‘ ‘ ‘ Apple announced recently that it is returning to its former glory. Once again, Apple will… ‘ ‘ ‘ Apple announced recently that it is returning to its former glory. Once again, Apple will offer a mammothly large, 17-inch laptop for those of us who want to do away with our desktops. ‘ ‘ ‘ Although technically still portable and able to be used on the top of a lap, these 17-inch monstrosities are more aptly labeled a mobile desktop, as they are too large, hulking and heavy to carry as easily as the 13-inch MacBook. ‘ ‘ ‘ Apple isn’t playing around, either. To go with the sheer size and enormity of the laptop, the new MacBook Pro 17-inchers pack a significant punch. ‘ ‘ ‘ The new Core 2 Duo processors propel the goliaths to processor speeds of 2.66 gHz. Adding $300 to the price tag will yield a Core 2 Duo clocked at 2.93 gHz. ‘ ‘ ‘ Memory is available standard with 4 gigabytes. ‘ ‘ ‘ Those who wish to break the bank completely can boost it to 8 gigabytes. ‘ ‘ ‘ The hard drives available in the new MacBooks come in two forms: serial ATA standard magnetic and mechanical drives, or solid state. ‘ ‘ ‘ By default, a new MacBook will come with a respectable 320 gigabytes. ‘ ‘ ‘ Unfortunately, 320 gigabytes is the maximum capacity the laptop can be configured to hold. Adding $50 increases the rotational speed of the hard drive to 7200 RPM, and adding $900 gives a prospective owner a solid state drive that can hold only 256 gigabytes. ‘ ‘ ‘ Looking at the machine from above is a strange experience. Like many 17-inch laptops, the new MacBook appears to have a tiny keyboard swimming in an unused sea of case material. ‘ ‘ ‘ The material is significantly more interesting than the previous iteration of the 17-inch MacBook. ‘ ‘ ‘ That is, the case is more attractive now that Apple made the switch to aluminum cases. ‘ ‘ ‘ There is a heck of a lot more material sitting around when you buy the 17-inch. It is excellent to know that Apple made your new brick of a portal machine predominantly recyclable. ‘ ‘ ‘ After giving the technical specifications, it becomes time for a good review of the machine. Or, more specifically, a good review of the idea of the machine. The new MacBook is, unfortunately, not yet available. However, pre-ordering is available on the Apple Web site. ‘ ‘ ‘ The new MacBook appears to be as attractive and glossy as its smaller brethren, which is always a good sign. It is also extremely powerful. ‘ ‘ ‘ It would, therefore, make an excellent replacement for a desktop. The size of the machine, however, becomes problematic. ‘ ‘ ‘ Apple had some interesting problems with its previous iteration of the 17-inch laptop, back in the dinosaur days of the G4. ‘ ‘ ‘ A quick search of Google will reveal numerous accounts of users having relatively new or at least lightly used 17-inch PowerBook G4 monitors crack ‘mdash; sometimes just a little bit, sometimes straight down the middle. ‘ ‘ ‘ Slashdot also reported that the new 17-inch MacBook will have a nonremovable battery. ‘ ‘ ‘ Knowing battery technology and most users’ illustrious histories with laptop batteries, this appears as a rather blatantly silly idea. ‘ ‘ ‘ That is, it is a silly idea if you do not recognize Apple’s chances of making quite a bit of repair income on MacBook Pros that do not maintain their ability to hold a charge. ‘ ‘ ‘ So what is the final verdict? Apple tends to make excellent hardware. An Apple premium, although not always present in Apple products, does seem to be applicable to the new MacBook Pro 17-inch, however. ‘ ‘ ‘ For a base price of $2799, I would personally much rather buy a smaller MacBook, accept a small downgrade in my portable computer performance and use the difference in price to purchase a powerful desktop or upgrade my existing desktop. ‘ ‘ ‘ Part of this mentality stems from the fact that I enjoy my laptop everywhere I go. I also have a family history of back problems. ‘ ‘ ‘ Something tells me these two facts should not mix if I were to own a 17-inch MacBook Pro. ‘ ‘ ‘ For now, the MacBook Pro 17-inch provides only entertainment through surfing of the Apple Web site advertising the product. ‘ ‘ ‘ It is quite fun to max out the Apple configuration wizard and sit in astonished silence at the astronomically high price it requests.