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I bought this to replace a G4 PowerBook that lost yet another hard disk and to wander into the wonderland of Apple's Lion OS. As a long time Mac user, my experiences with Lion have not been a lot of fun for the most part. IMHO, there are too many programs that seem to be intertwined in ways that keep the user from dealing what I'd consider rationally. I find Apple's App Store an abomination. Perhaps from a new Mac user's perspective, they'd be great. But that's only about the software. The hardware seems solid and quick. The display is first rate. I'll have to get used to the keyboard, but they all tend to be different from model to model these days. This particular machine was advertised as having some minor blemishes. I'd like to have had them pointed out clearly in the images but they are minor enough not to be noticed by a casual observer. I may be able to improve on them if I ever decide to replace the hard disk with a larger one. By and large I'm happy with the purchase, though it took somewhat longer to deliver than I'd have liked. Doing extra things during the Christmas crazy season had a lot to do with that. The review form asks if I'd recommend this to a friend. I already have.Read full review
This is an overall very easy to use and accommodating computer. It is running 10.5.8 leopard, very fast boot up and very easy to use, from internet connections to the apple email software. Love the slot loading DVD as compared to the tray loading on my old computer, that seems to me as cumbersome. It has 2ea USB ports: one on the left side and one on the right, this works great because there is room for big USB devices like some my large body thumb drives. Also has firewire 400 and 800 which I try to utilize whenever I can, because of the much faster transfer rate than USB. A DVI, Ehternet and Express 34 is also on this laptop. The express 34 slot I think is a great idea to have for future expansion to newer technology when it comes along( USB 3.0 OR eSATA). The screen is big and clear, but its still small enough to fit into a computer bag to tote along with you. Another nice little feature is in low light conditions the keyboard keys light up for better visibility. It also has a built in camera and 2 speakers that has a good sound depth from a laptop. The laptop case is aluminum and will get warm in various spots, but this helps the cooling of the main board so I would think over all the core temp in the laptop would be cooler than a poly cased one, or a least less fan use. Being that it is a aluminum case it will dent so it may not be as forgiving as a plastic cased one, but I have seen the plastic cased ones cracked and chipped. I personally think this laptop has a lot better overall use than a windows laptop, and this comes from a former windows laptop user.Read full review
This model is worth the 500 difference between the entry level. The screen is beautiful, the new LED Displays are great, better color depth, more color, the laptop doesn't get as hot as previous versions. Everything works, it is very fast, and this laptop replaced 2 high end workstations + 2 high end laptops (A dell with workstation class graphics card, and 17 inch macbook pro). I can edit 1080p high def video in real time with no slow down, edit my 12mp raw files in real time with no slow down. I can play the latest games like Call of Duty 4 maxed out on windows vista at native resolution with no slow down online. With the beefy 250gb HD, ability to upgrade to 4gb of ram, the 512 graphics card, and 6mb cache, this machine is a complete replacement for me, and revolutionizes my life, work style, and workflow. It is worth buying, and definitely better than the 2k version, by leaps, read my longer review for more. Longer Fuller Review. The new macbook pros are fantastic! I had a 17 inch core 2 duo before, it was nice, but it didn't do everything I wanted or needed. I was forced to keep my mac pro, and my custom built windows PC for running the applications I need, and the ability to play games (I do some freelance game design, as well as photography and animation work) I grew tired of having so many workstations, but what can you do when you need the power? Apples new macbook pro has answered my needs. I have wanted a laptop with a 512mb graphics card for years, it has never happened until now. Previous to this laptop, my laptops have been "toys" the only close workstation I had was a dell that cost close to 3k, and would break your back to carry it (but it had a 512 workstation class graphics card!) With this laptop, I have sold my other machines, it is all I need, or want. If it meets my needs and expectations, it should be able to meet yours easily. The reason you buy this model, is because of the graphics card, and the increase in l2 cache on the processor. The 2k model has less cache than last years santa rosa model (3mb compared to last years 4mb) this model and the 17 inch has 6mb, as well as the 512mb graphics card, dual core processor, and the ability to use 4gb of ram. After getting the laptop, I use bootcamp to repartition the harddrive (did not need to reinstall OS X, was able to do this on the fly to install windows) I split it up to give me 165gb for OS X, and the rest for windows. I need to use specialized software that requires windows, and these programs also require very high end workstations. The life of someone in 3d is not easy. This workstation takes care of all my needs. I'm running the 32 bit version of vista ultimate (the 64 bit is horrible, do not run it) I use windows to run the programs I need (mainly zbrush, unreal engine, and 3ds max) I can and do have maya, and can use it on this partition as well as os x thanks to the dongle, but I cannot use my creative suite software on windows, because of adobes licensees. (though oddly enough, I can run Lightroom on both platforms) On my OS X side, I run maya, photoshop, after effects, and final cut studio (with shake 4.1, yes I need 2 compositing programs) I have no problems running these programs on this system. I can render out quickly, everything is snappy. With the 8600 geforce (opposed to ATI) maya is very responsive, and I get very few render errors. Dynamics are able to be rendered on this machine, and I can run simulations with ease.Read full review
I have been a MAC user for a long time. I own an iMac and a Macbook Pro. Apple products are honestly made of top quality materials and they always last way longer than Windows. Macs have the fastest responding time and are very user friendly. Whatever you need is just one click away. The touchpad is really smart, too. Although there are many people say Mac is bad and expensive for no reason, it's because most of them have not used one for a while. You can use a mac for a long time without needing to restart it or shut it down. Also over the past years that I have been using Mac neither on my macbook pro and iMac it has crashed. I know it is more expensive than Windows, but it honestly pays for itself. Don't be afraid and invest your money on something that will hold its value for a long time and you don't have to be afraid of any crashes or anything. If you still need to use windows, you can have windows on it too! so there are no other excuses ;) But seriously a mac will keeps its value always high. You can still sell a 6 year old macbook more expensive than a windows laptop that you but today!! Just buy it, I guarantee you won't regret it. Don't listen to windows lovers, because they are yet to experience MAC!!!Read full review
barely larger than the 13 inch macbook, the additional screen space makes viewing and paging fast and comfortable. The features for the MacBook Pro are all useful, not just bells and whistles. Finally getting the internet speed I was paying for- old computer was pokey. The backlit keyboard is an extremely desirable feature and the battery level stays higher much longer than my old Powerbook (which I had for 6 years!). I switched from PC to Mac when OSX came out and I will never go back, PCs are so tedious....
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