Customer Reviews
Mac laptop 
2008-07-05
As always, Apple products dazzle and do not disappoint. With the addition of a wireless router, the freedom to take the laptop anywhere in the house and backyard is awesome!
Excellent 2008-07-04
As a first time user switching from Windoze to OSX, have to admit it's very easy. The Macbook is excellent (although I must admit I've upgraded the RAM to 4GB). Very light and super quick. Only irritating part is that I have to ensure that my hands are clean, else there would be smudges all over the thing. The downside with white I guess.
Great way to use that stimulus check 2008-07-04
Sign up for the Amazon Prime thing and you can get this macbook delivered next day for less than the list price. My cost is only $482 plus change after deducting the stimulus check. Well, I wanted to help the economy out some. As for the macbook, this machine does just as much work as my iMac; only the screen is smaller. The display is excellent, sound quality good but not on par with larger systems. Keyboard will take getting used to as it is not the old IBM electric feel. The track pad will remind long time mac users of the old one button mouse and the control/click function.OS X has been a rock steady operating system for me since February, 2003, each new release making routine chores easier, along with more and better eye candy if you are into that.Software included is easy to use, you get real DVD backups, and no crapware. Documentation is better than most, but still "lacking". Get one of the Missing Manual books (Amazon.com has them)as it makes things much easier. All in all, 5 stars for the macbook and 6 stars for Amazon.com for the great savings. My next iMac will come from Amazon.com.
A Long Review on a Great Computer 2008-07-03
As a student, I tend to find myself in a situation where I must make a PowerPoint presentation, video, or a CD. When performing these tasks on a Windows system, the quality of the outcome is either average or poor. Not to mention the it will quickly eat up your RAM. In case you don't know what RAM is, the easiest way I can describe it is like this; Your Hard Drive's memory stores the PROGRAMS, RAM stores the DOCUMENTS. So, without a doubt, spending the extra money on more RAM will defiantly be a good investment, getting the most Hard Drive space is a very good idea also. Another issue with a PC is that it is not able to burn your video projects to a DVD.
The MacBook, which starts at $1,099 is the ideal notebook for a person who is up-to-date with the information age that we live in today.
My first task, creating a PowerPoint presentation, is easy with the Macintosh version of PowerPoint, called Keynote. If you have been using a PC all your life, and running PowerPoint for most of it, making the switch to Keynote may be a little bit hard. But, after you adjust to the change, Keynote has the ability to make amazing, eye-opening presentations.
My second task, creating a video, is on of the actions that Macs are famous for. iMovie '08 is the successor of iMovie HD '06. iMovie HD '06 had the ability to do many things, like changing the film to make it black and white, septa (the type of coloring The Wizard of Oz had when Dorothy was still in Kansas), and it could also add some basic special visual effects, such as lightning, flashes or color distortion. iMovie HD '06 could also add subtitles, music from your iTunes Library and sound effects from it's own library. iMovie '08 does seem to be smaller version of iMovie HD '06. The '08 version may not be able to do as much as its predecessor, but what it does do, it does fantastically well. I haven't found visual effects in iMovie '08 yet, so they might not be included in this year's version. I don't know why apple would make the decision to drop visual effects, it tends to be a fun add to any film. Also, iMovie '06 had the ability to insert words that spin or flash, but iMovie '08's title frames only have the ability to create still words, either in the middle frame or at the bottom. The color quality of films made via iMovie is simply amazing. This part is very important, if you plan to burn your video projects to a DVD, you MUST GET THE DOUBLE-LAYER SUPERDRIVE!!!!! The combo drive does not have the ability to burn a DVD.
My third and final task of burning a CD is the easiest of all. Even if you have a PC, odds are you have had some form of contact with the iPod and iTunes. You simply drag songs you want to add to the CD to a playlist, and once you have compiled your playlist, click the button on the bottom right-hand side of the screen that reads "Burn CD", it's as simple as that.
Leopard, the system that the new MacBooks run on is nothing less than amazing. The stacks, lists of currently used items, such as downloads and documents, make everything so much easier. The graphics are great, and it is the fastest computer system I have ever come in contact with.
If you want to buy the black MacBook, which is more expensive, you should keep in mind that you are mostly spending the extra money because the computer is black. Yes, there is more RAM and Hard Drive space, but simply upgrading the white macbook is cheaper. Upgrading is available only on the apple website store, not on amazon.com.
Perhaps the most important things to do when you get a MacBook is:
1. Make sure that the notebook you are purchasing has the double-layer superdrive, or else you won't be able to burn a DVD.
2. Get the AppleCare Protection Plan, if you want technical support from someone in California who knows what their talking about, and if your MacBook has a sudden breakdown and need a repair, you can get both for three years.
3. Make sure you have a wi-fi connection for the internet. Shop around, you may find a good deal. Once you have a wi-fi station set up, click on the button on the top taskbar with curved lines. Once you choose this, in fainted gray, there will be words that say "Airport: Scanning...." and underneath it, there will be a list of available wi-fi networks. Select yours, and you will be connected to the internet.
4. If you plan on writing documents, purchase iWork, Apple's version of Microsoft Office, it is an amazing program.
5. If you don't plan to make hard-core movies, music, or photos, don't purchase Aperture, Final Cut or Logic. Aperture is a beefed up version of iPhoto, Final Cut is the beefed-up version of iMovie, and Logic is a beefed-up GarageBand.
I hope my review of the MacBook has been helpful. The MacBook is an amazing piece of technology, and it stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the personal computer industry.
Simply Sweet...Your Little Black Number that Goes With Everything... 2008-07-02
With so many reviews posted, I am sure that all the major pro and cons have been covered, perhaps even over covered! So, let me just speak to my best personal observations and leave all the tech speak to others.
I've been a life long Apple / Mac user. The first computer I ever touched was an Apple / Mac, but I can't tell you the model number. All I remember is that large, rainbow colored Apple logo! LOL Anyway, I always preferred Macs to PC's--even though I was often required to use PC's at work. At home, the computer was alway Mac!
Just recently, I was shopping for a new laptop; I wanted a small, flexible, but powerful system that was easy to take and easy to use. I was actually tempted--the shame of it--by a good deal on a fine looking Sony Vaio. I compared it to the MacBook and MacBook Pro. I mulled over the decision for a week, and I had the opportunity to look at a new laptop with Vista, the flowered-faced monster operating system that everyone at work seems to be complaining about as everyone receives their upgrades in turn. To make a long story short, good "Mac" sense finally kicked in, and I eliminated the Viao from my potential purchase list. [I might have to work with Vista at the office, but I don't have to live with it, even if it comes in a pretty package! LOL] I then had to decide between the MacBook and MacBook Pro. AND at the end of the day, the deal breaker came down to choice: MacBook gave a choice between Black and White. [The MacBook Pro looks rather silver.] Well, I've had beige Macs and white Macs and Graphite colored Macs. I never had a Black one. So, the black one with its generous keyboard and large trackpad appealed to me.
With hand on my heart, I can say that this is the best Mac I've ever had the opportunity to operate; it is the best Mac that I have ever personally owned. The software that I chose to get for this new computer was IWork 08 because I read good things about it--if you don't want or need all of Microsoft Office's bulk and sulk. I also purchased Internet Security Barrier Back-up Edition and StoryMill. Oh --if you love Widgets, you can download extra ones from Apple's official website.
As with any big purchase, though, do research before you make decisions. Decide what you want the computer for and how you will mostly use it. The best computer for you is the one that you will use with contentment and productivity.
Great Little Computer 2008-07-08
Works like a charm and handles everything I have thrown at it. This was a replacement for an old G3 iBook which served me well for years. The new model is thinner, brighter and a bit more refined as well as being (obviously) faster. I really like the keyboard; for some reason I make fewer typing mistakes compared with my home keyboard. My wife will be getting one soon as well.
Mac Laptop 
2008-07-08
I purchased an Apple laptop out of frustration with the windows-based laptops I have had in the past. Unfortunately, I still have to run windows-based programs on the Mac. So far, it works as advertised with notably easier addition of periphreals such as printers, etc. It's a little frustrating trying to do all the things I did in Windows, and the lack of a backspace key is odd. On the more positive side, it's not stopped on me once while I have been working, even on the internet!! I'm looking forward to years of, if not trouble-free, less troublesome use with this machine.
A fantastic little computer with so much power, elegance and style for research and graduate student life 2008-07-06
It's now eight days since I got my new MacBook "white" after more than 4 months reading and searching to get convinced enough to do that move, and pew I did it :)
Let's start with the hardware specifications, it has 13.3 inch widescreen with (LED backlight technology) this extra-awesome hyper saturated colors. (I read a few articles about LED backlighting and it differs from the old CCFL screens, you can read more about that here http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/macbook-pro-backlight-comparison-led-vs-ccfl/ ). And it has an Intel 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo processor with 4 megabytes L3 cache, 160GB 5400RPM SATA (low-noise) disk, 2.27kg weight, 5 hours-long battery and Airport Wireless card that supports 802.11n technology with awesome reception accuracy and iSight camera.
The most astonishing thing for now is the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard 64bit, AWESOME operating system, and I can really understand now why apple always said that it's the most advanced operating system in the world, they are right, it's. :) it's a very well designed for a great user experience and you'll see many snapshots in the next few posts and well. it has more than 300 new features over the previous version "Tiger 10.4 and the main thing you'll notice about mac is that it's a REAL FAST.
The great news is that most of the well known and famous applications I needed are available for mac, like microsoft office and it's open source clone open office, adobe creative suite 3, yahoo messenger, MSN messenger and iChat works as an awesome jabber chat client.
The first thing I'm so happy about is that I chose The white model. That's because the surface is very finger-print catching and can be easily scratched, but happily the white color hides most of it.
Also, it's really fast.
I use it mostly for music, internet, pictures, movies, homework pretty much what everybody uses a computer for. Also, I use it for my research, extensive statistics work and various medical work, and it works great
iLife is awesome and so is leopard (find out at apple.com)
like when you turn on your pc it has load and load and load then when the desktop finally pops up then if you click on something it takes like 1/2 an hour to open up
on this laptop it loads and and when the desktop shows you click something and it actually opens like its supposed to
I have been using pcs all my life and i just got fed up with them.
It is very nice computer to use especially during presentations (Apple Keynote is Awesome, especially, its presenter mode).
Spotlight is very effective tool for searching for papers. Also, there are limitless possibilities and solutions for scientific purposes.
Finally,
Advantages:
1- Very Fast.
2- Reliable computer.
3- Can run windows and mac osx applications (I use VMWare as a virtual machine).
4- Lots of tools for your research (example ofr nice software for research: Sente, Papers, Endnote, Yep, ...etc).
5- Stylish.
6- Perfect Screen.
7- Good Battery Life.
8- Durable (I dropped it twice).
9- Nice for chatting and communication (It's isight integration is flawless).
10- Perfect software and hardware integration.
Disadvantages:
1- Needs more RAM (At least 2 GB Ram).
2- Speakers are not so strong.
Finally,
It is a perfect laptop for a graduate student for the price.
My First Mac 2008-07-06
I love this computer! All I've heard about Macs is true, it works so well! I am very pleased with the good price on Amazon and how quickly it shipped.
Finally made the change to mac, WOW, awesome, no more pc 2008-07-05
I have been using a pc for MANY years... in fact, my pc knowledge has definitely helped me advance in my banking career (technology and banking). I used to build pc's, troubleshoot, fix, etc...Let me tell you from beginning to end to get a pc the way I want it from a fresh install is about 3.5 hours. Macbook fresh install done much quicker and programs install much faster. Plus, mac gives you restore disks, not bullcrap partition on your hard drive. Also, you dont see the junk that you do on new pc's.
Enter the macbook. Mine> 2.4 ghz core2 duo, 4gb ram, 13.3 white. I love this damn thing.
Story: my brother gets accepted to Cal and has no money for a laptop. I give him my hpdv6701 (great pc but w/ vista, eghhh). so im in need for a new laptop. I hear about macbooks so I go to best buy and check them out. I was hesitant at first but its because of my lack of knowledge about macs...I was trying to compare based on specs but not power/performance. I thought they were expensive (they are) but rightly so. A comparable pc would be the same price, if not more expensive!! DONT COMPARE 500-600 DOLLAR PC'S TO THIS MACBOOK BASED ON SPECS....THE PROCESSOR IN THIS MACBOOK IS STELLAR!!!
I made the decision to buy and WOW, i am totally impressed. Somethings were different in making the transfer..but lets go over some things for those not to savvy with computers. Now, keep in mind, i had no troubles with my pc's, but im not the average joe, so here goes:
pros
* for those who dont know how to protect themselves, MACS do not get viruses!!! the old macs had about 60-80 viruses, but the new systems have no documented viruses. Windows? thousands of viruses.
*installing applications is drag and drop. EASY
*looks are beyond comparison
*battery life is excellent
*no need to consistently restart computer
*powerful processor
*weighs less than 5 lbs (13.3 macbook)
*powerful (add the 4gb and you fly). BTW, dont upgrade ram through apple, wayyyyy to expensive. Check out new egg dot com
*graphics are amazing
*i never had to pay for any software but there are some free programs that are fantastic - neo office for those who need productivity comparable to ms office.
* it just works, no setting up thousands of options
cons
*apple uses mini dvi port for projectors and or external monitors on the macbook (pro uses regular dvi). mini dvi gets loose and just not that good of a connector. wish it was dvi or vga.
*if using it for awhile, macbook can get a bit warm. newest versions are not like older ones that had heating problems...if you get an ilap you will be good.
*you will not want to get off your macbook
conclusion:
buy it, its totally worth it.
amin---out.
