The Plan: holding course

On Tuesday, Apple launched the latest iteration of the MacBook line. Nerds and non-nerds alike are now gawking, gushing and griping at length about the virtues and slip-ups of these pricey slabs of metal.

As mentioned back in February, and detailed further in April, the MacBooks (and Pros) have been redesigned. They are now being manufacturered with a process pioneered by the advent of the MacBook Air in which the notebook shells are carved out of a solid piece of metal. Watch the video about this engineering feat.

For the uninitiated, here's what's new and awesome in the design:

• Looks like an iMac and a MacBook Air did naughty things
• Fully metal chassis, with the primary piece carved from a solid block of aluminum, makes for a very sturdy and svelte design
• 0.95" thick
• No more palmrest cracks or lid warpings
• Magnetic 'latch', just like the one that's been on my computer for 3 years
• MacBook Air keyboard, with backlighting on 3 of the 4 models
• Massive glass touchpad-button
• Easy-to-reach hard drive
• Battery indicator on the side

Reviews are trickling in; Apple fans are laudatory and delirious, Apple not-fans are snippy and dismissive. I, for one, like what I've seen so far and what it means for my (not evil) Plan. Envelopes were pushed.

Here's the run-down of what this latest offering means for my next way-too-well researched purchase:

Distinctions Blurred
The MacBook and the MacBook Pros once looked worlds apart. One was plastic and the other was metal. One had budget basic components, the other had the best that could be crammed into something 1" thin. Now, the two look identical, save for size, a few ports and speaker holes. The same unibody build quality, and very nearly the same underlying hardware means the MacBook is essentially a MacBook Pro Jr. For those that never needed the MBP's power but would go for it because of it's superior build, you can now safely pursue a more fiscally responsible purchase. What this means for me around this time next year is that my decision will be far tougher. I wanted to go MBP, but now, if the price is right(er), I can go MB without losing anything in build quality.

nVidia 9400M chipset
Apple has done away with the Intel chipset and their woebegone integrated graphics solution and upgraded to a company that actually knows graphics. For the same power consumption, MacBooks now have approximately 5x the graphics processing power as the previous model. Of course this chipset is fledgling, only officially released by nVidia the day after Apple's notebook event and nVidia's chipset track record is far less stellar than Intel's standards-setting level of reliability. It also means Apple's notebook refreshes cannot be predicted as easily as these past 4 years. Intel's roadmap is bared for all to see 2 or 3 years in advance. They churn out updates like clock work. Every 6 months there is either a new CPU (Q1) or a new chipset (Q3), and notebook makers follow about 2 weeks behind.

So will Apple have a newly updated computer ready for me this time next year? Maybe. Their next OS is slated to ship Oct. 09. What better way to launch Snow Leopard than with refreshed notebooks?

Dedicated to Graphics
Speaking of Snow Leopard, the hardware choices made in this redesign speak to the software advances Apple hopes to make with their next OS. They are aiming to harness the processing prowess of GPUs to work in tandem with the already over-powered CPUs and rebuild their software to take advantage of the hardware by cutting off the cruft required for historical compatabilities (PowerPC). Having stronger graphics solutions in their machines allows the software to take immediate advantage.

Good enough to buy now?
The MacBook got a significant upgrade from the previous model. The build quality exceeds the plastic one in more ways than us non-engineers are aware of. Its hardware is actually comparable to the MacBook Pro now while staying several hundred dollars cheaper. The MacBook Pro on the other hand, did not gain quite as much relative to what the MacBook was given, but still maintains a very high standard of quality that would be hard to equal with another brand at this price range.

I'm scheduled to make a purchase around this time next year. I will be keeping an eye out for signs of things to come. They will likely be upgraded in March/April with the latest Intel CPUs (Nehalem) and with hardware fixes for the bugs that inevitably crop up after a few months of use. If the update after that does not hold any significant gains, I will pony up during Back to School to score an iPod out of the mix. Otherwise, I will stay the course and (finally) switch when Snow Leopard arrives.