MacBook
The MacBook has been updated to more closely evoke the sleek lines and curves of the new generation of aluminum Macs, though the MacBook itself retains its recognizable white polycarbonate case. It does, however, inherit the glass trackpad and built-in battery of its big brother, the MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, Firewire ports have once again been removed from the MacBooks.
Mac Mini
The Mac Mini still looks the same, but it's received a performance upgrade in the form of 2.26, 2.53, or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors utilizing a 3MB shared L2 cache. They are also configurable with up to 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (memory). Up to 500GB of hard drive space is now available in the base models, with an optional "server" configuration that removes the optical drive and adds a second 500GB drive for a total of 1TB of storage. What's puzzling is that, even with 1TB of storage, only 5400 RPM (low-speed) drives are available.
Magic Mouse
Apple has revised their mouse once again, this time introducing a multitouch surface in addition to their traditional "the whole mouse is the button" design. Apple promises that the new Magic Mouse will be precise enough to reliably detect the differences between various gestures and eliminate some of the frustrations commonly reported with the old Mighty Mouse, but we have yet to receive ours for testing. We'll write a review once we've got them!
The Magic Mouse ships with all new Mac Desktops by default and is available in wireless (Bluetooth) format only. If you'd like a wired mouse or are unconvinced by the Magic Mouse's promises, you can still opt for (or purchase) the old Mighty Mouse under its new name, the Apple Mouse.
iMac
The iMac wins my award for "best in show" of the new updates, based on feature lists alone. The already generous display size has been bumped from 20/24" to 21.5/27" for a true 16:9 aspect ratio. The enormous 27" models also feature a Mini DisplayPort-in port, enabling the use of these computers as standalone monitors for other devices. The processors have been upgraded to 3.06 and 3.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chips, while the 27" models can be configured with the new quad-core Intel i5 chips with each core running at 2.66 or 2.8GHz.
These new iMacs finally contain 4 slots for memory, allowing for a maximum of 16GB of RAM (and more importantly, a very affordable upgrade to 8GB). The storage capacity in these iMacs has been bolstered as well; 500GB drives are standard with optional 1TB and 2TB versions.
-Christopher Silansky '05, Desktop Support Specialist
