Life with a MacBook continues. Here is part three, after about three weeks. So far, so good for the most part, because there have been a few negative issues - more about those later. First the good news or highlights:
- The battery life is great. I think I mentioned that already, but it bears repeating especially in comparison to the G4 PowerBook. It just runs and runs on a fully charged battery.
- Wireless reception is better than the PowerBook. I can now sit out on my deck and pickup the wifi signal. I had read that the plastic case of the MacBook is better for reception than the metal case of the PowerBook.
Next is the good/bad news. The Parallels software that allows me to run Microsoft Windows Vista within Mac OS X is pretty awesome. I can run Windows applications outside the Windows desktop and cut, paste and copy between Windows applications and Mac applications. Files can be dragged and dropped between the Mac and Windows desktops. I can hibernate Windows and reopen it and continue where I left off. All of the Mac hardware works inside Windows: USB, iSight, DVD, network shares and so forth. Windows can even have it's own network interface. The iSight did require a some work. I had to download Boot Camp and copy the iSight drivers over to Windows.
The bad news is that Windows is still Windows and although it is inside a virtual machine it can lock up the machine to the point where it requires a hard reboot. Also, a separate antivirus program is required for Windows, fortunately Parallels bundles Kaspersky Internet Security Suite. Also, Vista takes a lot of horsepower, so you only want to run it when you need it. The CPU fan frequently kicks in when running Vista. Parallels would not be very practical without the Dual Core processors.
The most optimal setup for Windows would be to use BootCamp so that Windows has 100% utilization of the hardware. Parallels can launch Windows from a BootCamp partition, so you can have the best of both worlds. I also have the option of giving Windows up to 3/4 of the system memory, instead I keep it at 1/2 to 1/3 of the availableRAM. I can also add a different version of Windows, say 2000 or XP which have less demanding hardware requirements.
Parallels can also create an image using an existing Windows installation on another computer using the Transpoter utility across a network. My first attempt transporting Windows XP failed, but it was on a flaky machine that had issues. I'll try again on a fresh install. I can also create a Linux image. I'll try Ubuntu when I have the time. The black themed Ubuntu Studio should look retty nice on te black MacBook.
One other negative is with the glossy screen. A window with blinds open behind you can cause a glare on the screen. However, the solution is easy - shut the blinds.
Another issue, which was more with the software than the hardware, regarded Google Desktop which had long been available for Windows was recently released for Mac. Unfortunately, it was a resource hog, consuming way more of the CPU than it should have simply to index my documents which I do not have that many of. I noticed slow behavior and the CPU meter being maxed out. This was long after the initial indexing. Disabling it did not stop it. Uninstalling it, required me going through the Google Updater instead of simply dragging the app to the Trashcan. Once I did, the CPU could rest a little.