identified and explained. – someone at Apple ought to read up on how to deal with Hysteresis in embedded controller feedback loops (a favorite topic of an Electronics professor of mine, who drilled us perhaps a bit too enthusiastically on it).

Temperature Issues:

• The Intel Mac Temperature Database listings, filtered for “MacBook 13-inch 2.0 GHz Black”. I don’t find these temperatures to be acceptable, or “normal” for a laptop.
• Apple Notebooks: Operating Temperature – how pointless can a KB article be? Ah, wait, there’s worse.

Reviews of Plastic Models:

• Besides Macworld’s main review , see also Rob’s piece on gaming . Only 90-odd fps for Quake III Arena III Arena ? Hmm.
• Greg Storey’s DarthBook – “luke-warm”. Hmmm. Here’s some follow-up , and, as usual, Greg takes the time to answer comments and makes them a worthwhile read.
• Flaky black cover rumor (retraction)
• Notebook Review (overheating and crashes, apparently bad hardware?)
• John Waller’s review (video issues upon resume)
• Ars Technica Review (82C? can it get that hot?)
• Kodawarisan’s disassembly pictures

Things To Keep In Mind:

• Glossy vs Matte