Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required

By Adam Pash (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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Two weeks ago I detailed how to build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, start to finish, with a little Terminal work. If you're not comfortable with command-line hacking, you can now install Snow Leopard on your Hackintosh with just a few point-and-clicks.

So what's changed between my last guide and this one? In short, one of the incredibly helpful and generous people who helped walk me through the installation process last time was kind enough to wrap all the tedious Terminal work into one dead simple installer. Where two weeks ago I showed you how to prepare your thumb drive (and after that, hard drive) with a custom bootloader that allows you to boot into OS X on regular old PC hardware, now all you have to do is run a package, point it at the drive you want to prepare, and then let it take care of all the nitty gritty. It could not be more simple.

Now onto the revised process!

NOTE: Just like the last post, this guide is focused specifically on the hardware I suggested in the previous guide—specifically the motherboard. If you try following this guide on other hardware, there's a very good chance it won't work as advertised.

What You'll Need

• Supported hardware. I laid out my list of supported hardware in my previous post here. It's not the only hardware that will work with OS X, but it's the only hardware that's guaranteed to work with this guide.
• A USB thumb drive that's at least 8GB in size (I'm using this 16GB Corsair drive, but obviously any sufficiently sized thumb drive should do just fine.)
• A copy of the Snow Leopard Install DVD. You can use the $29 "Upgrade" disc to install, even though this is a fresh installation. Note: If you feel like being completely honest, go ahead and buy the Mac Box Set-though, honestly, Apple's practically made it hard *not* to buy the fully functional install disc.
• Another Mac to prepare your thumb drive. (You'll only need this other Mac for a few steps. I used my MacBook Pro, but you could also borrow a friend's for an hour or so, too.)
• The EP45UD3P Snow Leopard install package. This package allows you to skip all the command line work in my last guide, and you can download it here.

Step One: Prepare Your Thumb Drive

In this step, you're going to format your thumb drive and then restore the Snow Leopard DVD image to the thumb drive because later we'll be installing Snow Leopard to your hard drive using this thumb drive rather than the DVD. "Why?" you ask. Because in order to boot the installer, we need to customize the disk image with some special helper files of our own.

I went into great detail on this process last time, so this time I'm just going to include the step-by-step video below (made by the same generous man who created the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard installer package). If you want to read the very detailed version for a thorough explanation of how to rip the Snow Leopard install DVD to a disk image and then restore that image to your thumb drive, go here. (Come back when you get to the "Semi-heavy Terminal work" warning. That's when you're ready for the new and improved easy part.)

Note: Watch the video in HD and fullscreen to get a closer look at everything that's happening.

As you can see in the video, after you restore the Snow Leopard install DVD to your thumb drive, all you've got to do is fire up the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard.pkg file (if you haven't already downloaded and unzipped it, you can grab it here), select your thumb drive, and, let the installer take care of all the dirty work that you previously had to do one line at a time in Terminal.

Once you've finished there, you're ready to set your BIOS and install Snow Leopard.

Step 2: Set Your BIOS

Before you can boot into or install OS X on your Hackintosh, you've got to make some small adjustments to your system BIOS (press Delete at system startup to tweak your BIOS settings). Rather than taking you step by step through every change you need to make, I've simply snapped a picture of the relevant BIOS screens and added some notes. Just click through these images and make sure your BIOS settings match up.

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Step 3: Install Snow Leopard

If you've made it this far, the hard part is over. Now it's time to install Snow Leopard, which—unlike what we've done so far—is extremely easy.

Make sure you've set the boot priority in your BIOS to boot from your thumb drive (you can see how in this pic), then simply plug your prepared thumb drive into your Hackintosh and power it up. Since screenshots aren't really an option—and since it's a fairly easy process—my install instructions come in video format:

The quick version goes like this: Boot into the Snow Leopard installer, format the hard drive you want to install Snow Leopard to (go to Utilities -> Disk Utility, then click on the drive, select 1 Partition, Mac OS X Journaled (Case-Sensitive Update: Several readers have suggested that case-sensitive formatting can cause problems with some applications, like Adobe's Creative Suite, so you may be better off sticking with plain old Mac OS X Journaled.), give it a name, and make sure GUID Partition Table is set in the Options. After you Apply the new partition, go back to the installer and install like normal to that drive. When you reboot after the install completes, press the arrow keys at the graphical boot menu and select the drive you just installed Snow Leopard to.

Two Last Tweaks

You could just stop there and be pretty happy at your new Hackintosh, but there are two little, easily performed tweaks you'll want to tackle to get everything in tip top shape: The first will get your sound fully working, and the second will allow you to boot into Snow Leopard without your thumb drive.

Tweak One: Snow Leopard should be up and running on your Hackintosh like a dream—with one exception: Sound isn't entirely working yet. You may notice that sound actually does work in some instances, but not all. In the old guide, you needed to install a custom audio kext (your Mac's equivalent to a driver); the setup has been slightly tweaked in this new method, so all you should actually need to do is open up the Sound preference pane in System Preferences (/Applications/System Preferences), click the Output tab, and change the output device to Built-in Line output (I haven't tested with digital out, but it should work fine in theory).

Tweak Two: At this point, in order to boot to your newly installed Snow Leopard installation, you need to have your thumb drive plugged in so it loads the custom bootloader, from which you can select your new Snow Leopard hard drive. To install the custom bootloader to your hard drive (so you no longer need the thumb drive to boot), again download the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard.pkg zip file and run it, but this time, instead of choosing to install the package to your thumb drive, select the hard drive you've installed Snow Leopard to. Once the installer completes, you'll no longer need your thumb drive plugged in to boot into Snow Leopard.

Congratulations! You've Got a Fully Functional Hackintosh—the Easy Way

Where the method I covered previously required a good amount of time and care in Terminal, this new and improved method is a breeze, and it works even better. (Sound works out of the box without any custom kexts, for example.)

It's also worth noting that you can go ahead and upgrade to OS X 10.6.1 without any problems.

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If you've given the Hackintosh route a try since my first post, let's hear how it's been working out for you in the comments. If this extra ease-of-installation was just what the doctor ordered, go grab the parts listed in the last post and get ready for a fun weekend.

Adam Pash is the editor of Lifehacker; he loves a good hack, enjoys his Macintosh, and craves the power of a Mac Pro, so building a Hack Pro was a perfect fit. His special feature Hack Attack appears on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hack Attack RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

Clean Up and Revive Your Bloated, Sluggish Mac

By Gina Trapanito draft, Slurp)

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A few years back you dropped significant cash to switch over from the virus-laden world of Windows to a shiny new Mac, but over time it's gotten slow and crufty. Let's clean it up.

Before you get started uninstalling this and deleting that, do yourself a favor: hook up an external drive to your Mac and back everything up with Time Machine or any other free alternative. The last thing you want is for your "clean up" to turn into "holy crap where did all my Documents go."

Ready? Let's get started. (PC user? You want this article.)

Find the CPU and Memory Hogs in the Activity Monitor

First things first. If your Mac is acting like a petulant three-year-old, dragging its feet, crossing its arms, and refusing to do what you ask in any reasonable amount of time, it's time to fire up the Activity Monitor (in Applications > Utilities). Here you'll see a list of running applications and processes. Sort the columns shown in the screenshot to find out what apps are hogging the most CPU time (Firefox, in this case), what apps are for Intel or PowerPC (it's a good idea to use Intel-only apps on Intel Macs), and what apps are running at all. If there are processes running for software you don't need, note them down. Also, if an app is a runaway CPU and memory hog, quit it and restart for immediate relief.

Clean Up Your Startup

Whether or not the Activity Monitor is showing processes you don't recognize, it's a good idea to audit what programs start up automatically when you log onto your Mac. In System Preferences, Accounts (I know, unintuitive placement), click on the Login Items tab. From there, make sure each and every app listed is something you need and use. If it isn't? Just select it and click the minus (-) sign. (Rule of thumb: Generally you want to keep things called "SomethingHelper" where Something is an app you use, like iTunes or Growl, as shown.)

Uninstall Unneeded Apps (and Related Files)

Just like your Login Items, you want to cruise through your Applications folder and trash anything you don't need or use any more. To be clear, this won't speed up your Mac, but it will reclaim hard drive space.

Before you get to dragging and dropping unneeded applications to the trash, though, it's a good idea to install a, well, uninstaller program. Strangely Apple still hasn't shipped a proper uninstaller with Mac OS X, but a few free and pay-for apps will clear out related files when you send an application to the Trash. While the irony of having to install something in order to uninstall something isn't lost on us, keep in mind: your Mac will be fine if an extra plist file gets left behind by an app you once used.

But, in case you're a neat freak, you want to check out the likes of AppTrap (free, our review), AppDelete (used to be free, now requires a minimum payment of $5 after a few uses, our review), or AppZapper ($13, our review).

Personally I prefer Hazel, which will set you back $22 for a license—however, in addition to clearing away application files on uninstall, Hazel can make your Mac self-cleaning, too, which makes it worth the cost.

Do Some Maintenance

Now it's time to make sure your disks are in tip-top shape, and luckily, you can do this without any extra software. Simply run Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities) to verify and repair disk permissions (which determine what apps can do what with what files on your Mac) and verify and repair the disk itself. These operations take some time, and you can't do them while other applications are running, so set 'em in motion before you head out to lunch or to grab coffee.

To run some more hardcore and detailed maintenance tasks, download the free OnyX (our review). While OnyX does lots of fun Mac customization (see the Parameters tab for that stuff), you want the Maintenance and Cleaning tabs. There you can do things like manually run your Mac's daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance scripts (which don't on their own if you shut down your Mac at night), and clear out log files and system caches. You can also fix system application-specific issues, by rebuilding Spotlight's or Mail's index, if those apps are acting particularly wonky.

Reclaim Hard Drive Space

While you're on a cleaning spree, figure out exactly what's taking up all that space on your Mac with a visual tool that maps what's what. Disk Inventory X (free, our review), is your best bet in this area: it creates what's called a "tree map" of your hard drive usage that will unearth things like 10 gigabytes of video files you just don't need any more.

To get down to the unneeded-megabyte level, Macworld has some detailed advice for where to find redundant system files and Dashboard widgets. You can also reclaim space taken up by unneeded language files using the free Monolingual (our review).

Care for and Troubleshoot Your Battery and Memory

If you've got a Mac notebook and you're having trouble with your battery, a few troubleshooting techniques might help. First, to get the longest life out of your battery, calibrate it to make sure your life-o-meter is giving you the right readings.

If your Mac's battery is cutting out before issuing the "You're running out of power" warning, you want to reset the SMC or PMU, which cleared up that very problem on my MacBook.

Finally, some problems can be resolved by resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM—but this is generally a last-resort just-short-of-the-Genius-Bar troubleshooting technique for that inexplicable problem your Mac's having.

Beef Up Your Memory and Get the Latest System Updates

This should go without saying, but the more memory your Mac has, the snappier it will be. If you're thinking about an upgrade and you've got a MacBook, check out Adam's guide to adding RAM to your Mac.

Also, it's generally a good idea to stay up-to-date with OS X patches and versions—and normally Software Update runs on its own and does just that. (Note: Yesterday the 10.5.7 update came out, and while I had no problems with it, Gizmodo reports that some people are having issues. As always, back up your stuff continuously to avoid disaster.)

Got any tales of victory or defeat when it comes to cleaning up and speeding up your Mac? Tell 'em in the comments.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, has a MacBook Pro that's a bit snappier today than it was yesterday. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

Review: Apple's Mac Mini offers versatility, better graphics

The new improved Mini starts at $599, but you can push the price past $1,000 if you're not careful

Ken Mingis

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March 27, 2009 (Computerworld) In the four years since the Mac Mini was introduced, the versatile little box has been updated four times, with the latest permutation finally showing up this month.

I say "finally" because the Mini -- Apple Inc.'s lone foray into the low end of the computer market -- has gained something of a cult status among its fans, and they were rather annoyed that their favorite Apple computer had been neglected since August 2007. In fact, a lot of them had given up on ever seeing a new Mini, assuming the diminutive machine had been left for dead.

Certainly, when I bought a Mini last August, I figured it was a mere matter of days before Apple either pulled the plug on the device or morphed it into something different. I was wrong on both counts. Apple didn't kill off the Mini; it simply waited another seven months before rolling out the latest version -- along with an updated line of iMacs and refreshed Mac Pros.

Since its debut in 2005, owners have found all kinds of uses for the little Mini, sticking it in cars for mobile computing of a different sort or hooking it up to their TVs as an inexpensive media center. Some have even used it as a computer.

Count me among those with a Mini hooked up to a high-definition television, where it dutifully serves as sort of a glorified Apple TV. Not only can I use it to surf the Web, but I can also watch videos, catch TV shows downloaded through iTunes and do big-screen video chats with iChat (and my own iSight Web cam). Versatile indeed.

More firepower, same shape

With the latest updates, Apple has added some solid firepower under the hood, while leaving the Mini's basic nature intact. The price still starts at $599 -- there's a $799 model, too -- but it now boasts better graphics, faster DDR3 RAM, a SuperDrive that's now standard in the lesser model, 802.11n Wi-Fi, five USB ports, a FireWire 800 port and a MiniDisplay Port. The stock processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo running at an even 2 GHz, though you can opt for a marginally faster 2.26-GHz chip if you want to spend another $150. (My advice: don't worry about the faster processor. The Mini isn't really about speed. It's about price and convenience and, as I said earlier, versatility.)

The new Mac Mini still looks the same, but it offers updated hardware.

In other words, Apple has modernized the Mini so that it's on par with the rest of the lineup. The question is: Are these changes worth the price you'll pay?

Short answer: Maybe. It really depends on how you outfit the Mini and what you plan to do with it.

I'm not going to focus on performance here, as that's not the Mini's strong suit. It's fast enough for most tasks, and the addition of the Nvidia 9400M integrated graphics processor should be a boon -- especially once Apple delivers on Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard." That's because the next version of Apple's operating system, due out this summer, can offload some of the tasks normally performed by the CPU to the GPU. It's the same Nvidia chip that's offered in the MacBook and MacBook Air line and did a fine job displaying 30 Rock (bought through iTunes) in high-definition on the 1,920-by-1,200-pixel screen.

Expect the Mini to be marginally faster than the previous iteration, more so with tasks that hit the graphics processor. Apple cites overall performance that's five times better than the 2007 model, and the company notes that the Mini will now support one of its 30-in. displays. (It certainly did just fine powering the 24-in. LED display that Apple sent over with the review unit I've been using for the past couple of weeks.)

The Mini is about price, value

Given the Mini's place in Apple's hardware lineup, I'm focusing on price and value. It is, after all, the cheapest Mac available.

Given the economic downturn, every dollar counts, and it would have been nice if Apple acknowledged that with a price drop. But Apple's M.O. is to deliver more in hardware and keep its pricing intact -- and that's exactly what it did this time around. In fact, if price is the main consideration, the entry-level model offers a nice advance over the previous model in what you get for your money -- with one caveat. The $599 model comes with a paltry 1GB of RAM.

In this day and age when RAM is cheap, 2GB makes more sense. Sure, Mac OS X will run on 1GB of RAM, but you're selling the hardware short if you go cheap on memory. Spend the extra $50 Apple charges for 2GB. Of course, if you're handy with a putty knife and want to pry off the Mac Mini's case and add the RAM yourself, you can. You might save a few dollars, and maybe you can do the job without scratching your brand-new computer or breaking off one of the pins that keeps it together.

But really, who wants a scratched and dented Mac?

Your other alternative is to bring the price up to $649 for a built-to-order 2GB Mini. This one already has a dual-layer SuperDrive, so it can read and burn both CDs and DVDs. And by going with 2GB of RAM, you allow the Nvidia chip to use up to 256MB of video RAM. (It only takes half that amount if your Mini has 1GB.)

The new Mini (top) has 5 USB ports, a new MiniDisplay port and FireWire 800. It's sitting on top of the last-generation model.

Next, you're going to have to figure out if 120GB is enough to hold your music collection and video library. If so, you're ready to buy. But wait! Given the just-announced ability to rent or buy hi-def movies through iTunes, that 120GB isn't going to last long if you're planning to go the Mini-as-Apple TV route.

So add another $100 for a 250GB drive, and you're looking at $749 for your new "entry-level" Mini. That's just a hop, skip and a jump from the $799 model, which boasts a 320GB drive and comes with 2GB of RAM standard. (All three drives are 5,400-rpm models, so don't expect to be burning any barns.)

The moral of the story? If you need extra storage space, forget about the $599 model. Your best buy is the $799 version -- assuming your wallet will allow it.

Watch the options

Now let's look at the cost equation from the other end. Start with the $799 model, opt for the 2.26-GHz processor and double the RAM to 4GB. You've just blown past the $1,000 mark -- $1,049, to be exact -- and you're pushing awfully close to the bottom of iMac territory.

No doubt that's exactly the plan on Apple's part. Because for $1,199, the entry-level price for the newly revised iMac line, you get a solid all-in-one computer/screen combo.

In other words, if there's still any money left in that wallet, you might want to stretch for the iMac.

When looking at the cost equation, it's best to think of the Mini as the anti-iMac. The iMac is a stylish all-in-one Mac. Everything you need is in the box. The Mini is a stylish, headless Mac. No screen. No keyboard. No mouse. To get the best value out of it, you're going to want to have at least a monitor already in hand.

I'll make it simple: If you buy a $799 Mini like the one Apple offered for this review and buy the cheapest Apple display -- it's not really cheap at $899 -- you'll spend $1,698. That's more than enough to buy a 24-in. iMac with money left over.

That said, you can certainly find a much cheaper display somewhere other than Apple -- just make sure it's a DVI monitor so you don't have to buy an adapter. (The Mini comes with an included MiniDisplay-to-DVI adapter in the box.) But even the cheapest monitor will push the bottom-line price toward $1,000 if the $799 Mini is your starting point, and that takes us right back to whether an iMac is a better buy if you can afford it. (It likely is.)

Or if you see the Mini as a media center, why not do what I did: get a cable that connects the Mini to your TV and use that as your monitor. Paired with a wireless keyboard and mouse, it makes quite the spiffy combo.

Final thoughts

In short, the new Mini packs a moderate processing punch, much-improved graphic response, runs quiet as a mouse, offers plenty of ports for peripherals and still makes sense economically -- as long as you're judicious about which model you buy and which options you spring for. Just make sure you get 2GB of RAM if you're buying the $599 model, and if you need more room to grow, cough up the necessary money for the $799 version. Given Apple's decision to make high-definition movies available via iTunes, that's the model I'd get if I were buying from scratch.

Best Mac prices: 10 refurbs for under a grand

And, a half dozen of those are priced to sell for less than $900. This special deals line up includes a pair of 20-inch iMacs, a hard to find BlackBook and the ever popular $999 MacBook Air.

And, at the very bottom of this write up don’t miss Apple’s last-gen Mac minis—these are clearance units so they’re brand new and never used.

Take your refund and re-invest it in your most valuable asset—you—by putting a new, more powerful Mac on your desk.

• iMac 20-inch 2.0GHz, $799 (1099)
— 1GB, 250GB, 8x SuperDrive, 2400 XT w/ 128MB

• MacBook 2.0GHz, $799 (999)
— 1GB, 80GB, Combo drive
— White

• MacBook 2.1GHz, $849 (949)
— 1GB, 120GB, Combo drive
— White

• MacBook 2.1GHz, $849 (949)
— 1GB, 120GB, 8x SuperDrive
— White

• iMac 20-inch 2.4GHz, $849 (999)
— 1GB, 250GB, 8x SuperDrive, 2400 XT w/ 128MB

• MacBook 2.2GHz, $899 (1149)
— 1GB, 120GB, 8x SuperDrive
— White

• MacBook 2.4GHz, $949 (1149)
— 2GB, 160GB, 8x SuperDrive
— White

• iMac 20-inch 2.66GHz, $999 (1199)
— 2GB, 320GB, 8x SuperDrive, 2600 PRO w/ 256MB

• MacBook Air 1.6GHz, $999 (1399)
— 2GB, 80GB hard disc drive

• MacBook 2.2GHz, $999 (1199)
— 1GB, 160GB, 8x SuperDrive
— Black

Clearance: Last, but far from least, don’t miss closeout pricing on the last-gen Mac mini with both models in stock for likely a very, very limited time only. These are new, never used not refurbished units.

• Mac mini 1.83GHz, $499 (599)
— 1GB, 80GB, Combo drive

• Mac mini 2.0GHz, $549 (599)
— 1GB, 120GB, SuperDrive

MacBook Pro 17-inch unibody review

by Joshua Topolsky

There's not much that can be said about the 17-inch version of the MacBook Pro that hasn't already been said about the 15-incher (and to some extent, the MacBook). Still, the big, big brother of the family has a few key differences that make it stand out from the rest of the gang. The first being its non-removable battery, built out of tech which Apple claims will result in groundbreaking lengths between charges. The second difference, available only as an option, is a non-glossy display -- an addition which many have pined for since Apple's full throttle decision to move to extremely high-glare screens. Are these changes compelling enough to induce users to upgrade? Will previous 17-inch fans find a slam dunk or a dud underneath the unibody exterior? Read on for the full scoop.

Gallery: MacBook Pro 17-inch unibody unboxing and hands-on

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There's no point in going as in-depth on this model of MacBook Pro as we did on the 15-inch version. In terms of hardware, build quality, and general patchwork inside, this is the same computer (albeit somewhat more gigantic). The same unibody construction is used here, and Apple calls the laptop the "world's thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook." We won't argue -- it compares favorably to the smaller entry in the family, and besides it's obviously larger footprint, we didn't feel it was excessively heavy for a device of this size (it actually weighs 6.6 pounds, just a little over a pound heavier than the 15-inch version).

All of the other details, like the glass trackpad and new keyboards are completely intact. Actually, if you saw one of these from a distance, it might not be immediately obvious that it was the 17-incher (save for how tiny the human using it would look in comparison).

Hardware

The version we received was the fully kitted out iteration of the laptop. The base configuration (a not-super-cheap $2,799) is outfitted with a 2.66GHz CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and the switchable NVIDIA GeForce 9400M / 9600M GT GPUs. The version we have came fully loaded with a 2.93GHz CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and (yes) an anti-glare display. Needless to say, performance wasn't much of an issue -- but the final cost ($4,899) might be a little extreme for most.

In terms of day to day tasks, this computer is simply overkill. If you're working on even somewhat graphically intensive projects, you can probably get by just fine with one of the smaller models. It's not as if the GPU is more super-charged than any other system in the line. The real advantage here is the massive screen real estate, matte display, and the supposedly gargantuan battery life. The 17-inchers do seem suited to those working in the video or photography fields, and Apple clearly isn't too interested in trying to shill these to the mainstream. The company is actually touting features like a 60 percent greater color gamut in the display panel (which incidentally is the same in both the gloss and non-gloss versions).

Performance on our system was insanely fast, though. From cold boot to active desktop took roughly 30 seconds, which is blazing (at least to us). Jumping from app to app, dealing with huge images / editing, multiple tabs of CPU intensive websites, and having scores of projects open at once didn't faze the Pro. The biggest performance gains were in disk access, and obviously the SSD is a major player here, but even general UI elements seemed snappier and more responsive than on our other computers. Of course, none of that should come as a surprise, this is -- after all -- Apple's top of the line laptop.

So let's talk about that display for a moment. Our biggest gripe about the other new unibody Macs was the lack of a matte option for the screens. In our review, we noted that the glare on the new LED displays is so intense that it's actually quite distracting in anything other than a lowly lit room. Apple chose to solve the problem on the bigger versions by introducing an anti-glare option (for an additional $50, of course). Interestingly, the company prefers the term "anti-glare" to "matte," which is odd, since "anti-glare" quite obviously suggests the other option is, well... "glare."

MacBook Pro 15-inch vs. MacBook Pro 17-inch

Regardless, the new display is stunning. Not only is the thing massive in terms of resolution (going back to the 15-incher made us feel like we were working on an OLPC XO), but the color depth and contrast are stunning. Apple seems to have really honed the art of light sensing, and we found the display accurately adjusting itself to a room's light. When cranked up to full brightness, the screen beams -- it's crisp, clear, and colors pop. We're not designers, and we're not professional photographers, but as far as we can tell, this display would be pure win for folks in those lines of work.

Of course, the big question on the hearts and minds of gadget fans everywhere is: does the battery deliver on Apple's promises? First, a little background.

As you likely know, the battery in the 17-incher is the non-removable type, much like the MacBook Air... with one major difference. Phil Schiller went on and on at Macworld this year about the lengths the company went to in developing a battery which is not only built into the system, but extends life far beyond that of a typical unit. The result was a The claim from Apple is that the 40 percent larger, lithium-polymer-based bricks they came up with can provide up to eight (yes, 8) hours of use on a single full charge, and can be re-juiced 1000 times before needing to be replaced. Once you need said replacement, the packs can be swapped out by Apple for a low, low fee of $179.

So, the claim: up to eight hours with the on-board graphics, and seven hours with the discrete GPU switched on -- how did they fare?

In our tests, under normal use (image editing, heavy web surfing, blogging all over the internet, YouTube / Viddler video watching, really serious AIM sessions), the laptop nabbed an average of 4:40 on a single charge with the low-power GPU, and, surprisingly, just under four hours (about 3:50) with the discrete chip. Those numbers fall right in line with other reviews we've seen of the laptop, and our feeling was that they're fairly consistent across the board. So, we're dealing almost four hours discrepancy with what Apple claims -- but what does that mean? According to the company, they tested a 2.66GHz model with the screen at half brightness while browsing the web over WiFi and editing a text document to achieve that eight hour number. We put the system to a more average and complete test, and frankly, we're impressed with the results. The new battery bests the typical lifespan of a MacBook Pro removable by almost double. Having seen what it's capable of, we could get comfortable with Apple adding batteries of this variety into other new laptops they produce, but let's revisit this again in a year or two -- we still have no idea what the long term experience would be like with one of these. Will it live up to the promise of a 1000 charges? We have our doubts.

Still, if we had to choose a swappable scenario over this, it would be hard to choose. From experience, being able to quickly swap to a new battery is a huge benefit when you're on the move and don't have a second to recharge. On the other hand, the huge stretches of time between charges we saw on the new 17-incher are extremely encouraging, and likely long enough to make the system viable for field use.

Wrap up

Ultimately, the decision about whether to buy the bigger MacBook Pro is probably already made -- if you're a power user who needs the real estate, there's little to deter you from making this purchase. Apple has cleaned up the design in all the right ways, improved the display and guts considerably, and proved that it can milk a substantial amount of time from a non-removable battery. The cost may still be a major barrier here for most, but something tells us if you really need a computer of this size, you'll find a way to pay for it. Our actual gripe comes not in the form of problems with this particular system, but in Apple's methodology of rolling out options for their laptops. Unlike competitors such as Dell, if you want a 15-inch Apple laptop, you're stuck with one type of display (the same resolution and same obnoxious glossy finish), and your options for other components aren't much better. Apple: you've proven that you can turn in a beautiful, clear LED display without resorting to the reflective sheen of the current models -- why not extend that kindness to the rest of your users?