The keyboard isn't the only change. There's a new, glass-coated trackpad (slick!) that's 39% larger than the old one and does away with the clicker button completely. The stunningly bright 15.4-in. LED screen (sharp!) sports a shiny, piano-black bezel. A new magnetic latch has replaced the annoying release button. The peripheral ports have been relocated so that they all run along the left side of the MacBook Pro, with the optical drive now located to the right. There's also a different video out port -- the new industry-standard . All of the ports are more deeply inset than before.

There is also a notable update of the hardware under the hood. The MacBook Pro has a new processor (you get either a 2.4-GHz or 2.53-GHz chip, depending on which MacBook Pro you buy), , a faster 1,066-MHz front-side bus and multiple hard drive options, including a 128GB solid-state drive. And for those who like to track Mac OS X build versions, this one's running 10.5.5 build 9F2114.

Prices for the two MacBook Pros remain unchanged: $1,999 for the 2.4-GHz "basic" model and $2,499 for the slightly faster 2.53-GHz model, which also doubles the standard amount of RAM to 4GB and offers more storage space. Both weigh about the same as the previous model -- 5.5 lbs. -- but they're slimmer, checking in at 0.95 in. thick with the lid closed.

Not all is perfect in Mac-land. If you're a fan of FireWire 400, you'll be annoyed to learn that Apple has dropped that connector port, leaving behind a single FireWire 800 port and two USB 2.0 ports. FireWire 400 has been largely supplanted in the marketplace by USB 2.0, but it still has lots of fans -- not surprising, given that Apple was an early backer and countless video cameras, hard drives and other peripherals have relied on it for years.

The loss of FireWire 400 means that users who like to rely on the FireWire-only Target Disk Mode to move files between two connected Macs will need to change their habits -- or at the very least get a new cable. Longtime Mac users aren't happy about the lost port. Apple officials note that you can buy a cable with a FireWire 800 connector at one end and a FireWire 400 connector at the other and continue using using Target Disk Mode as before. Or you can transfer files over an Ethernet connection or a wireless network.