The screen back has a slight taper (like the MacBook Air) that gives it a thinner appearance than the constant thickness of yore.

Overall, the new MacBook is slightly wider and deeper than its predecessor, although it shaves 0.3 pounds from the total weight. Oddly, when I first picked it up I thought it was heavier than the older MacBook--a sensation I attribute to a different distribution of weight because of the thinner display in the new model.

On the front edge, the sleep status indicator is longer and narrower than before, and conspicuously absent is the infrared (IR) port that used to sit to the right of it. Without an IR port, you can't use the (or the older remote, for that matter). I don't consider this a huge loss, since I never used an Apple Remote to control my MacBook. (In fact, I've been frequently annoyed when I used the remote to control my Apple TV and it threw the MacBook on the couch into Front Row at the same time.)

Speaking of ports, there are also some changes to the array of ports on the side of the MacBook. To get it out of the way--no, there isn't a FireWire point on this MacBook. The white MacBook had been the only 13-inch laptop from Apple with a FireWire port (until the ) and now it's gone from the low end. If you need a small laptop with a FireWire port, this MacBook isn't for you (for an extra $200 you can move up to a similarly-sized MacBook Pro, which includes a FireWire 800 port as well as an SD slot). The display connection is now Mini DisplayPort (previously there was a mini-DVI connector), and Apple is using a single audio port for analog/digital output as well as line in. (The Sound preference pane has a Use Audio Port For pop-up menu from which you can choose either Sound Output or Sound Input.) The sound port supports the Apple Stereo Headset with microphone. The other ports are gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe power, two USB 2.0, and a Kensington lock slot. As before, the other side features an 8x slot-loading double-layer SuperDrive.