I have the previous model macbook. I've upgraded the ram twice, and I have the higher resolution screen option. The setup described by the author would mean I'd lose screen real estate and be stuck at whatever ram I bought, so they don't seem like bad points to me.
The three-year-old model (which I also have) has a native 1440x900 display, so abalone is right about that -- though you're right that RAM was upgradeable on the 2009 model.
But the bigger question is, why the crap is this polluting Hacker News? This horse isn't getting any deader. Yes, OP's complaints are legitimate, but so old at this point that the only reason to post this is Apple-bashing. It's tiresome, and it's decidedly not news. Let's talk about something interesting.
