'Aluminum' Powerbook 15" G4 - Object of Envy
Written: Jan 26 '04
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Pros: Elegant design, Excellent performance, Impressive interoperability with Windows environments with OS X.
Cons: I can't think of any
The Bottom Line: It's an amazing computer in its own right, but I've also been extremely impressed with how well I can interoperate with my corporate Windows-based environment.
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| stw63's Full Review: Apple PowerBook G4 15.2 in. (M8859LL/A) Mac Notebo... |
I bought this computer in the summer of 2003 to support my marketing consulting business. Since I was primarily working on my own - writing, doing marketing strategy, etc., I was free to use pretty much whichever computer I wanted to. Now, I've moved back into a corporate environment and I'm still using it! When I started at my new company, I was presented with a somewhat less-than-new Dell laptop running Windows 2000. Yuck.
What I've found is that I can do 95% of what I need to do in my job on my Mac. So I do. Make sure you are up-to-date with the latest versions of OSX and Microsoft Office and you're pretty much good-to-go. I share MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint files with my office mates seamlessly. Microsoft Entourage email client allows me to log in natively to my company's Microsoft Exchange-based email, contact and meeting planning system. Our office has a wireless network, and my Mac has a built-in Airport Extreme card, so all I had to do was ask the Sys Admin for the security code, enter it and I was connected to the network in a snap.
There is one thing I can't do with my Mac. That is to install my company's software product and do demos. So, for that, I still have to use my company-supplied Dell.
People walk by and marvel at my big bright screen. When they see me using the elegant features of OSX Panther vs Windows 2000, they're amazed and impressed with what a really modern OS can do. I also never have to deal with the crashes and windows blue screens of death.
I've had experience with other Macs, IBM ThinkPads, Dells, and a few other laptops. I've used a variety of operating systems - Windows NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9 and OS X. I know there are some really nice windows-based laptops out there as well. But the combination of Mac OS X Panther and this 15" aluminum Powerbook is darn hard to beat.
Apple and Microsoft have really done a great job knocking down the barriers to using Macs in corporate Windows-based environments. My company's System Admin looked at me a bit funny when I showed him this laptop and told him I wanted to use if most of the time. But, he's totally fine with it. His basic take on it is that if I can make it work, and it doesn't break anything, then fine - go ahead. Well, it's worked out just fine. Everybody is happy.
We live in a heterogeneous world. In addition to this Mac laptop, I also have a Mac desktop at home. My wife has an IBM ThinkPad running XP Pro that she uses both for work and personal. We have a cable-modem with a wireless router. We live in a mixed environment, high-bandwidth networked world. It all works. It all works very well.
I'm in love with my Mac Laptop. It's like driving a Porsche. It's a beautiful, superbly constructed machine that uses the very latest high performance components. It's fast, elegant and definitely a bit exotic; but still reliable enough to use as a daily driver.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800
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:
stw63
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Location: Massachusetts, USA
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Gear abuser extraordinaire. Climber, skier, diver, sea kayaker. Also enjoy team sports and auto sports.
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