Perfect little laptop
Written: Sep 17 '03
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Pros: Well priced, small and usable
Cons: Can't operate with screen closed, no mic input
The Bottom Line: This laptop is one of the best purchases you can make. A few little annoyances, but a great laptop!
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| driestone's Full Review: Apple iBook 12.1 in. (M8861LL/A) Mac Notebook |
I bought an iBook as a good little portable machine to show clients their work or my portfolio items. Later I ended up bringing it with me to do onsite work for a client. Although it is a little laggish compared to my 933Mhz G4 desktop, it really does do a lot in a small package.
As a consultant for a very large company I was given an IBM Thinkpad as a machine to use. Although a capabable machine it certainly isn't well suited for the tasks that I was required to do. In comparison I've found my iBook to be smaller, more efficent, easier to use, less buggy and overall just a great machine.
Since I am in an office that is 99% PC, one might be worried about how the iBook would work. I have to say I was surprised at how easily it gets along with the PC network. I was able to add the network printers very easily (about twice as easy as it was to add the same printers to the IBM laptop.)I can see and use most (but not all) of the PC servers (although sometimes you have to have to know the exact server name since it doesn't appear in your server list.) Microsoft doesn't have an OSX version of an email program that talks to an exchange server so I had to resort to an older version of Microsoft Outlook for OS9. I would say that the iBook is 95% compatable with the PC world.
Although out of the box it doesn't support dual monitors (you can mirror, but you can't span them.) There are instructions on the internet on how to "hack" your iBook to do monitor spanning (which I did.) When I set up shop at work I plug in an external CRT monitor and Photoshop away.
Speaking of Photoshop, this is where the little G3 just can't keep up with my desktop machine. It is passable, but if you're used to the speed of a G4, the iBook does seem a little laggish when you push it.
Some might say that the iBook is overprice and expensive, but considering that I think it helps me in my job much more than the $2300 Thinkpad I get to use for free, I say it's a bargin.
The iBook is rarely shutdown. I carry the laptop to and from work while it is "sleeping". I usually don't use the laptop over weekends (sometimes 3-4 days at a time.) It sleeps the whole time so that when I open the screen everything is right up in a matter of seconds. I think the iBook could probably sleep for 10+ days without running out of battery power, that is a great advantage to those of us on the go.
By the way, some of the down sides to the iBook are:
You can't plug in an external monitor and close the laptop screen (like you can in most laptops.) The computer instead goes to sleep. At first this was disappointing, but now I'm not bothered by it so much.
There is a built in microphone on the screen, but there is no place to plug in an external mic. Not a huge deal (and you can get various devices that plug into USB to do audio recording.)
A final note:
I bought the iBook because I wanted a small laptop that I didn't have to lug around miles of cable and accesories to use (defeats the purpose of a laptop.) I also wanted something I could watch DVDs on if I was on a trip. I got exactly that. I carry my iBook and iPod in a little laptop bag barely bigger than the iBook itself. Inside is contained headphones (for the iPod), the tiny power adaptor and the short monitor adaptor. It is light and portable and exactly what a laptop should be.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1099
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G3
Processor speed: 701-800
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
driestone
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Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 1 member
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