My Favorite Computer
Written: Jul 04 '02 (Updated Jul 04 '02)
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Pros: Looks good, fast enough for everyday computing, great screen, good tech support.
Cons: Lack of PC Card slots
The Bottom Line: This laptop gets the job done in style -- highly recommended.
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| zedorzee's Full Review: Apple iBook 12.1 in. (M8485LL/A) Mac Notebook |
I purchased my iBook (600MHz Dual USB) in January 2002, and I think it's pretty close to the best computer purchase I've ever made. I use it for everything, and I've found it's able to do everything I need it to do -- web development, photo editing, school work, and whatever else comes down the pipe line.
The only upgrades I've given it are an Airport card and an extra 256MB of RAM (for a total of 384MB installed). The RAM is definitely needed for anyone who wants to do anything more substantial than word processing, and is especially nice when running OS X. I highly recommend buying RAM from a third party reseller, not from an Apple store (online or otherwise) -- you'll save a considerable amount of money. The iBook takes standard PC100 SO-DIMMs, just like PC laptops, so you can find the chips pretty much anywhere. Installation is a cinch, with graphical instructions located under the keyboard.
The Airport card works flawlessly, and I often spend lazy afternoons surfing public wireless networks while sipping espresso in cafes downtown. The only potential downside is that people will stop to look at your laptop and ask you questions about it -- the iBook is a head turner. One major advantage the iBook has over other notebooks is that the Airport antenna is built into screen of the machine. I'm able to get better reception than most other systems I've tested this one against (including the original iBook, and Lucent PC Cards).
I spend a considerable amount of time doing things that are somewhat CPU intensive: working with Photoshop, doing database/system/web programming, and other such things. I'm quite pleased with the performance, although it would be nice to have a little extra oomph for those large Photoshop files, and it wouldn't hurt to give the graphics chip a little boost. However, considering the laptop only cost a bit over $1500, I really can't complain. It's definitely got a whole lot of bang for the buck.
One place where the iBook really shines is battery life. With the screen turned down low, and the CPU throttled (in OSX 10.1.5), I can easily spend five hours at the library writing papers before the battery goes dead. One really cool feature is that I can check the battery level while the machine is folded up and asleep -- the battery has a button and 4 status lights that can give you a rough idea of how much juice is left.
I've been VERY happy with the general stability of this machine. OS X and the iBook work rather well together, and it's not uncommon for my laptop to go several weeks between reboots, and most of the time that's only because I've downloaded system updates that require a reboot. I've never had a program crash so hard the machine needed to be reset, and I've only had one instance of the machine not waking up from sleep (which was cured by unplugging and replugging the Ethernet connection).
The only big problem I could see someone having is the lack of PC Card slots. However, considering that the laptop has built in 100Mb Ethernet, 56k modem, 2 USB ports, 1 Firewire port, and an optional internal Airport card, I've never had a need for a PC Card slot.
All things considered, I love my iBook. It's a fantastic little computer that gets the job done, and looks good doing it. Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't need a serious amount of horsepower, or PC Card slots -- and for those who do, check out the G4 Powerbook!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1600
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G3
Processor speed: 501-600
Screen Size: 12
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
zedorzee
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Member: Peat Bakke
Location: Portland, Oregon
Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Photographer, adventurer, and part-time geek.
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