function follows form

Contrary to what they teach you in school, there are aspects of the Mac that suck. It might not be as bad as it was just a few years ago – and it's certainly much better than in the dark ages before X and Intel – but deep flaws and botches remain. The supremacy of design over engineering is the most notable.

Apple professes to live by the philosophy that simpler is better, or at least simple is good. Well, try changing the hard drive in the MacBook Pro and see if you agree with Apple's definition of simple. The drive sits in the corner of the machine. A little sliding door of the kind that any other laptop has would have allowed users to swap it easily. But there is no opening. The aluminum case wraps tightly around the innards of the computer. Thus, removing the hard disk requires loosening about three dozen screws in a process not unlike complete disassembly.

A second problem is also related to the slick edgeless case. One can only open the display screen to about 100 degrees. If the computer is placed on a low support such as a coffee table it's impossible to get a good viewing angle short of bending down like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or boldly placing an triple chocolate chip cookie or two underneath the front of the computer. Given how hot the laptop gets underneath the second rigging would quickly melt to gooey black disaster.

Function follows form even in peripherals. Take a look at the Mighty Mouse. (Read this review first – no, seriously.) Pretty, ey? Anyway, the mouse is indeed pretty sweet. Bluetooth connects it with any computer (so equipped, eg. my ThinkPad), the laser makes for accurate tracking, and the three buttons and the scroll wheel are all there. However and in contrast to my hands, the mouse is perfectly mirror symmetric. And while there are quite a few mice out there that aren't either, they don't have a double squeeze button to the left and right sides of the mouse's body and claim that's a functional addition. I have only one thumb on my hand and lack the dexterity to squeeze and click in the same position.