Customer Reviews

Apple MacBook MA699LL/A 13.3" Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive) - White

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought a build-to-order version of this machine from Apple educational with 2GB of RAM. If one uses the Macintouch link to purchase this from Amazon you get a better deal and help out a web site that provides great Mac tech support.

Thus far I've gone through user migration, several days of light use, and one test of Parallels (which was disappointing). It's definitely worth the money and its one of the best laptops I've bought (I do miss my 1990 vintage PowerBook 165 though!). I've been nursing my broken-hinges G3 iBook so I could get the 2nd rev of the MacBook, it was worth the wait. I don't see any evidence of the serious heat problems that afflicted the first MacBook and I assume they've mostly fixed the abrupt shutdown problem. The odd looking keyboard is fine and the large trackpad works well -- though I'm not sure the tap-to-click is worth the occasional errant clicks. The accompanying documentation is extremely minimal but very well done and sufficient for most users. Those who need more probably wouldn't read a bigger manual anyway.

You should be happy, especially since the rest of my review will prepare you for the minor annoyances.

Now that I'm done saying nice things, here are the nits. Firstly, it's too sharp. Some whacko at Apple design figured 'sharp' was in this year, and the edges of the case annoy wrists when typing and fingers when carrying by the base. This is not all bad; it ensures good wrist position because it's uncomfortable to type wresting your wrists on the front edge. Dumb.

The screen is the DVD-friendly widescreen form factor, so the 13.3" is less useable for computing work (photos, etc) than one would wish. Annoying, but hard to escape these days. It comes with a remote for watching DVDs and listening to music, but really I'd rather have had the original iBook form factor. Compared to my older 12" iBook the machine is thinner, longer, wider and about the same weight. The fans run often, are very audible, and can be very noisy, but the base is not excessively hot. PowerPC (legacy applications that invoke Rosetta when used) cause fans to run and the battery to decline quickly.

The battery is twice the size of the G4's and yields comparable or less battery life. I'm unimpressed with the power/heat/performance ratio of Intel's hyped architecture; I had to really drop the screen brightness to get a reasonable battery life. The conversion from PowerPC to Intel has thus far underwhelmed me, especially since I was disappointed with Parallels (see below). The machine, for example, takes longer to sleep -- making it much too easy to run off with with a spinning hard drive. You have to shut the case and look for the cycling sleep light.

In terms of connectors I don't miss the modem. The video connector seems proprietary, but I'm used to that from Apple. The VGA and DVI cables are reasonably priced and I bought both (check what comes with this machine). The ability to support two desktops is the one really big improvement over the G4 iBook.

The built in camera is silly. It's low resolution with a tiny lens and awful performance with ambient indoor light. The MagSafe power connector is impressive, even though it means there won't be non-Apple licensed chargers for this machine. Apple has retained the rest of their power adapter design, which has been the best in the industry. (I'm big on power adapters as a leading indicator of product excellence).

The MacBook comes with less bundled software than the iBook and much less than my G5 iMac. In part that may be because Apple probably wants to avoid non-"universal" (intel-compatible) apps and in part to reduce support costs and product cost. You get Apple's superb iLife apps, some simple games, OmniOutliner, and a "comic" generator. No encyclopedia, etc.

I used Apple's user migration to move 3 user accounts, software, files, etc from an old, old iBook. This requires a firewire cable, so IF YOU WANT TO DO USER MIGRATION BUY OR BORROW A FIREWIRE CABLE. The firewire cable is not included with this MacBook. The migration process is well integrated into initial setup and, all by itself, probably pays for any price difference between the bottom-of-the-barrel Dell laptop and the MacBook. I did run across some minor cleanup tasks, but the iBook had very old stuff. Migration takes longer than you expect and periodically pauses for long minutes; it's not frozen, just thinking. Start it and come back in a few hours.

I bought the InCase neoprene sleeve to protect the MacBook when it's carried in a bag or backpack. It's a handsome, well made case, but it desperately needs some thin, lightweight strap-type nylon carrying handles. Sigh. I guess they omitted them for price and aesthetic reasons, but I recommend looking for something with straps. Not recommended.

Also not-yet-recommended is the famous Parallels Windows emulation environment. I downloaded the trial version and attempted to install Windows 98. Ugh. Awful. Wasted hours. I don't know if it's this bad with every machine or if they've not tuned it to the new MacBook. Flawed documentation, flawed auto-configuration. slow, huge power drain, didn't work, etc. I may try XP with Parallels once I recover. I strongly recommend testing Parallels before you buy. If you do install XP and enable network access you are paying for XP, Parallels, and an antivirus solution.

The bottom line is that this looks like a good OS X laptop without some of the flaws of the first MacBook. Since any OS X laptop is an improvement over an XP laptop it's an excellent choice for everyone. If you intend to run Windows software I think Apple's Boot Camp (separate download) may be more reliable and elegant than Parallels.

I got this for my brother, and it is a real pleasure to use. The processor is obviously first-rate, and the included software is absolutely a deal-sealer as far as I'm concerned. If you've never used iLife, you are in for a real treat. Of course, it's not all perfect.

My first complaint is the 60Gig HD. This really isn't enough for most people, especially when you can buy iTunes movies and such that just eat up disk space. I would DEFINITELY plan on buying a 100 or 120 Gig HD and use the included 60 Gig as a handly little external backup drive. The good news...it is really, really easy to change out the HD yourself. Probably easier than on any other machine out there.

My second complaint is that 512 MB of RAM is NOT enough to run OS X efficiently. You should plan on buying another 512 chip because the performance gain you'll see will be tremendous. Again, the good news is that adding RAM yourself is very, very easy.

Summary: Although I think 60Gig and 512 MB RAM is way too little, what you get for the price is hard to beat and upgrading the machine yourself is as easy as it gets. DON'T forget to include the value of the software that is freely included and the great OS that is OS X.

I haven't owned a Mac since I was 14, having been a PC guy for most of my teens and twenties. I actually used to hate Apple, for selling overpriced proprietary computers which valued style and image over versatility and function.

However, having recently borrowed a friends Macbook for a music performance, I found that the new Mac OS X was quite nice to use. I also bought an Ipod, and found that Itunes was a very powerful and intuitive program that just "made sense."

After seeing that the new Macbooks could run Windows, I thought it might be interesting to buy a Mac. While I did install XP on this computer which runs fine, I find myself never using it because I love the Mac OS so much! The new Macs have an elegant, aesthetically appealing, seemless integration of style and function which I have found quite a relief after dealing with XP/2000 BS for the past decade.

I plugged in a printer, and it worked! I set up a filesharing network in 2 minutes, not three hours with hair pulling, nauseating confusion, and set up windows! You need to look up a word, which you probably do several times a day? There's a really nice dictionary, right there! Need a really nice address book and calendar? Right there, built in! Need a good way to edit photos and interface with your camera? Iphoto is a simple, powerful, awesome program! Want to watch a DVD? Just put one in, and it works! You don't have to deal with codecs, and drivers, and filling out forms, and all that awful nonsense.

In general it is compact, fast, with a nice keyboard, and a nice looking screen. I'm very happy.

Oh, and in response to other reviewers:

- The sharp edge never bothers me
- I had no problem getting rebate
- The fan does NOT run 100% of the time, or even 15%
- All laptops this small get hot after a certain amount of time

Having owned a G3, and a G4 ibook and powerbook respectively, I decided it was time to move to something faster. While I was slightly hesitant to move from my 12" screen to a 13.3" screen since I love the compactness of my previous G4, I definitely did the right thing.
This is a well built machine as can be expected from Apple. I went with the matte black after comparing it against the white one which I thought may show the scratches more.
This thing is so light, and the screen is beautifully clear and bright. Great battery time and runs as quiet as a mouse. Oh and did I mention how thin this thing is. Any of my friends who see it and own a bulky PC laptop are very green with envy.
I really love my new mac.
The magnetic power cord is a blessing too. I have actually pulled the cord out several times by accident and low and behold it works just like it was designed - great idea Apple !!!.
Right out of the box, a PC user can start this up and be surfing the internet wirelessly in a matter of minutes. Alternatively you can just load Windows XP on to it and it works fine.
If you are concerned that the price is alot higher than other laptops I can assure you you are paying for a well built laptop, which will hold its value. I sold my G4 for 2/3rds of its value after 2 years !!!! This laptop has one of the latest chips in it which is enough to tackle most everyday task.
I have already made some movies on it including timelapse ones using the built in isight camera, and burned dvs with ease.
I truely recommend this and can assure you you will not be disappointed :)

If you read this long-winded review you'll notice that I'll nitpick quite a bit. As a sort of a Cliff's notes, just look at the rating; overall I'm quite happy with it, though it has its annoyances here and there.

I've never been a Mac person, never owned one until I purchased this Macbook. I bought it to replace my Thinkpad, which I really like and will, to a degree, naturally compare the Macbook to.

The only reason I even considered a Mac in the first place is because of Apple's wise decision to create Boot Camp, the utility allowing you to easily install and dual-boot any Intel-based Mac with Windows.

The screen is nice, I was a bit apprehensive of having a laptop with a glossy screen, fearing glare would be a plaguing problem. I admit I have not used it outside much, but in all of the various places I have used it, it has proved to be a non-issue for me.

The magnetic power plug is a nice idea, however I find it a bit more annoying than useful. The idea is to make a snag-free power cable; it has a fair amout of resistance if you pull on it straight outwards, but from an angle, i.e. a pet or child tripping up on it, the cable will easily disconnect from the laptop. It's a nice idea and can potentially prevent an expensive accident, but I find that it can easily disconnect from just maneuvering it around a bit on my bed. It's not a big deal though, and pretty much a non issue if it's on a table or desk.

The keyboard is slightly odd at first, but I quickly grew to like the feel. The key layout, however, is another story. Possibly the thing I liked most about my Thinkpad was its keyboard, they have the best keyboards on any laptop in my opinion. My primary grudge with the Mac keyboard is the page up/down and home/end positioning. The Thinkpad has dedicated keys for this, all in the same layout as a standard full-sized keyboard for a desktop. The Macbook, however, makes it a funtion (FN key) + arrow key function.

I also use the delete key all the time (delete in PC terms, not Mac terms). On a PC, backspace will delete the character behind the cursor, and delete will delete the character in front of the cursor. I use both quite a bit, so I like having a seprate key for both. With the Macbook, however, the "delete" key is backspace, and to delete the character in front of you you have to press FN + delete. But if you never use these keys often, obviously it's not an issue for you.

The touch pad is very nice. I loved the red pointer on my Thinkpad, I far prefer it to any touch pad. That said, The Macbook touch pad is huge, I'd say a good 40% larger than any other touch pad I've seen (it's actually slightly wider than the space bar). This makes a huge difference, eliminating the cramped feeling I usually get when using touch pads. Just as importantly though is scrolling. To scroll you just use two fingers on the touch pad instead of one, dragging up/down or left/right. It's brilliant, and you get used to it almost immediately.

One major complaint I have with the Macbook though is both the lack of a multimedia port (c'mon, even just an SD card reader would've been nice) and the lack of an expansion slot (so if you want to plug in your SD card, for instance, you're forced to use an external USB device). This also makes a Macbook out of the question if you require the use of a Sprint/Verizon Wireless Broadband card. I understand Apple's need to differentiate between their Macbook and Macbook Pro, but I don't think the lack of an expansion slot should have been one of them.

I never use my laptop with an external display, but if you do, you'll have to buy an adapter from the mini-DVI interface on the Mabook. One could reasonably argue they did this to save space, but I would find it irritating if I needed to connect my Macbook to an external display.

One thing I simply cannot fathom coming from the PC side is Apple's stubborn refusal to have two mouse buttons. This is especially bad for booting into XP, if you can't use an external mouse you need to use a keyboard re-mapper to get a right click. But this is even annoying in OS X. You can plug in a standard generic two button mouse in OS X and the right click works perfectly; why then do they refuse to implement two buttons on their laptops? It's obviously not an issue for a Mac Mini/iMac/PowerMac since you can just swap mice, but it's using a double finger tap to right click is a completely inadequate substitute.

A few miscellaneous things:

-I really like how the USB ports are side by side instead of stacked (probably to help keep the chassis thin)

-I also like the full 6-pin Firewire port.

-The magnetic lid is really nifty,

-The built-in camera is worthless to me, I would've much preferred a light to illuminate the keyboard like the Thinkpads have (since they won't give them illuminated keyboards like the MBPs have).

-I love the overall dimensions, it's the main reason I bought this to replace my Thinkpad.

I recently made the switch from a PC to this MacBook and it has been great. This MacBook is fast, quiet, compact, stylish and unlike my PC I didn't need to purchase and run any anti-virus or anti-spyware software. OSX is a little different from Windows and it does take some getting used to, but now that I have I find it much easier and more enjoyable to use. I purchased the black model MacBook which, IMHO, has a better finish and does not scratch like the white models I've seen.

The things I like most about this MacBook are: 1) Starts in a fraction of the time of my PC. 2) Bright screen and built-in camera. 3) Great battery life. 4) Virtually silent, slim, light, compact. 5) DL DVD burner.

If you're considering a new notebook and don't require the extra bells and whistles of the MacBook Pro, I highly recommend the Black MacBook.

I went back and forth on the need for a laptop. I'm glad I opted for the MacBook. The matte black case gives it a very cool look and contrasts well with the glossy screen. The widescreen is larger than the 13.3" would make you think. The keys are solid, always a concern with laptops. Good sound, if not great from the built-in speakers. No real surprise there.

The iLife suite works very well with the Intel processor. Even GarageBand, typically slow on the G5 platform, works fairly well in the new enviornment.

Something Apple may want to consider... They could provide a black power converter/cable with the black MacBook. The white version just seems out of place with the black computer. Or, at very least go back to gray. That would work with either version.

Overall, a solid piece of equipment. I also got a Brenthaven Edge I case for the MacBook. It's well worth the investment, and the MacBook fits quite well inside.

I've been a Mac user and have done Mac support for many machines since 1987. I just purchased this Macbook and have to say this is an amazing little laptop. I loaded Boot Camp onto a 5GB partition with WinXP Pro. I then installed Parallels and used the feature that allows me to use the Boot Camp partition as the Windows OS. What a smart idea, I didn't have to load Windows twice. I loaded it this way in case one of my sons wanted to play some games in Windows in Boot Camp. It's better suited for that because Parallels doesn't have as good support for games. I use an occassional Windows apps and so wanted Parallels. I was running Windows in Parallels and playing a Movie in Mac iTunes and the machine didn't miss a beat in playback. That's a feat I couldn't have done on my G4 tower. Everything is snappy on this things. The days of VirtualPC and it's unforgiving slowness are now behind me! You can't even imagine the difference between them, there really is no comparison. Muti-tasking is wonderful in Mac or both. The Parallels Coherence mode is amazing. You can run the Windows programs in the Mac environment without even seeing Windows. I know this probably sounds more like a Windows review then a Mac one but I just had to say this because running Windows on a Mac in the past was one of the most INTENSIVE drains on the computers resources. This example shows that if this machine can run like this having both OSes running at the same time and not feel slow it means that it should run all my Mac apps very, very well. I'm a computer graphic designer and video editor by profession and am anxious to get my Adobe CS suite upgraded to CS3 now along with the new Final Cut Pro! Thanks Apple for a nice machine. This one is my wife's and I REALLY look forward to getting my 17" Macbook Pro come next January. Apple's latest quarter showed that 59% of the Macs sold were portables. I truly believe the laptop has reached the desktop in performance. Goodbye desktop.

This is my first Mac and I love it. It's great. The weight is good, the screen is good. The camera is great and fubn. U can run windows on it if you want. I only have 1 gb of memory and can run Windows using Parallels like a pro. Theres a few thing that I dont like. The USB ports are to close toghether and sometimes I can use oly one at a time. And somethimes the heat is too much under it.

This laptop is quick and has everything pre-installed. The fact that I can run both OSX and Windows XP was a major factor in choosing a Mac.

You also can't go wrong with the Matte Black coloring.