The DJ Toolbox - DJ Equipment Reviews and News

Yesterday Apple released a brand new 13-inch MacBook and a 15-inch MacBook Pro. The new MacBook comes with the same silver ‘unibody’ aluminum case as its big brother. In fact it looks identical apart from the size. It’s less than an inch thick and weighs in at four and a half pounds. So it’s small, light, and, with the new metal case, sturdier than the old MacBook. All plus points for the laptop DJ.

But power-wise, the MacBook comes with either a 2 Ghz or 2.4 Ghz processor, which is no improvement on the old version. This should still be fine to run all your DJ software though, and hopefully other enhancements to the chipset will mean that its performance has improved anyway – no doubt there will be some benchmark results available soon to test this theory.

If you use a firewire soundcard the new MacBook’s not for you as the firewire port has been removed, and is only present on the MacBook Pro.

Personally, I like the way the new MacBook looks. The illuminated keyboard (only available on the 2.4 Ghz version according to the tech spec on Apple’s site) would be a real plus in a dark booth, and the trademark minimal Apple design style is very much in evidence. I’m not sure about the gloss finish screen though – reflections can be a bit distracting.

The entry level silver MacBook costs 1,299 USD while the 2.4 Ghz version is retailing at 1,599 USD, which might be a bit steep for many, particularly given the current economic climate. But, if you can afford it and you’re a Mac user that doesn’t need firewire, I think it’s definitely worth a look.

You can get the detailed spec from Apple’s website.

If you want to read more from someone who doesn’t work for Apple, then check out Macworld’s article.