I had a 2.0 GHz 13-inch MacBook a couple of years ago when the first Intel-based models came out and I do remember the screen resolution, while not abundant, was more than adequate for browsing, e-mail and even development. And, the unibody model is only 4.5 lbs, so 2 lbs lighter will be a lot nicer to carry around. I also sprung for a spare battery to try and help get a little closer to the awesome battery life of the 17-inch model.

Of course, the obvious question is why buy another laptop when I’ve already got a nice 15-inch MacBook Pro that work provides? The answer there is easy: I don’t want to do anything personal, even development, on the work provided machine.

Now, on to the actual system setup, documented here for posterity.

1. After account creation, run software update and get all the latest updates installed first.
2. Create an applecare account with an easy, but secure, password. This way the Apple store geeks can have that account should there need to be any repair work done.
3. Change the battery lifetime display with Show -> Time.
4. Secure the screensaver by using System Preferences -> Security -> General and checking the Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver option.
5. Disable the Front Row remote by using System Preferences -> Security -> General and checking the Disable remote control infrared receiver option.
6. Disable the Front Row keyboard shortcut by using System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard Shortcuts and disabling the Hide and show Front Row shortcut.
7. Enable full keyboard shortcuts by checking the All controls option in the bottom of the same Keyboard Shortcuts screen.
8. Enable the Use secure virtual memory option in System Preferences -> Security -> General.
9. Encrypt my home directory with System Preferences -> Security -> FileVault.
10. Install Growl 1.1.4 from http://growl.info/
    1. Install the GrowlSafari extra package.
    2. Install the HardwareGrowler extra package.
       1. Drag HardwareGrowler.app to /Applications
       2. Disable the HardwareGrowler dock icon by following the instructions at http://growl.info/documentation/hardwaregrowler.php
       3. Add HardwareGrowler to the start at login list by using System Preferences -> Accounts -> Login Items and dragging HardwareGrowler to the list.
    3. Enable Growl starting at login with System Preferences -> Growl and enabling the Start Growl at login option.
11. Remove unused printer drivers by deleting the appropriate folders in /Library/Printers folder (everything but Brother, hp and PPDs in my case).
12. Install the XcodeTools package from the Installation DVD’s Optional Installs directory.
13. Drag Xcode to the dock by going to /Developer/Applications and dragging the icon to the dock.
14. Add Activity Monitor to the dock by going to /Applications/Utilities and dragging the icon to the dock. Seondary-click on the icon and enable Open at Login.
15. Add Terminal to the dock by going to /Applications/Utilities and dragging the icon to the dock.
    1. Change the default Terminal settings by starting Terminal.app, selecting Preferences (Cmd-,) and then changing the “new window with settings” to Pro.
    2. Select the Pro scheme in the Settings tab and click default.
    3. Choose the Window tab with the Pro scheme selected, click the Background color chooser and set the opacity level to 90%.
    4. Change the window size to 80 columns and 36 rows.
16. Customize vim by creating ~/.vimrc with the following content:
    
:color elflord
:syntax enable
:set shiftwidth=4
:set expandtab
:set autoindent
:set cindent
:set enc=utf-8
:set nu
:set showmatch
:set laststatus=2
:set nocompatible
:set gfn=Monaco:h15:a

17. Enable color highlighting for ls by adding the following lines to /etc/bashrc:
    
alias ls='ls -CFG'
alias dir='ls -FGlas'

18. Install the Safari 4 beta from http://www.apple.com/safari/download
19. Install Firefox 3 from http://getfirefox.com/ and drag it to the dock.
20. Install iStat pro from http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/
21. Install MySQL 5.1 x86 community edition from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.1.html be sure to install the StartupItem package as well as the preference pane.
22. Add MySQL to the shell profile by appending the following to /etc/bashrc:
    
export PATH=/usr/local/mysql/bin:$PATH
23. Install EverNote from http://www.evernote.com/
24. Install DropBox from http://www.getdropbox.com/
25. Install the Windows Media Components for QuickTime from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx
26. Install Twitterrific from http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific
27. Disable automatic synchronization for iPhones and iPods since this won’t be the primary iTunes machine by going to iTunes Preferences and enabling Disable automatic syncing for iPhones and iPods on the Devices tab.
28. Install the iPhone SDK from http://developer.apple.com/
29. Party! Or maybe just nap.

So after a few days my review pretty much matches that of most people’s. The device itself is wonderful; the ability to have Internet, e-mail, an iPod, and all of the download-able applications in such a small and light package is amazing. The drawbacks? Horrible battery life and an iffy quality of synchronization and integration with other services.

I’m successfully using the Mac OS X 10.5′s integration with Google Calendar and iTunes for my calendar and contacts synchronization successfully – we’ll simply ignore the fact that the second time I synchronized it erased all of my contact data on Google. Lori is synchronizing successfully with two separate iTunes libraries: one to get contact & calendar information from her work Outlook installation, and another to get all of her music from home.

I am still amazed at the horrible battery life so far. I was able to completely consume my battery in about 90 minutes of heavy e-mail usage (yes, using the 3G network) with a nearly full charge. There’s lots to fine tune to make this better, but ideally you’d get a couple of days of usage with heavy, ignorant usage… perhaps someday.