What are everybody's general opinions on the MacBook Pro?

A main concern is whether it's good for making use of free wireless internet.

I haven't hammered on mine much but thus far I like it. I haven't had the buzzing issues that others have but I HAVE noticed the limited WiFi range. Sadly, EVERY Apple notebook seems to suffer from that. Also, the Expresscard slot, I"m sure, will be nice to have about three generations down the road. Right now, I think it's insanity that they put it in. There's not an Expresscard on the market at current and what I want (datacards) likely won't be out for a year or more. Yes, I know bluetooth is an option. Tethering is a PITA. I have to worry about another phone, another charger, another battery to maintain. Also, show me a Cingular 3G HSDPA bluetooth phone I can buy right now. The backlit keyboard is really nice in low light situations. It also is leaps and bounds faster than the 867Mhz 12" Powerbook I have had for the past few years. I will say that it doesn't seem quite as well built as Apple notebooks that've gone before. Specifically, the trim around the mousepad feels flimsy. Apple notebooks previously have had design issues but their build quality has been impeccable. I can't comment on the battery life as I haven't had occasion to use it away from the plug.

It is Apple's fault that Cingular sucks?

Dell claims expresscards will be out this year. I agree with you about the wireless reception. Even ibooks don't have particularly impressive range, and they aren't wrapped in metal. I don't use many rosetta apps, but office doesn't feel any slower than it did on a g4 pb. x86 native apps feel really, really fast.

I got to use an newer MBP for a few days about two weeks ago.
Nice machine, cannot really tell much differance size wise between an older 15" PB.

But, the unit was very very fast indeed! Everything seem very speedy, much more so than the older PB's. I was comparing it to my new 20" intelimac, which is very speedy, everything is just snappy, apps open fast, internet was very fast, native applications were very fast indeed. Things like photoshop were not BAD, as slow as before on PB's. Photoshop was usable. MacOffice was fine, it took a few more seconds to open, but everything was fine when opened, including scrolling.

As for the wifi performance, this is an ISSUE with the macbookpros, RANGE may have been an issue in the past with PB's, I had a fine one that worked well. The CURRENT issue I believe is with a software driver for the airportexpress card that is in the unit. I would imagine that is being worked on and it will be fixed in the next software release.

I was getting about 3:00 hours, maybe 3:20 using wifi, screen at 80% and surfing, running DVDS, etc.

The final comment, is HEAT! The heat coming off the bottom is more than any other laptop that I have ever used. I could not keep the thing on my lap for more than a few minutes. It is NOT a laptop in that sense. I don't really know what is producing SO much heat, but buyer beware.

Excuse me -- I do agree the powerbooks are bad.....BUT the iBook has probably the BEST WiFi range of any laptop.

My 14" iBook always got very good range, better than any other machine I happened to be around. My 15" PPC Powerbook does okay. It's better than the titanium models anyway. Are the MacBooks better/worse/the same as the PPC powerbooks with wireless reception? Anyone know?

Ok I should say every Apple notebook worth considering *DUCKING and RUNNING*...

No, seriously, I shouldn'tve said every, as I have only had Powerbooks since the Ti series rolled out. Seems that all powerbookss ince then have had a problem.

As for Expresscard, it's not Cingular, it's Sierra Wireless, NovAtel, etc etc. While cards may be coming out this year (I'll believe it when I see it.) it's going to take YEARS to replicate the plethora of PCMCIA cards that're out. Reminds me of when we made the jump from ISA/VESA Local Bus to PCI. "Uh, what's a PCI card???"

Well, in Apples defence; they usually are the driving force behind many new technologies. When the imac was first introduced there was ONE USB printer (an Epson Stylus), the only USB keyboard/mouse were the ones Apple delivered with it. When the first iBook was introduced a WiFi card cost $699 (Lucent Wavelan), now look at the market...

Say what you want about Apple, but they do manage to push new technology a little faster...

This is getting off-topic but since you're ducking and running, let me take aim and shoot again

Powerbooks are great but they have their downside, wifi being one, hot being another, longer battery. Most people don't need all the bells and whistles provided - unless you're heavy graphics user and want to look cool w/ a titanium laptop....LOL.

Dollar for dollar, I would argue the iBooks are of better value. My son has a powerbook, I use an old 12" iBook. Mine is 3 yrs old and I'm due for an upgrade. My company pays for this and guess what - I'm waiting for upgrade of iBook rather than even considering the new MacPro.

Having said this, any apple laptop is a great buy and well worth the investment. Backlighting keys, built in iCam, etc. etc.

IMHO.

Is this really an issue?

With the intel procs, I'm afraid heat is going to be an issue with ALL of 'em. My issue was proc speed. The only reason I use macs is for sound capture, editing and processing. I bought an iBook and had it for a week before I took it back and got the TiBook 667 G4 instead. I didn't quantify the difference but the G4 sure as heck felt like it took half the time to render certain effects.

For the average user, yep, the iBook is just fine. My last G4 was the 867Mhz 12" PB. A comparison really isn't fair with the MacBook Pro as the 12" is SO old. The reduction in max memory offset the processor bump so really, all I did by moving from the TiBook to the 12" was gain portability (and ditch a two year old notebook that was starting to have 'issues'). A more valid comparsion would be the outgoing 1.5Ghz 12". All I can say is that the MacBook blows doors on the old machine. May not work for you... it's just what I need.

all I can say is check it out. I am not exagerating here, I couldn't keep it on my lap with jeans because my legs were sweating through them.

I have no problem with my IBM T43, 42, 41, X41, or a sony vaio. Go to a store, pick one up and put your hand underneath and check it out.

If you're a Mac user, it's more heat than you're used to. If you're an Intel user or do both, the Apple runs cooler than some Intels.

so, using intel based IBM T41, 42 and 43, I would put the heat that is coming off the bottom of the thinkpads at about, 15% of that coming off the bottom of the macbookpro.

This is based on the test, putting hand on IBM, and can barely say there is much heat. Putting hand on the bottom of the MBP and saying, ouch get your hand away from there!