Update time.

Today was Orientation. Most of it was boring, basic, and things I already knew.
You know, except the part where I got my laptop.

Macbook Pro:
15" screen
Unibody design (lighter, stronger, etc.)
Intel Core2Duo 2.8GHz dual core
4 GB RAM
500GB Hardvdrive
9400M Integrated GPU (longer battery life)
9600M GT Discrete GPU (better performance/quality)


I am truly impressed with some of the features. For one, the keyboard has a back-light. Two, the trackpad, oh boy... the entire trackpad is the button and multi-touch is supported... It is the most comfortable way, I believe, to surf the internet or just overall using the computer. Tapping acts as a left click, two finger tap is a right click, two finger drag acts as a scroll, 3 finger swipe left/right acts as a backwards/forwards, and 4 finger swipe up/down/left/right act as a Show Desktop/Show all Windows/Program Switching. It makes using the computer a lot more focused on using the trackpad, making it a much more relaxed experience overall, since I can relax on the couch and surf the web using only one hand, and it just feels fluid overall.

Another thing I find interesting is how the graphics processing is handled since two GPUs are available for use; the integrated GPU is great for on the go (surfing the web, checking files, typing, etc) and uses less battery power, while the discrete GPU is supposed to work much faster, and of course allows more quality, for more powerful graphic processing (photoshop, gaming, etc).



Unfortunately, the software pickup was delayed for today, until tomorrow. Fortunately, that is due to the fact that everyone is receiving Snow Leopard (an upgrade for Mac OSX), which is coming out tomorrow. Snow Leopard is 64 bit, meaning that it can take advantage of all the bonuses of the 64 bit architectures. It has also been heavily optimized and reduced in size; native programs will be slimmer on the hard drive, and everything runs faster (even shutting down the machine has been sped up!).

So currently I am downloading all the software updates to the native programs that come with the laptop, and tomorrow I will go back to the campus to pick up a few software packages.

As a web design student, a course that has a bunch of mixed media (need graphics to make the site attractive, video abilities to include instructional videos or intros to the website, etc etc), we receive all the programs other programs receive, excluding a CAD suite (3D modeling, it's given to film students to help achieve proper lighting). I'll receive:

(1) Adobe Master Suite (includes almost every current product of Adobe, like Photoshop CS4, Dreamweaver, Coldfusion... all useful stuff for the field I'm in, and a lot more where that came from.
(2) Final Cut Studio Pro 4 (a great recording/editting media suite, that includes tools to record, make, edit, optimize, etc music and videos)
(3) iLife/iWork, which is all your daily essentials (from iTunes to a powerpoint style program, etc)
(4) And here's the kicker: Microsoft Office. Lol.



I don't have much of a reliable connection for downloads at the moment since I'm just kind of leeching off of local Wireless connections, but I will attempt to download and install TF2 and CoD4 through steam (by using a crossover program that lets you run Windows programs on Apple) to see how well it really handles gaming. From youtube videos I've seen, even some of the slightly older models run CoD4 on high graphics and maintain a steady FPS for a laptop.

This thing is just a beast; out of the box it actually both runs better and is much more mobile than my home machine. Being a long time Windows user (with some previous experience with mac, but not owning a system of my own), I found the switch relatively easy and actually very much desirable.

I will likely be trying to get a Windows OS permanently installed on my computer so that I can run Mac OSX for my basic use, and use Windows only for gaming or Windows exclusive programs.




As for classes, I start Monday the 31st. The schedule is mostly erratic throughout the weekdays; There are 4 hour lectures and 4 hour labs, a lot of the time the labs are scheduled right after the lectures, and most of the time the classes start at either 1 5 or 9 am/pm (Yes, classes will sometimes start at 1 am, it's going to be very sporadic and crazy, but it's worth it). Weekends are open, so if I don't have projects to work on I will likely be playing.

First things first, though, I have to get a Windows OS installed on bootcamp, and download/install my games on it. Until then, it seems I will be restricted to Steam games, and even then only for 30 days (the program that lets me run steam is a pay-for-use service, and I'm using it as a trial to get me by and let me feel the speed and power of the machine.






I'll also update this thread once I have had an adequate amount of time gaming to evaluate my opinion of how Mac's can handle gaming, as honest as I can, because it's hard to find an unbiased opinion.