After a month of daily use, I’ve decided to post another video giving some thoughts on my now battle hardened iPod Nano 4G. There’s a few things to like, but plenty to hate of Apple’s newest sharp looking (and feeling) pocket player. I hope you enjoy my video review and creative commentary.
Last week, I mentioned the loud click noise the trackpad made on my new late 2008 MacBook Pro. I even posted a video comparing the sound to an older, quieter model. Today, I think I may have found a solution.
On YouTube, a user commented on my video and mentioned how stuffing paper between the trackpad and battery could dampen the clicking noise. After trying this, I found that I could reduce the loudness of the click, but at the expense of stiffening the clicking mechanism; it’s actually quite difficult finding the perfect balance between click noise and click resistance.
My solution uses layered pieces of Kleenex that are sized to cover the underside of the trackpad, directly underneath the battery (no tools required). It’s something that takes a bit of trial and error, as you’ll need to put the battery and case cover back in place each time to accurately test any changes that you’ve made.
In the end, I settled with around 6 squares of Kleenex to made the click quieter than my early 2008 model MacBook Pro. The resistance to depress the click pad has been increased a tad, but it’s nothing my thumb can’t handle. So long as the paper doesn’t catch on fire (let’s hope your battery never hits 451 F), this fix has tackled one of my biggest gripes with Apple’s new unibody laptops.
In the future, I want to use some proper sound proofing material to see if I can further quiet the trackpad without increasing click resistance. I’m sure there are better materials to use other than toilette tissue, but right now, this is a very cheap and easy solution to try. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.
UPDATE: I now have a video showing the procedure.
iSight
During the inital announcement for the new 2008 MacBook Pro, and the many reviews that followed, I didn’t recall reading about any changes to the notebook’s webcam. But after testing the new iSight in various environments, it’s obvious that the camera captures better content than its predecessors. The improvements are especially noticeable during nighttime, in low-light settings.
The difference may well be software based, but regardless, the camera is now much improved at sensing and adjusting to various light levels. Gone, are most of the under and overexposed shots that would plague the old webcam. Now, when you are seated in front of a bright light or white wall, the camera auto-adjusts to show the subject and background in a much more balanced way. Using the old iSight, it was always a fuss angling the webcam so that a dark t-shirt or a nearby lamp wouldn’t wash out half the image. With the improved webcam settings, there is also less picture noise and video looks as sharp as ever. It’s nice that Apple has tweaked this useful feature.
Ambient Light Sensor
A bane of the previous generation MacBook Pros was the position of its ambient light sensors. In past models, these elements were positioned under the speaker grills and would be sensitive to hand movements, such as when reaching for keys near the top corners of the keyboard. Obscuring these sensors would trigger an immediate darkening of the screen, which can be quite annoying when not intended.
Apple has remedied this nuisance by positioning a single sensor near the top of the glass screen. In this position, it is almost impossible to accidentally set off the sensor, and the feature now works exactly as it should—automatically, without any fuss. I wish the same could be said about my iPhone’s light sensor, which appears to do nothing!
Slot Loading DVD-RW
The new disc drive works exactly as you would expect, but I’ve noticed that it’s slightly quieter than the drives in the older MacBook Pros. Upon disc insertion and ejection, it still makes a sound similar to Robocop tackling a flight of stairs, but it appears that the sturdy unibody casing does a better job of suppressing the vibrations, and perhaps the new SATA drive is a bit better behaved. This is a pretty subtle difference, but it’s yet another refinement that I’ve noticed in the late 2008 MacBook Pro.
My full review of the Macbook Pro, late 2008 model is now live. I didn’t realize how quickly 10 minutes would pass when I was busy listing the pros and cons of this new laptop, so I had to whittle away about half my original footage to meet YouTube’s video length restriction. Still, I think I managed to capture the essence of Apple’s latest flagship product and my impressions of using it. I hope you enjoy my video review!
