James,

I see that you miss the old FireWire. So will, but for a different reason…TARGET DISK MODE. =D

My 17-inch MBP has a 2.33 GHz processor, 3 GB of RAM 160 GB hard drive and the ATI x1600 graphics chip w/ 256MB of video RAM.

JK – What are the specs on the your old 17″ MBP? I’m debating between a new Macbook, or the last generation 15″ MBP (2.4Ghz, 2gb ram, etc). I use an expresscard sprint modem, so the expresscard slot in the Pro appeals to me. i could always do a USB adapter, but that’s a pain

I have been using it in my lap over 2 hours tonight and it’s not even warm on the bottom.

How is the heat dissipation on the new ones?

Great product, but… no FW port, ports are too close together, it’s a bit expensive. Apple is a master at selling sizzle and coming up a bit short on the steak side, which provides momentum to the upgrade cycle. And I’m speaking as a regular Mac user and purchaser since 1993 who really likes the iPhone (but, of course, no direct Outlook Task synch and no copy-and-paste).

@Mitchell: What are touch-typers doing looking at the keys? =)

who makes the Apple trackpad drivers?

how do they compare feature wise to traditional synaptics pads (edge motion, coasting, etc)?

Rick, I’m sorry to tell you but I think you’ve made a mistake. The backlit keyboard is one of those things that you never notice until you don’t have it, then you realise just how handy it is!

James I think you need a spirit level, your desk is about to tip over

Hi James,

How is the backlit keyboard?

I purchased the $1299 model, because I didn’t feel the upgrades in the $1599 model were worth it. (250GB HD vs 160GB, 2.4GHz processor vs. 2.1GHz, backlit vs. standard keyboard). Of these items, the only thing I really wanted was a larger hard drive and the backlit keyboard – I didn’t feel these were worth an additional $300, considering that a 320GB hard drive could be picked up from NewEgg for $90.

Great first impressions! And I’m surprised at you saying how quickly you preffered its single button (or is it no button?) glass trackpad over a mouse. I am seriously looking into buying this as my first Mac, after having a good time with my Hackintosh Acer Aspire One. But I think I’ll wait until I get to read your full review, hopefully by next week.

I think that Sean and your comments about the closeness of the ports are reasonable. From the photograph, it looks like the space between the ports looks pretty similar to my original MacBook. When the MacBook was my main computer, I had a cable in every port except the audio-in. However, it not possible to plug an old-style iPod Shuffle into one of the USB port if a USB cable was in the other USB port.

James:

I got one of these today, too. The touchpad really is more impressive. I still set up the pad to single- and double-tap, though, rather than just using the click mechanism built into the pad. The tapping seems a lot more elegant than the clicking.

Backlit keyboard is cool, too.

Very annoying that they put the ports so close together.

Thats all well and good for small add ons similar in size to those tiny bluetooth adapters you see these days but think of things like 3G broadband modems etc which are still fairly thick in width. Encountered this problem with my EEE PC but expected more from a high end product like a Mac