james_p
2005-05-27, 08:11
Perhaps this is not the appropriate forum, but having just bought my first mac (15" Powerbook) I thought it might be useful to post my one+ month of experience with this product.
Prior to deciding on the the 15" PB, I did many hands on test drives with the iBooks, iMacs, Power Macs and read review after review. But I kept coming back to the 15" PB, it was just big enough, but not too small.
RANT:
I've read some comments about the PB's display not being as bright and/or resolution limited compared to some Windows/Brand laptops. Well, I have owned and used many laptops over the years and I have to say that I believe what people are experiencing with these so called Extra BRIGHT displays and high resolutions, is nothing more than a psychological "Wow Factor". The Windows XP GUI is very outdated, that fact is commonly acknowledged, along with the fact there is little to no consistancy when navigating thru it's many windows, in fact some of the control panel options seem dated back to Windows NT (that's what?...almost 10 years ago!). For me, the plan by Microsoft and it's vendors is clear, crank up the graphic resolution and the brightness level's to give the illusion of a new luster. But that luster is a charade, a cheap attempt to cover up a very dated interface. Personally, I find the overly bright displays and very small/tight graphics very hard on the eyes after awhile. End of RANT.
Thus, hardware ordered:
15" Power book
100GB HD
128Video
Superdrive
1GB RAM
iWork
The ordering / shipping experience started out well (always a good sign), ordered on April 25th, arrived the following week. Although ordered close to the Tiger release, I was told Panther would come pre-installed with a Tiger DVD to upgrade with. Dissapointed, but acceptable.
The product arrived as promised and when I powered it up, I was very suprised (pleased) to see that Tiger was already installed.
My linksys network was detected immediatly and I was online in no time. Setting up email, browsing the net, getting updates....smooth sailing. I went about making sure all ports worked properly...they did. Thus far all hardware components worked exactly as they should. My Linksys USB 2.0 Network Storage Link was detected by my PowerBook easily.
I also highly recommend the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, I hate wires and the configuration and setup is so easy. I thought the Apple mouse would annoy me, but again it's simplicity and my preference for keyboard shortcuts has worked out perfectly in the end.
The only thing I keep my Windows machine around for is Microsoft Money. But when a good enough finicial program comes along I will make the switch.
All in all, fit...finish...design is top notch. NO disappointments here.
Prior to deciding on the the 15" PB, I did many hands on test drives with the iBooks, iMacs, Power Macs and read review after review. But I kept coming back to the 15" PB, it was just big enough, but not too small.
RANT:
I've read some comments about the PB's display not being as bright and/or resolution limited compared to some Windows/Brand laptops. Well, I have owned and used many laptops over the years and I have to say that I believe what people are experiencing with these so called Extra BRIGHT displays and high resolutions, is nothing more than a psychological "Wow Factor". The Windows XP GUI is very outdated, that fact is commonly acknowledged, along with the fact there is little to no consistancy when navigating thru it's many windows, in fact some of the control panel options seem dated back to Windows NT (that's what?...almost 10 years ago!). For me, the plan by Microsoft and it's vendors is clear, crank up the graphic resolution and the brightness level's to give the illusion of a new luster. But that luster is a charade, a cheap attempt to cover up a very dated interface. Personally, I find the overly bright displays and very small/tight graphics very hard on the eyes after awhile. End of RANT.
Thus, hardware ordered:
15" Power book
100GB HD
128Video
Superdrive
1GB RAM
iWork
The ordering / shipping experience started out well (always a good sign), ordered on April 25th, arrived the following week. Although ordered close to the Tiger release, I was told Panther would come pre-installed with a Tiger DVD to upgrade with. Dissapointed, but acceptable.
The product arrived as promised and when I powered it up, I was very suprised (pleased) to see that Tiger was already installed.
My linksys network was detected immediatly and I was online in no time. Setting up email, browsing the net, getting updates....smooth sailing. I went about making sure all ports worked properly...they did. Thus far all hardware components worked exactly as they should. My Linksys USB 2.0 Network Storage Link was detected by my PowerBook easily.
I also highly recommend the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, I hate wires and the configuration and setup is so easy. I thought the Apple mouse would annoy me, but again it's simplicity and my preference for keyboard shortcuts has worked out perfectly in the end.
The only thing I keep my Windows machine around for is Microsoft Money. But when a good enough finicial program comes along I will make the switch.
All in all, fit...finish...design is top notch. NO disappointments here.