In Praise of the 17-inch MacBook Pro

For many years, I thought the 17-inch MacBook Pro was not really portable and pushed the limits of what a laptop should be. When I was a full-time technician, I would often look at them on my bench and shake my head. Why would anyone want such a heavy laptop that won’t open while seated in coach? A laptop to me has always been about the portability, and such a big machine just didn’t seem practical for my needs.

I thought about it a bit a few months ago. After installing some RAM into a 17-inch and reading the tiny print on the high-resolution screen, I wondered if I would be able to live with one. So I grabbed one, migrated my data from a 15-inch MacBook Pro, and gave it a go.

The first few days were a bit trying, as I got used to the smaller print size in the menu bar and on web pages. Sure, I could increase the size of print on web pages, but that generally degrades the layout of most web pages. I also found myself zooming in a lot by holding the control key and two-finger scrolling towards me. Surprisingly, though, my qualms were all about the high-resolution screen. After all, the high-resolution screen has the same number of pixels as the 23-inch Cinema Display, except this is a 17-incher.

Seven-ish pounds? I could deal with that. It’s size? No problem. Much better battery life than a 15-inch model? Bring it on. 8GB of RAM? Come on now. Vastly superior internal speakers? Yes please. And, the 17-inch has an antiglare screen option. Sign me up.

It’s been three months now and I can’t imagine going back to a 15-inch laptop. When I look at a MacBook, I wonder how I got work done on mine. And when I look at a 15-inch MacBook Pro, I marvel at its lack of heft and seemingly tiny screen. I will never go back to a smaller machine, but at the same time am more aware than ever that each Apple product is designed to meet different needs.

My only wish is that Apple would add a second hard drive option to the 17-inch laptop. Knowing how Apple engineers can magically shrink things (think iPod nano, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air), I’m sure they can come up with the space.

If you can get excited about having a keynote going with a spreadsheet and web page – all visible at once – you owe it to yourself to think hard about a big laptop. Don’t forget that we’ll buy your used machine and use the credit towards any Small Dog purchase!