First experience

After setting up the operating system with the initial settings, there's still some work to do "inside" to actually get it ready for use.

First step is to perform the necessary updates. As with any other operating system, since its launching time several updates have already been issued, so it's better to update it to the latest version so as to avoid any unwanted behavior. With that taken cared of, it's now time to actually enjoy the computer.

My first impression was absolutely amazing as I ended up noticing that almost everything you need in a computer is already installed. Mac OS X already includes utilities such as PDF viewer and printer, image browsing and editing, Java VM, DVD playback and other useful stuff.

When it comes to "lifestyle" software, Apple has it all. To my surprise, my MacBook Pro included the new version of their multimedia software, iLife'08. Since I haven't had the time to actually test this, I'll leave this review to a future post.

Included with the computer, comes the Apple Remote, a remote controller that allows you to control several different Apple products such as the iPod Universal Dock.

This remote is particularly interesting in the MacBook Pro as it allows you to control some features of the laptop, such as music playback and photo slideshow navigation.

But the real potential of the Apple Remote is only visible in Front Row. Front Row is an amazing software that allows using the mac as a multimedia center with access to your photos, videos, music, DVDs and internet-based content such as movie trailers.

I already used this to show some traveling photos to my family and it's amazing how quickly it automatically creates a slideshow with music that leaves everyone amazed.

The MacBook Pro is incredibly silent. Maybe I was just used to my previous laptop which was quite noisy (with its clicking hard-disk sounds and CPU fan that sounded like a hovercraft), but this one sits here like a sleeping beauty.

But when it comes to the sound, it is actually not silent at all as the speakers provide a very good sound quality compared to other laptop speakers that I've experienced in the past.

I still haven't put this machine to a real intensive test to see if its Core 2 Duo 2,2 GHz CPU is really as fast as everyone says, but as soon as I start programming some heavy simulations for my PhD, I'm sure I'll have a saying on this.

All in all, this is an amazing laptop with excellent features which I believe is suitable for both work and leisure.