Ranier Brockerhoff gives an extensive analysis of the guts of the new Macbook, the changes Apple made, and why they made them (or at least, the apparent benefits of the changes they made). His conclusion? It was a choice between the Firewire 400 port and another (unpowered) USB 2.0 port, and Apple figured that more people wanted the latter. In the Macbook Pro, the 800 port was included because not only can it handle legacy peripherals through an adapter, the form factor is planned for use in the next two Firewire iterations.

One of the common complaints (especially from me) was the lack of a Target Disk Mode, making disc migration a pain. Brockerhoff brings up an interesting point: the new Macbook makes it easier for technicians to access and replace the hard drive.

Although the image that originated on this Chinese website that reveals the new MacBook design has been floating around for a while, AppleInsider now says they can confirm that it is real. They have been told by “people familiar with the ongoing development of the new 15- and 17-inch professional notebooks” that this case was more »