Now while the Macbook truly isn't a gamers' machine (I own the Nov. 2006 revision model with 64MB of integrated graphics memory), to my big surprise it does have more graphics power than I have ever imagined. Some of my regular readers might know that I have recently purchased the Samsung 2032bw monitor, which is a 20inch widescreen monitor with a resolution of 1680*1050 pixels (it rocks by the way:)
Two of my most favorite games ever are Unreal Tournament 2004 and Warcraft Frozen Throne and I had my doubts whether it would be possible to play both games on the new monitor in decent quality. To my huge surprise they both run very smoothly with medium video settings. What surprised me the most however was how smoothly I am able to play UT 2004. So before you reject the Macbook I'd say try one out. If you are like me and play older games and don't really like the new ones the Macbook just might be enough for the occasional round of death match or a Warcraft battle with your friends.
MB-switcher
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Macbook and Gaming = Mission Impossible?
Review: MacCase Sleeve for the Macbook
Intro
Official homepage of MacCase
Deutscher Testbericht
Here is yet another review about a Macbook sleeve after the Tucano Second Skin, Raedan case and the fabrixcase case reviews. I hope that by providing as many reviews as possible about Macbook cases and sleeves, people (switchers) will be able to choose the one that suits their needs the best.
Material
The material of the MacCase sleeve is very good. The outside is made of a polyester, nylon type of material and seems very tough. It's basically the same material that is used for many backpacks. The inside is very soft and there should be no reason why a new Macbook should get scratched up. I have to give the highest grades concerning the materials used.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing is very good. I really think that this is one of the best manufactured sleeves that I have seen so far. I also like how the MacCase logo is embroidered on the sleeve. It really looks cool.
Padding
As far as the padding is concerned you can safely say that this sleeve is meant for scratch protection only. The sleeve itself is so thin that you shouldn't expect a whole lot of shock protection of this case. If you look at the pictures you can see the cutout for the Apple logo which is only protected by a transparent foil. On the back there is another cutout that is only covered by a mesh material that does offer only minimal shock protection.
Design
The design of the case is pretty unique. As mentioned above already it has a little cutout part to show off the Apple logo of your Macbook and another little cutout on the back which is covered by mesh. Supposedly, this cutout is for the Macbook to cool down while in the case. I thought the idea was really neat since one usually puts the Macbook in a sleeve after usage and then the Macbook gets pretty hot. Another neat aspect I want to point out is the following: unlike most of the other sleeves and cases this one you use vertically. This allows the case to be in the backpack and you can easily put your Macbook in the sleeve. Overall, I really like the design of this sleeve. Since it is kept very thin (padding-wise) it doesn't add bulk to your Macbook and is perfect for people who do not have large backpacks or bags.
My personal thoughts
I really like this case for its thinness and choice of material. It looks good, can take a beating and is very sleek. However, what I personally do not like too much is the cutout for the Apple logo. I am not a fanboy who needs to show off the Apple logo every time I take my Macbook on the road. I realize that this is personal preference and for some people this might be a plus point for the sleeve. I just thought I'd point it out though. The fit of this sleeve is perfect and other than the logo cutout I didn't have any complains about this sleeve. As a last note please keep in mind that this sleeve offers only minimal to almost no shock protection because of its thinness.
Last note
The people at MacCase were kind enough to send me the backpack also so please look out for the backpack review that I will publish soon.
MB-switcher
Saturday, January 5, 2008
My new Samsung 2032bw monitor
So today I bought myself a new monitor: the Samsung 2032bw. It is a 20 inch wide screen TFT monitor and I really like the design and the quality of the display. I haven't played around too much since I just finished hooking it up to my Macbook.
You can expect a more detailed review by me in a couple of weeks after I have played around and set up everything the way I want.
MB-switcher
Friday, January 4, 2008
Things - public preview available
I am not so sure if you remember my post about Things a while back but today Things is available to the public. It is still a preview version but I have been using this app for a while now and had no problems up till now. I really like the simplicity of this app and if you are on the search for a simple good GTD app this might be it.
Official homepage of Things
MB-switcher
Thursday, January 3, 2008
avast! mac edition updated
Today, the avast! antivirus mac edition got updated.
I haven't even known that the avast! mac edition demo was out already so it really kind of surprised me when I found out today. I haven't tested it out yet but it is available as a demo version here at macupdate if anyone is interested.
I wonder if anyone has tried out the mac edition yet. I have used avast for a while when I was still a PC user and quite liked it so I probably will try it out soon. Anyone who has tried it: some comments about the software are more than welcome.
MB-switcher
Apple's new sub notebook...real or fake?
Today I have found a supposedly leaked photograph of the much rumored new sub notebook that Apple is about to release at Macworld (Link to story). I myself am not so sure if this is real but if it is and the large trackpad has some multi touch feature à la iPhone or iPod touch it'd be kinda cool. What do you think? Real or fake? Comments are very welcome.
MB-switcher
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Shiira gets an update
Shiira, an alternative browser for Mac users has been updated. Shiira is a webkit based browser and I personally really like the browser. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in a long while and I almost got scared that the project was dead. However, there is good news: there has been a minor update yesterday.
Hopefully, the browser will get more stable so that I can use it as my primary browser.
MB-switcher
