Apple :: MacBook Review
Feb 3, 2009
background:
I have always been a "PC guy". I need to say that up front. Back in 2007, when I was looking for a replacement for my aging Acer Ferrari 3200 notebook, I went and looked at a MacBook Pro then, and although I thought they were nice, I couldn't pull the trigger on one, considering I was going to pay about $300 or more then I would pay for a similarly configured Dell with my corporate discount. So, I bought a Dell, which I have been very happy with.
This year, I decided I needed to broaden my horizions and after seeing the Macworld Keynote and how cool the new iLife looked, I thought I would buy a used mac on ebay and explore MacOSX and add that to my resume. That was a mistake, and I ended up sending it back to the seller so I could order a new MacBook.
Apple's site was extremely easy to navigate and order my new notebook. I didn't want a Macbook pro, as I wanted the 13.3 inch screen. I also thought that if I was ordering new, I should get the new aluminum body, since that is highly rated as durable and this machine would become my traveling companion when I went places.
Apon unboxing (Which I understand is almost a religious experience for many Apple fans ) I plugged in the power cord into the wall and the "Magsafe adapter" into the side of the notebook. There are 2 USB2.0 ports, 1 mini DVI video out port, a headphone and mic/audio input ports and a Kensington lock port on the left side.
On the right side is the slot for the DVD superdrive. There is no button on the side to eject the disc..............
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Feb 5, 2009
To start I should remind everyone that i'm not a mac user. I have never owned a mac or used OSX properly before today. As such, my opinions should be taken as coming from someone who has much knowledge and experience as far as PC's are concerned, but who is a total mac n00b.
First Impressions
When I first walked over to the Macbooks I was quite taken aback. The build quality is out of this world. In fact, I immediately walked over to the latest PC laptops to compare and immediately thought "manufacturing FAIL". Really, the Macbooks are italian sports cars, and PC's are 30 year old farm tractors to use the typical "car analogy".
The Macbook
I really only had any interest in the Macbook when I first went to the Apple stand, but came away with the intention of buying a MacBook Pro. Let me explain:
The MacBook's build quality is awesome. It's solid, no creaking plastic or flexable build, completely and utterly solid. Awesome.............
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Apr 28, 2009
Well, after having my macbook for over like 5 months already i would like to share my experiences and thoughts of all this.
This is not a complete review, just those points I feel are most important.
I'm not actually a switcher as i have other comps using Windows, but this is my first experience with mac.
Also i have to say that some of the points in this review will probably have a solution and I'd welcome if you answered it so this works both as a review and as a solution for my problems.
The reviewed macbook was a 13'' one.
Unboxing and first impressions:
Well, I don't think that unboxing and first impressions are actually that important but here we go...
The packaging was good, compact and nice. The case where the macbook was has worked some times as a real case for keeping it safe, althougt i missed some kind of real case, maybe not a briefcase but at least a soft one............
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Oct 1, 2009
From all the sub-notebooks that I have owned and tested, this macbook 3.1 stands out as a reliable mobile performer. Granted that it is Apple proprietaire piece of work, it lives up to the expectation of a fast, quiet, long-life battery performance.
The design is simply "Apple". The cleanliness in form and lines is still carrying Apple Trademark - simple and cool.
For the 1st Intel based Core Duo, Apple surprises many with a solid replacement of the iBook and PowerBook.
The lid is being held close by magnets instead of traditional latches, giving it a surprise and nice touch. The MagSafe power adapter eliminates the worriness of bad connection and ensures long working device.
Start up and shut down are amazingly fast. The macbook 3.1 is quiet and cool in performance, and with 5hrs plus of battery usage, this is truly portable.
The glossy screen offers bright pictures to video watching. Music enjoyment is particular good with the speakers behind the hinges and in the back - crisp and plenty loud for a notebook.
Specifications:
Operating Systems:
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard - current at 10.5.8
Architecture:
. Intel based
CPU Section:
. Intel Core Duo,
. 2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache.........................
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Feb 4, 2009
3 defective MBPs and a MB that seemed to be fine but came with a loose latch that isn't sturdy at all, a physical dot on my screen, not a dead pixel and is now also making that weird clicking noise I had on 1-2 or two of my MBPs, I don't feel in the mood of getting it exchanged too, wasted too much time waiting by going through that procedure before without result anyways, I got a warantee and if it breaks down I'll just get it exchanged then.
The build quality of the unibody macbook/pros are really great, the first time I laid my hands on the MBP was a moment of joy, in comparison to the several other notebooks we have and had in my family, this kind of build quality is just unparalleled. The Macbook does not lack anything in build quality in comparison to the MBP, I even feel it may be more sturdy due to its size.
Both of the unibody models feel really portable, I never had any trouble taking them out with me to a friends house or anywhere generally. Though the 0,5kg and the size difference between the two makes the Macbook feel a tad bit more portable. Personally I'd go for the MBP if I needed the performance, and because the screen on the Macbook is just a joke in my point of view.
Performance wise both models perform pretty good, the MBP which is based on the 15" high end configuration obviously feels a lot snappier in graphics intensive applications, processor intensive applications such as fusion and multitasking when you got a great deal of applications running. Though during normal usage, where you use a word processor, listen to music, surf the web, I couldn't really notice much of a difference if at all. You don't really feel much boundaries when using the unibody models........
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Jan 17, 2009
I got the computer back in October '08, but I'm on vacation now, and I thought I'd write up a 2.53 Unibody Macbook Pro review of my own
So after the whole debacle with my old '07 Macbook Pro (Santa Rosa) and the nVidia chip dying -- which Apple eventually repaired for free -- I decided to buy the new Unibody.
I got it from an Apple Store in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, configured as follows:
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache
1066MHz frontside bus
4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor 512MB of GDDR3 memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory..........
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Apr 24, 2010
Since I've been fairly active here over the past few weeks in discussions about the relative merits of Macs in general and of mine in particular, I figured I would go ahead and give you all my version of a review. I've had my new Mac since Wednesday morning and have now done a little bit of everything on it: school work, gaming, web surfing, benchmarking. I thought I'd go ahead and share my experiences as they might be of interest to the community here. Both in terms of the performance of the machine, and in terms of Mac vs. PC, for anyone in the same place I was -- considering making the switch.
About me:
I'm a PhD student in the sciences who needs a machine I can take to school on a daily basis and do some legitimate work on. This includes running MATLAB simulations and writing code, as well as standard PDF / email / web fare. I like games but rarely have time to play them. One of my hobbies is chess, and thus I'm interested in the raw performance of the CPU for chess analysis, especially in Windows (the only environment in which the strong engines run). I've been a PC guy for as long as I've been choosing my own computers, which dates to the time of 486s. I have a Dell desktop with an i7-920 running Windows 7.
I've recently had a lot of contact with Macs via my girlfriend and coworkers. In need of a laptop, I decided I wanted a MBP but of course wasn't going to get one with a C2D, so I waited for the update. When it arrived, I got one, and so here it is...............
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May 22, 2010
My Apple iPad review:
Hey all hope you are fine
I just bought an iPad 64GB Wi-Fi 3 days ago and wanted to write a review about it.
Before i start,let me say that its the first Apple device that i bought(I have worked with a 27" iMac,iPod touch but I have never owned any Apple devices until now).
So let's get started
General Specifications
Display
Capacitive 9.7" scratch-resistant LED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD with 1024x768 resolution
Capacity
16GB,32GB and 64GB(64GB tested in this review)
Processor
Apple A4 1GHz CPU......................
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Mar 3, 2009
i'm waiting for this complete review here ...
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Apr 3, 2010
I was going to do an unboxing and take lots of funky pictures, but honestly, I decided not to do so because of the myriad of images/unboxings already out there.
So, without further ado, my iPad review, sans pictures, funkiness.
First impressions:
It's somehow a lot bigger and heavier than you'd expect. It's *only* 1.5 lbs, but somehow it feels like a lot more. I'd be lying if I said that reading on this thing for any large amount of time would not be a fun thing. I'm a Kindle 2 fan, so this is a really big change in terms of weight...
The screen is gorgeous and large, and wonderfully bright, though it's definitely a missed opportunity not being able to change the brightness at a moment's notice. We shouldn't have to exit the application we're running to go into Settings, and then another menu... to have to do this. It's about time Apple implemented what Jailbreakers all over the world have been using on their iPhones/iPod touch devices: SBSettings. A quick swipe in the menu bar brings up shortcuts to wifi on/of, BT on/off, brightness bar etc......
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Mar 7, 2009
I have been speculating over this prospect giving the direction that Apple took with the starting price of the 24" iMac (upgrade everything else and downgrade the VRAM).
I mean, this is something I would like to see, but I wonder if it is a smart move on Apple's part given how much they make off the current MBP's with the so called Apple Tax.
And, if they made this move, one has to wonder if it still would be considered a Pro.
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Jan 2, 2009
This is going to be my very first Mac. I'm really excited about it, but I don't know which one I should go for... I narrowed it down to these two models. Which one should I go for and why?
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Feb 10, 2009
I bought a black macbook this summer and every night when I'm in bed trying to do work I can barely see which keys is which. Obviously this wouldn't be a cheap fix but is there a way or is it possible to install the new light up keys of the new macbooks onto a pre-remodel macbook?
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Jul 21, 2009
Need a new laptop. This one is at the top of the list.
Do you all think the CNET tests are at all accurate when it comes to battery life?
They are claiming 5.7 hours of battery life on their video playback test.
I travel overseas quite a bit and need something that gets really good battery life.
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May 9, 2009
I downloaded this updated for my unibody Macbook Pro, and I think it's pretty vital. However, it gave me this error when I tried to install it: "You cannot install Macbook, Macbook Pro software update on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or newer." Now don't tell me that I have selected the wrong partition to install the update, or that I need to update my OS to 10.5.5 because I already have 10.5.6 and I chose the Macintosh HD partition to install the update.
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Sep 12, 2009
So I'm definitely getting a 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro. Apple has some great prices on refurbs so that's probably the route I'll be going however I'm having trouble discerning the difference between the 13" Aluminum Unibody standard macbook and the 13" Unibody Macbook Pro. From what I've read they both have the upgraded screen, they're obviously both unibody, both have the large button-less trackpad, and both have the 9400m. They even have the same dimensions and the only difference I can see between the images is a slightly different case bevel (also the firewire and sd card ports, both are useless to me).
Unfortunately, none of the Apple stores or BestBuys in the area have a non-pro unibody 13" Macbook for me to actually handle and compare. So, basically, what makes the pro version with the slower cpu and smaller hard drive at the same price point worth it?
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Jul 6, 2009
If I make an image of my hdd from my white macbook with disk utility onto a hard drive I take out of a unibody macbook pro will it work and boot properly?
I will do this by taking the 250gb hdd out of the unibody macbook pro and putting it into a sata external usb hdd enclosure, then making an image of my current 120gb white macbook and writing the image onto the 250gb. After, I plan to put the 250gb hdd back into the macbook pro and boot it up normally as if everything from my white macbook was just copied onto the macbook pro.
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Sep 22, 2009
Was curious what is the difference between the short-lived aluminum macbooks and macbook pros. Only thing i could spot is the illuminated keyboard.
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Aug 12, 2009
She has a white macbook with leopard I think, and has a separate partition in which she has boot camp, she uses specialized software that can only run in windows (doesnt run in vm). She got a new macbook air but wants to keep everything intact.
Do programs like duper clone drives with all files intact, including partitions? Keep in mind that the windows side is more important, installation of this software can only be done remotely from Russia, so it's a bit of a hassle if we screw up, we have to contact IT at a specific time and get them to do it.
Would I have to take the drive of the macbook air out? Or can i just clone to an external hard drive and then move that to the mba hard drive, in target disc mode or something.
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May 3, 2009
I really love the black color of MB404, but is it good? does it crack easily?(is it plastic?)
Hows screen quality?
What do you think? which one should i buy?
I really wanted to buy Alu one before i hear about slanted keys and loose battery covers(i know %99 of them don't have that, but it's hard to risk when there's no way to fix it in here), because there's no Mac center in my country and i'm SO picky.
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Apr 16, 2010
I've been looking at basicly two models, both got almost the exact same price tag here in Norway, so I'm not sure which one to go for.
The first ones is a MacBook Pro 15" with High-resolution 1650x1080 glossy screen, featuring the top of the line Intel Core i7-620M CPU the other is a MacBook Pro 17" with even higher resolution (1920x1200) glossy screen, featuring the slightly slower Intel Core i5-540M.
I don't list the other specifications as I don't really care about them, I already got a pair of 4GB 1600MHz CL7 (2x2GB) DIM's and a Intel X25-M 80GB SSD that I'll be using anyway.
There will be lots of movies and series played on my MacBook Pro, that's why I don't really considering paying a premium for the anti-glare screen, even though I love anti-glare and tend to struggle with glossy screens I don't see the point in actually paying more for it. And when watching movies and series, in often very dark rooms the glossy screen actually have some advantages.
The hard thing to decide here is slicker and lighter, with smaller screen and lower resolution, but better CPU versus the bigger, more heavy but featuring bigger screen and Full-HD+ resolution but slower CPU.....................
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Dec 1, 2009
equipping 2 machines:
1-a 13" MacBook Pro, primary use will be Internet and e-mail and manipulating music files. Will my husband really notice a difference/benefit between the basic 2.26 and the 2.53GHZ (and is it worth about $250 more)? If he uses it for video downloading will that make a difference?
2- a 15" MacBook Pro- here I'm debating between the 2.66 and 2.8. My daughter uses it for Office apps, PhotoShop, music, Internet and e-mail. Again, would video downloading make a difference?
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May 7, 2009
I am currently returning a dell studio xps 16" as its so sooo much hassle to deal with dell and the fact that i got 3 messsed up replacements in a row. i am looking to get a macbook or macbook pro. i would prefer a macbook pro (lowest model) although the cheapest method i can find is £1163 from the higher education store. is there any other way or place that sells it for less? apple seem to charge crazy prices for a low spec. een £100 would be expensive but maybe afordable. only discounts i found for the macbook/macbook pro are 14% higher education (the one i am looking to use) and 6% EPP and school discount. iv looked at the macbook but im going to use the laptop for movies, work and internet. movies on a 13.3" arnt exactly enjoyable to watch so thats why im looking for a macbook pro.
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Apr 27, 2009
I finally decided that i am going to take my desktop HTPC from home to grad school for movies/TV and playing demanding games.
So now I cannot decide upon which notebook to get -
the base Macbook Pro 2.4 or the base Macbook Air 1.6
I am going to be mainly doing work: taking notes, photo editing, and also some light gaming (2d games and old 3d games (red orchestra, combat mission) when away from apartment) on the notebook.
So I was wondering which is a better choice for me.
The macbook pro has a faster core 2 duo cpu, but the FSB and RAM are all the same speed. Obviously the 9600mGT is 2.5x faster than the 9400M, but I am not going to need it for intensive gaming.
Also the macbook pro has a larger screen.
But the Air is so much lighter and thinner, and would be a good thing to take to libraries. And it is 200 cheaper....................
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Mar 9, 2010
A friend of mine is debating which model. I noticed some small differences, but for 200 bucks it almost seems worth getting the pro model. It seems as if it's a higher quality build, firewire, backlit keyboard, is the screen the same? What do you guys think? Can the Macbooks without the dedicated video card run a game like Sims 3?
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Apr 8, 2009
I want to buy the Macbook Pro 15 inc Unibody, there are 2 models
Model 1 Model 2
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHZ
2GB Memory
250GB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M+
9600M GT with 256MB
Model 2
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHZ
4GB Memory
320GB hard drive
GeForce 9400M +
9600M GT with 512MB
A difference of £343. My reason for Macbook Pro over any Windows laptop is simpy becuase OSX and that the laptop fits my needs, its not too big like the 17 inch and not too small like the 13 inch, also it has an express card slot 34 which I can then add a memory card reader. I will be editing/converting a lot of photos and videos and looking forward to buying Final Cut Studio 2.0................
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May 2, 2010
I designed this Skin for my 13 MBP, and I also had designed one for my moto droid. so shipping was free, the MBP was 30 and the Droid was 20. It took a little bit of patience to install but overall not that bad.
Quality was decent, it looked like there was a little crease in the skin, but it went away after installing it. The skit itself seems pretty tough it seems to fit well. Took these pics with my Droid, so they arent top notch
The picture came out a litle darker than I thought it would... the palm rest I bought from ebay from the seller citizen327 MacBook Pro 13 Unibody Palmrest Skin Cover Carbon Fiber - eBay (item 310214789059 end time Apr-26-10 13:23:36 PDT)......
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Feb 20, 2010
I'm buying one or the other. My next computer will run OSX, that is the only thing I have set in stone.
13" MBP over 13" MB:
SD Card reader
(This would be nice, but I can do without. I only use the reader on my current laptop like once every 2 months)
FireWire 800
(Absolutely no need for this)
Backlit Keyboard
(Absolutely no need for this, people look at their keyboard while typing?)
Screen Color Gamut
(60% more than that of MB I heard ... I know this applies to the older MB but not sure about the late 2009 MB. Can anyone comment on the difference?)...................
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May 31, 2009
I have finally switched and should get my first ever mac the new macbook white in next couple of days
I have two questions, I had ordered SODIM DDR2, 800Mhz 4GB RAM and a 500GB, 7200RPM SATA Drive with a thought of upgrading my latitude E6400.
Can I use them (RAM and HDD) and upgrade apple macbook? and will that impact apple warantee?
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