Apple MacBook 13.3" screen white 250GB hard drive laptop computer

The notebook you love, back and better than ever

It's been more than three years since the MacBook laptop was first introduced, but since then, it's become one of the most popular laptops out there, and one of Apple's best performers. But at Apple, they don't rest on success, so brace yourself for the best MacBook yet. It's got all the best features of the previous MacBook models like plenty of performance and typical Apple convenience. But it's all new with a durable unibody enclosure, a battery that lasts up to seven hours on a single charge, an LED-backlit screen, and a glass Multi-Touch trackpad. Plus this version ships with the latest Mac OS, Snow Leopard, and of course, iLife '09. The best thing about it? The new, improved model is no more expensive than the old one.

Delightfully (re)designed

Apple designs nearly every component of their computers, from hardware, to software, to the operating system. This offers several benefits. It allows them to design products that "just work." But it also allows them to make products that look good. Product design is a big point of focus at Apple, which is why, with the exception of perhaps the original flower iMac, their products are always sleek and stylish. The new MacBook is no exception. It's been redesigned slightly from the last generation. It's still just as strikingly thin, just as wide, and just as deep, but it weighs a little less. Instead of beveled edges, the entire side has now been rounded all around the computer for a more streamlined look, and easier grip. Speaking of grip, the bottom has been redesigned with a non-slip surface. If you're wondering whether the battery is included in that, listen to this: the battery is no longer exposed. In fact, this MacBook is the first model to have a unibody design like the MacBook Pro. It's still a durable polycarbonate, but now it's one seamless piece, and the battery is internal. If you're worried about replacing it, don't be — the battery in the new MacBook can be charged up to 1000 times, and it lasts longer on a single charge than removable batteries. But don't just take our word for how good it looks — check it out yourself.

Can't touch this

This MacBook is revolutionary in a lot of ways. Not only is it the first MacBook that has a unibody enclosure, it's also the first MacBook with a Multi-Touch trackpad. You'll notice there's no button anywhere on the trackpad. That's because the trackpad is the button. Seriously, click anywhere. But you can also use all the Multi-Touch gestures that helped make the iPhone and iPod touch famous. Pinch to zoom in or out, scroll using two fingers, flip through pages using three fingers, even rotate photos using the trackpad. And if you want to right-click, you can either put a finger on the trackpad, or configure a specific area of the trackpad to be the right-click area. The new MacBook's Multi-Touch trackpad is something Windows can't touch.

On the road again?

Chances are, if you bought a laptop, you're probably interested in being able to work off of battery power. Maybe you travel frequently for business, maybe you like to go work on your computer at the local coffee shop, or maybe you just enjoy roaming the house with your notebook. With a Windows PC, you're free to roam . . . for two or three hours, with all the settings maximized and performing only minimal actions. If you're lucky, you might make it through that DVD you want to watch. Or, you could get a MacBook. With the MacBook, you could spend most of your day free from the wall. In fact, the battery life on the new MacBook is designed to last up to seven hours. And that seven hours isn't the best-case scenario either — that's calculated with the screen at half brightness, browsing the internet and working in a text document. How is this possible? Well, first of all, LED screen lighting is more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. Having the battery integrated also allows it to be designed with a larger capacity. And remember how we said Apple designs most of their own parts? That helps a lot with energy use, since they are free to design every aspect of the system to work together for optimal efficiency. Mac OS X even regulates processor activity between keystrokes — it's that precise. You can get a lot done in seven hours, whether that means building a stunning presentation from scratch, or maybe just watching all six-and-a-half hours of the Lonesome Dove mini-series.

Greenest of the green

Apple's pretty-well secured the title of world's most environmentally-friendly computer maker. They make green strides in every aspect of their business, from production, to materials, to transport, to use, to recyclability. Now they're proud to present the greenest MacBook yet. That efficiency that gives it such a long battery life also helps it to meet all the strict standards of ENERGY STAR 5.0. But that's not the only award it earned. It's an EPEAT Gold award winner, the highest award they give. EPEAT considers a lot more than just energy use, like the materials used. It's free from BFRs, PVC, and Lead, and the gorgeous new display has no Mercury in the lamp or Arsenic in the glass. They even designed the boxes to be 53 percent smaller than the original MacBook and 20 percent smaller than the last generation, so they can ship more in the same space. And when the MacBook does reach the end of its life, it's made to minimize waste by its ultraefficient design and use of many recyclable materials like high-grade polycarbonate, aluminum, and magnesium. All of these eco-conscious touches make this the greenest of the green notebooks.

Get in the game!

Macs have a reputation of being fun, powerful computers that can be used for both work and play. Between Macs and PCs, Macs have the standing of being more fun and hip, especially with their built-in iLife software. Then why is it that PCs are the ones known for gaming? Most people think there aren't even many good games for Mac, and many retailers carry mainly PC games. But that whole idea that Macs aren't good for games is a huge misconception! Many great games are available for Mac, just often not as well-distributed as PC games. What sort of games? How about Call of Duty 4, Doom 3, Quake, The Sims, or Spore? In fact, the new MacBook ships with an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card, that, along with the computer's fast speed, makes for great 3D gaming! And despite its great performance, the graphics card is designed not zap battery life.

Grr.

The new MacBook comes with Apple's latest operating system, known as Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard provides a lot of behind-the-scenes advancements to speed up your work, offering much quicker operation than previous operating systems, as well as more hard drive space, and even better power management. But it also comes with a lot of sweet applications designed for computers like the MacBook. iTunes 9, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, Quicktime X, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, and even Xcode developer tools come standard. A few minutes working with Snow Leopard and you'll want to purr.

Get a life . . . an iLife

The new MacBook also includes the latest version of Apple's highly-praised creativity suite, iLife '09. Included in iLife '09 are iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and Garageband. Whether you're determined to make an HD movie that will become the latest YouTube sensation, or just trying to make a slideshow of your family get-together, iLife has you covered. But you can do a lot more than that. iWeb makes creating and publishing stylish, easy-to-use web pages a cinch. iDVD lets you publish that masterpiece movie to discs for your friends complete with custom menus, titles, and chapters. And Garageband provides you the recording tools to create or record your latest musical endeavors. Whatever creative project you've got a bent for, iLife has a program for.

But that's just the beginning

Like with almost any computer, you're going to want to expand the number of programs you've got on your computer. Now, Macs have a reputation of not being able to run most software, but that's a reputation that's no longer deserved. With Boot Camp, you can buy and install a copy of Windows to your computer on a separate hard drive partition, to natively run any Windows programs. And as far as industry standards like Microsoft Office and Photoshop, you can easily snag a Mac version. Or, in the case of Office, you can use Apple's own iWork '09 software to read and write PowerPoint, Word, and Excel files that are fully compatible with Windows machines. But those won't be all you want. There are many more programs that come in both Mac and Windows versions than most people think, including games. Here's a tip: unless there's an Apple store or an Apple specialist near you, your best luck in getting all the great programs you want is online. And while you're there, you can download a lot of great applications, many of which are available for free like Mozilla Firefox web browser, Adium universal instant messaging service, or VLC media player. And downloading and installing those programs is effortless without tons of anti-virus software, pop-up warnings, and permissions needed to keep Windows computers safe.