Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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94 of 94 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT REALLY DOES WORK BETTER... AND IT'S FUN, 26 Jul 2007
I've always been a bit suspicious of the hype surrounding Apple products. I've used PCs for years (I'm typing on a Dell now) and find them OK, though maddening at times if you're not the kind of person who enjoys scouting the Internet for tips on how to make a consumer product work. Set against that, I like the look of Apple products; and when I did a thorough like-for-like pricing exercise, was intrigued to find that the MacBooks were not notably more expensive than comparable PC laptops (although you can buy perfectly serviceable PC laptops for a lot less). So I took the plunge and tried the Mac, a few months ago. What did I find? Well:
- the basic interface doesn't at first feel all that different from a PC. It's a little bit quicker to boot up, which is nice. The screen is good, but not spectacular. The keyboard takes a bit of getting used to, but is OK. The Microsoft Office:Mac 2004 suite I bought for £99 or so (see separate review) worked well, and Word and Excel files transferred from a PC to my Mac or vice-versa worked fine. My first impression was that this was less of a revolution than I'd expected;
- the size is right, if you travel. It's a bit heavier than some top-end PC laptops, but you can't get many smaller, lighter PCs with comparable specs for this price. The built-in camera is great for using Skype or other VOIP applications with a camera while you're on the road;
- when I'd been using the MacBook for a bit, though, I became increasingly conscious of two big differences. First, the Mac really does work better than most PCs I've had. Getting it working with wireless networks, for example, is much easier than a PC. New software nearly always works first time. I've never yet that ghastly moment of "what do I do now?" to make a bit of hardware or software work. Second, the Mac feels fun, in the sense that I get positive pleasure from using it. There are one or two killer applications, like the "front row" software, with remote control, for watching DVDs or video.
So, overall, after a couple of months, I'm delighted with my MacBook. It's not revolutionised my life, and I haven't become a committed Apple guy, but it's the first computer I've owned for a while which actually gives me pleasure to use, and rarely causes me frustration. That, for my money, is quite an achievement.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth Every Penny, 26 Sep 2007
This was my first outing into the world of apple and i have to say this piece of kit has converted me. At first it was a little daunting, getting used to the way of OSX but now it comes second nature, and i find XP much less intuitive.
The macbook itself is great, unlike a PC all the hardware fits right into the operating system without having a separate programme with a different user interface to learn your way around. The design is great, i still go wow when i see it sitting on my desk. The keyboard is very nice to type on and the touch pad, although hating the things, is still much better than anything i've used on other laptops. Although it is pretty heavy, its a good size, with a very good screen and i love that there is no catch to open it, it is held closed by magnets.
The iLife software that comes with it has been updating since i purchased mine, so i can assume it is an improvement on already great pieces of software. Also the apple remote and front row software is really useful for watching movies, or when i hook my laptop up to my hifi and play music out of it. It is just like the user interface of an ipod, easy to learn and it works very well.
The only problem with the design is that the very small inlet for the fans is hidden in the hinge, so it can get noisy and hot when running intense programmes. Also it bends ever so slightly when you pick it up, and makes the cd drive groan very loudly at you if you are running anything off it.
I bought mine for uni mainly as there is no threat of viruses due to something in the UNIX code (according to the apple web-site). No idea what this means, but i feel better knowing my work is safer than on a pc. also, using a free download from the apple web-site you can install XP onto it too, as i have done to use some software that i love too much to part with.
I was previously put off buying a mac due to the higher prices compared to similar spec pc's, but i have found the memory management of the macbook to be much better. It does not slow down as often, and when it does i have found it is only the problematic programme that freezes, so the operating system is still running as smoothly as before, meaning you can quickly solve the problem and shut the programme down.
Overall i much prefer my macbook to any other laptop i have used before, and i think i am now a convert for life to OSX, and i can't wait for leopard. I would recommend this to anyone, especially as it is extremely intuitive to use and it is much safer online than windows alternatives.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Born again Mac user, 8 Aug 2007
I have had a Macbook for a couple of weeks now and am very pleased with my choice.
I have had various PCs over the years and though I thought I was happy. Then I took the red pill and my eyes were opened. The Macbook is designed with the user in mind. Most of the software you need is already installed and all works together.
I was a little wary that there would be a bit of a learning curve to get used to the Mac operating system but it is very user friendly. As a lifelong PC user you need to make a slight mental shift to figure out how to achieve the same tasks (no right clicking for example). But after a few days or so you don't even think about it anymore.
It's fast too. Just turn it on and everything loads up in seconds.
On a superficial level it looks good and is very light to carry around. 5 stars from me.
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Intel Core 2 Duo processor 
