Customer Reviews

Apple PowerBook Laptop 15.2" M8980LL/A (1.0-Ghz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first Apple machine I've owned after being a PC user ever since I was a young teen. I have always dabbled in Linux and wanted a change of pace, something portable to boot.

I never considered macs really, until I started reading reviews. This model got high praise and I decided to purchase it after a test run at a computer store.

Its truly an amazing piece of hardware and software. From the instant you open the package you'll notice the very fine detail Apple puts into everything. From the packaging to the power adapter, everything has thought and an elegance that is totally unrivaled by any manufacturer.

Mac OS X is the first OS I am truly satisfied with. Its rock solid, beautiful, and has ease of use *and* power control for power users.

The machine itself has a completely vibrant and sharp 15.2 inch widescreen display. It easily rivals my sony 19 inch LCD at work, which is not a small task. Its bright, crisp and completely alive with color.

Performance wise I have the stock system (256 megs of 2700 ram) and its enough to push around a few apps. Definitely going to upgrade it soon, but even if you buy this how it is out of the box you should be quite pleased with the performance.

Its quite thin over all, but width wise its a bit of a beast. Apple literally crammed all of its width with LCD goodness, a fact you'll admire once you unlatch the hood. It straddles the fine line between portable and desktop replacement at a reasonable level.

Overall, if you're thinking of taking the mac plunge and have a little money to burn, this is your system. Its sleek, sexy and a great introduction into why Apple users are so proud of their systems. You won't understand until you join the club.

I bought a 12-inch Powerbook after I gave my old Sony Vaio notebook the Pete Townshend treatment - I put my fist through it. (Yes, it looks like a stained glass window.) I hadn't used a Mac in years, but I decided I'd had it with Microsoft and Windows. All it took was one weekend and a good book - "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual," by David Pogue -
however, and I mastered the machine.

(Other than the size of the screen, the 15-inch model is the same as the 12-inch one.)

SOFTWARE
The computer comes with some great software. iTunes is the best media player on the market. I have almost 5,000 songs stored on mine. With the search function and browser display, it is easy to find a particular song. iTunes also keeps track of the number of times you've listened to a song and it allows you to rate your songs. It's easy to create a playlist. Also, burning one of those playlists onto a CD can be done with one click.

Safari is a great web browser. It has a Google search box built into the toolbar, prevents pop-up ads (I've never had one), has tabbed browsing (preventing a cluttered desktop), and allows for bookmarks to be added with one click.

iChat allows Mac users to customize their AIM and Rendezvous chat sessions in ways that the normal applications don't allow, such as adding pictures from iPhoto to their profile.

I haven't mastered iPhoto yet, but it is downloading pictures from a digital camera is as easy as plugging it into the USB port and clicking a button.

Also, Macs are less likely to get a virus or be overtaken by spyware.

The iCal and Address Book look good, but if you are going to sync a PDA with your Mac, you are better off using Palm Desktop software. Hopefully the functionality of those programs will be improved in the future though.

Finally, most of the programs work with each other. For example, if someone on my iChat buddy list is online, a green dot will appear next to a message from him or her in my Mail inbox.

I also use Microsoft Office, Quicken, Dreamweaver MX, and Palm Desktop - they all work well on the Mac. Office shares files perfectly with PCs.

HARDWARE
Spend the money and get the superdrive (CD-RW/DVD-R). DVDs have more memory than CDs and blank DVD-Rs are becoming more affordable. If you are into collecting videos of concerts, a DVD-R is a must.

I'd recommend upgrading to at least 768 MB of memory and the 80 GB hard drive. Burning a DVD requires a lot of memory and can take a while - this way you can use other applications while burning a DVD (on my old PC, if I was burning a CD, I couldn't use anything else). The hard drive space is really cheap. Plus, if you load your CDs on your computer, they can eat up a lot of memory, even as MP3s (my 5,000 songs take up about 25 GB).

Also, there is a lot to be said for getting the Airport Exteme card (although you can buy a third-party base station for less). I am able to browse the Internet in any room of my house - well worth the extra $100 or so.

I have the 12-inch monitor, but that was because Apple hadn't released the 15-inch in the new style when I made my purchase. The 12-inch is fine - it's much clearer than my old PC notebook - but if I had the opportunity, I'd probably go with the bigger monitor.

DRAWBACKS
-While most software is available for Mac OS X, there are some programs that aren't (Google toolbar, Yahoo! toolbar, Kazaa, AvantGo) or minor problems in software that is available (Quicken can't access accounts on Ameritrade via Macs)
-The PowerBook doesn't have a fan, which is great for the battery, but can cause it to get a bit hot underneath where the user rests his left hand.

Regardless of those drawbacks, however, buying a Mac was an easy decision. If you have any questions about it, click on my profile and send me a e-mail.

UPDATE: After 14 months, the hard drive started making noise and system performance got slow and I couldn't run as many programs as I used to. I called Apple and had to spend $300 for them to put in a new hard drive and some other hardware. They were unable to transfer my data to my new hard drive, so I've spent the past four days reloading all of my software and applications. No idea why the hard drive went. Hence I dropped the rating from five stars to four.

Like the looks, the performance specs but affraid of having to learn a new operating system? Don't be, the cross over functionality is great, there isn't a lenthy painful transition, it was out of the box and setup in 30 minutes with no prior Apple experience or assistance. There aren't the blue screens of death, system halts, illegal functions that there are with a WinTel machine. Computers are suppose to be friends

i had my 500 mhz ibook for two years, and when i first got it i knew it would be outdated quickly, not so with this amazing powerbook ...once i placed my order for this computer it was all i could think about and now that its here .. its all i can do .. not only does the powerbook look awesome it runs like a DREAM any program i can think of it runs , not to mention the ati radeon 9600 makes everything look better than you ever thought it could, i run games like medal of honor, warcraft three, and other high graphic games on full settings without a problem , i can even listen to music in the backround of these programs thanks to the ram upgrade i purchased, i can honestly say i have found nothing wrong with this computer what so ever yet.. and by the way .. the sound card in this thing is killer too .. i have my entertainment system hooked up to it and it puts out sound like no other

get a powerbook!

I bought this laptop for when I went away to school and it has been fantastic in every aspect. I have never had any mechanical problems with it, be a virus or it crashing. It is beautifully architectured and very transportable. The operating system is extremely user friendly and very fast. As a college student, it has everything I need without any problems.

Yes - it costs more. But I've come to learn that you get what you pay for. I've had my 15" PowerBook since October 2003, and it's by far the best notebook I've ever owned, and I've had 6 or 7 over the past 10 years. And not cheap ones, either - I've had a high-end Sony, three Dells, and an IBM. (and temporarily used a number of others.)

Portability is superb - it's thin and light. and as a prior review said, the attention to detail in the design is unmatched. The keyboard is wonderful, and the screen is a knockout. The sound is okay, but I don't expect a notebook - especially one that's an inch thin - to blow me away. The power pack is about 1/3 the size of a Dell, which is very nice when you're taking it on the road. Further, the connectivity rules - firewire 400 and 800, USB 1 and 2, and DVI out. Plug in a second monitor, and you can span displays, no sweat. (Have your email open on your PowerBook screen while you use applications or surf the web on a second monitor.)

The operating system is rock-solid, and multi-tasks far more smoothly that any Windows system I've used, and I've got a pretty kickin' Windows desktop machine. Also, this machine has not crashed on me once (or "flaked out" even) since I've owned it, and I use it 10 hours a day, every day. After using the PowerBook for the last few months, I've decided I will never be without one.