VERY disappointing
Written: Sep 15 '03 (Updated Sep 15 '03)
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Pros: Size, portability
Cons: Ridiculously high price, slow performance, bad paint job
The Bottom Line: Mac zealots love anything Apple releases. Critical thinkers will be disappointed in old technology at premium prices.
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| dmiked's Full Review: Apple PowerBook G4 15.2 in. (M8859LL/A) Mac Notebo... |
After many years (literally) of weighing this purchase, I'm fully in the "really wish I hadn't" category. I hadn't owned a Mac since a bad experience with a Performa several years ago, and this Powerbook isn't the machine to bring me back into the Mac world.
I bought the Powerbook for cross-platform compatibility in some of the freelance work I do. There are some things I do like: the size is small and the design is mostly efficient. But the minuses really outnumber the plusses.
First of all, this thing is SLOW if you're used to working on a fairly recent XP machine. Yes, I know saying this is akin to flatulence in church when you're among the Mac flock, but it's the simple truth. I maxed the RAM out to a gig and turned off all the screen animations in OSX that I could, but the performance feels subjectively laggy. I have an 867 mHz Mac desktop at work, and this Powerbook feels DECIDEDLY slower than that machine, even on simple tasks like opening the Finder. Let's face it, folks. The 1 gig chip is ANCIENT by this time (Sept. 2003), and the machine behaves as such.
Other quibbles: The trackpad is a poor input device from the get-go, and the Mac doesn't allow the tracking speed to be set fast enough for my tastes. The built-in speakers are terrible, almost to the point of uselessness. The 8x CD burner (I got the Combo instead of the SuperDrive) is ridiculously slow in late 2003 (I've had a 52x burner on my home desktop for a year and a half). The included software is VERY paltry.
But perhaps most irritating to me, the paint job on the lid of my $2700 Powerbook has streaks in it. Yes, the titanium shell is PAINTED on these machines and don't let anyone tell you different. Look at the scratches you'll have on your hinges within just a few weeks. And according to Apple, an irregular paint job is not something that allows me to exchange it for another one. On a VERY EXPENSIVE luxury electronics product that places a high premium on looks and style, this is a BIG TIME problem.
The biggest minus, however, is Apple's belligerent, "hands-off" attitude toward their customers. I can get a Dell customer support person on the phone within 20 seconds, but my Apple salesperson won't return my calls only a week after I bought the machine.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 2700
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
dmiked
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 1 member
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