I am a proud owner of one of the first MacBook Pro 17-inch machines that made their debut two years ago — yes, I have a dreaded “A Revision” box — but that machine still sits next to me today and it has served me well through the writing of five books and it has never given me a moment of discontent… except for a bulging battery… but I never lost use of the machine in the battery swap with Apple.

Today, I am the prouder owner of what will likely be the last revision of the current MacBook Pro line before all the new Apple machines begin to look and feel like the MacBook Air. I couldn’t be happier with my new “old style” MacBook Pro.


I also have an original MacBook in white and my main machine over the last year has been a MacBook Pro 15-inch with an LCD screen. I bought a new MacBook Pro 17-incher because I missed the giant screen landscape of my original 17-inch machine.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pros now have the LCD screens that my 15-inch MacBook Pro has had for a year — and getting so much more screen real estate in which to work was worth the price of buying a new machine as you can see below.

First is my 17-inch LCD desktop with the Finder open and FireFox 3.0 showing a web page.  I’m running a screen resolution of 1920×1200.  Next, take a look at my MacBook Pro 15-inch LCD screen running at 1440×900 with the same Finder open and FireFox 3.0 displaying the same web page. The difference between how much more you can fit on the screen with the 17-inch MacBook Pro is astonishing!


I also missed the extra USB port in the move from my original 17-inch MacBook Pro down to my 15-inch MacBook Pro — but the brighter LCD screen on the 15-incher made that move necessary for the propagation of long and tiring work days.

The “ExpressCard/34” slot on the left side of both machines is right where my new 3G Option Ultra Express modem plugs in to provide internet access.  That 3G modem works fine with all three of my MacBook Pros.

Both MacBook Pros have a great, lithe, profile. 

The LCD screen makes the “lid” much lighter to carry and tremendously brighter to use. 


It’s relief for my eyes to have a 17-inch LCD screen.  The larger overall size of the MacBook Pro 17-incher makes my 18-hour workdays much more tolerable and delightful.  It is really impossible to have a “too fast” machine or “too much” display to look at — and once you get an LCD screen — you’ll never go back to the dark days of murky fonts and fuzzy backgrounds.

18 Comments

  1. The new computer is nice. Easy to read, too, even though it has a bigger screen.

  2. Hi Janna!
    Yes, the new computer with the higher resolution is actually EASIER to read and work on than the 15-inch version. Strange, eh? You’d think more screen size would mean smaller everything but it doesn’t feel that way in real life.

  3. So tempting, David. The difference in screen resolution is tantalizing. Oh, the choices. How much did this new computer cost you?

  4. You’ll love the 17-inch LCD MBP, Anne. It’s so much easier on the eyes and you get to drink in much more room.
    I bought my box through the Apple Developer program so what I paid isn’t what you’ll pay. If you add in AppleCare it will likely cost you around $3,000USD or so to play with a new machine at home.

  5. That’s what I was afraid of. That’s a lot of money to drop and upgrade and I am so wanting it.

  6. You can always sell your old MBP, Anne. My fear is the next MacBook Pros we see will be entirely redesigned and unfamiliar to what we have now and that means starting allllllllll over again with “Rev. A” and all the problems that come along with it. Right now, the MPB 17 LCD is the top-of-the line Apple laptop and it is a mature machine will all the kinks worked out. That matters.

  7. Right, that, but I’m not selling anything. I’m much too much attached. You made a point about buying a new machine at the end of its life cycle. It will probably last longer than the first couple of things that replace it then.

  8. I understand, Anne. I don’t like to sell my machines, either. They never lose their usefulness unless they are broken. There’s no rush to buy now. Think on it a bit.

  9. Wowsers. If the future of macbooks is air or nothing, I am fearful. I have seen pictures of people who have managed to cut themselves. Granted, they may have been just daft but then again, I have also seen people cutting bread with the air. Your new computer looks fantastic! 🙂

  10. Gordon!
    I think all the MacBooks and MacBook Pros will begin to look like the MacBook Air in the svelte design and changed keyboard and fewer ports. People say the MPB-17 is like a desktop on your lap — and it is! — but I don’t think that’s what Apple wants us to have: “No wires computing” across the laptop line. They want us to buy an iMac or a Mac Pro if we want tethered, immobile, horsepower.
    It will be interesting to see if the rumors of a “Mac Tablet” to replace the old Newton will come true in the Fall.

  12. Did you have a Newton, Gordon? I loved mine. It worked as advertised. IT never gave me an instant of trouble. It was so good.

  13. I am a thinner and smaller screen person but the 17″ looks awesome!
    “Mac Tablet sounds interesting!

  14. Katha!
    Yes, I am a “smaller and thinner” is better — but the MacBook Air did not buy me even though I was tempted by it slimmness and I was fully intending to buy it in January.
    Having all this screen in front of me is a hard notion to ever give up again to “go smaller.”
    I agree a MacBook Tablet would be a curious creature. It would have to be bigger than an iPhone but smaller than a MacBook air. Is a 10-inch screen too big and cumbersome or is that not big enough?

  15. Hi David!
    The mbp looks great! i find the 13″ macbook is just right for my purpose. and yes, the mactablet is definitely something to look forward to!

  16. I’m glad your MacBook is serving you well, Dananjay! Just don’t go near the new high-res LCD 17-inch MPBs — or you’ll be sorry! SMILE!

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