Apple macbook (Apple MacBook MA472B/A)

Name: jacksurvey

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Product:	Apple MacBook MA472B/A
Date:	18/05/08 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great software, looks great, fantastic specs, some nice extras

Disadvantages: Cannot fault it

Apple have been selling this laptop for quite a while now. There are many things that have set it apart from other laptops. From its unique and stylish looks to its completely different operating system. The macbook has been avery popular laptop, and over half a million have been purchased so far, this is a phenomenal figure for laptops. But does it really deserve all these buyers and some of the great reviews that it has been receiving?

First of all, it looks fantastic. I love the white or black finish on it, it is a truly unique laptop. There is a distinctive apple logo on the back of the laptop, this looks great and kind of shows off the fact that you own an apple mac. A pretty cool feature is the lighting in the logo, it lights up whenever it is in a dark place. This really is the best laptop I have ever seen.

It is very lightweight too, at only 13 inches diagonal and 2cm thick it does not weigh much at all. Where a normal laptop weighs around 4-5KG, this only weighs a measly 3KG, making it very portable. I think that you could easily fit it in your rucksack among many other things without many problems.

The software, or operating system, is what makes it so different from its competitors. Only a handful of other computers, all made by Apple, are like this one. OSX is the operating system that is used on this machine, not windows.

Instead of the standard windows toolbar at the bottom with a star icon, we are given a pop up toolbar with all our crucial programs on it, like say Itunes or Safari (the Apple internet browser). And all other programs like games are kept on the actual desktop. To reach other parts of the PC like the shut down button, there is a toolbar at the top of screen, with easy tabs, it changes to suit whichever program is being used, this is a brilliant feature.

More than anything though, mac OSX is dead simple to use. It boots up in 20 seconds, as opposed to the Windows 2-3 minutes, it doesn't get many viruses at all as most viruses are designed to destroy windows systems. All programs are easy to use and load up quickly, there is not much that can be faulted within the operating system.

Another great feature coming from mac OSX is its vast range of supplied programs already on the system. A good example is imovie, this is movie editing software that would cost around £50 by itself, there are many other built in programs, I would guess that altogether over a Windows machine the Mac comes built in with £150 worth more in applications.

There are only two problems in OSX, but you can get used to both of these quite easily. The first is the lack of windows programs functionality. Basically as more computers use Windows program designers have produced all there programs to run on normal computers, not macs. This is a bit of a bummer but you get used to it quickly, it is surprising how many mac versions of products there are. If you still don't think you can get used to it, then you could always invest in a program called boot camp, which basically runs windows as well on your system, allowing you to switch in between the two. You can use OSX for all your media, and Windows for your programs.

The second one is much smaller. If you are not a very experienced user, then it will probably take around 2 months before your comfortable using this machine. Once you are though, you will not regret making the switch over from PC to Mac.

The specs are really what should be expected for a laptop of this pricing. The processor is a 2.1GHZ intel core 2 duo, this runs quickly and smoothly, it has also been specially configured by Apple to make as small an amount of noise as possible. There is 2Gb of ram standard now, which is easily enough unless you try to open above 10 programs at one time, you should not do this with any computer anyway. There is 120Gb hard drive onboard, easily big enough for most people. The graphics card is an nvidia nforce one, this is fine and can run most games, it supports direct x 10, which is good. The only disappointment in the specs is the cd/dvd combo drive. It can read and write CDs with no problem what so ever, but unfortunately cannot burn any DVDs. A big thing that not many mid range laptops have is wireless n networking, which is standard on all these laptops, they allow for a 150 metre wi-fi range, outstanding. Do not forget that these specs are for the base model only, and can be vastly upgraded with more money spent.

The screen is only 13 inch big, but it has a very high resolution, equalling that of an average 17 inch notebook, making movies look fantastic on this high definition screen, as shown in the picture above. It is very glossy and has glare protection to make it easy to see in bright daylight. The bright colours contrast well and there are no problems in this section.

There are a few other little extra things I have not mentioned earlier. At the front of the laptop, there is a magnetic holder for the screen to keep it in place when the lid is closed instead of the average hook. There is a 2.0 webcam included at the top of the laptop, this is great for video calls and even conferences. Included in the box is among other things is a mini video remote, when it is switched on a 3d media menu pops up on screen, with the ability to view photos, movies and music quickly using the remote, it almost makes it like an ipod with a 13 inch screen.

Overall I can't really find fault in this laptop. Some people have had problems with battery life, but not me. Everything is exceptional here, and at £700 for the starter white model, I believe that it is a bargain for money, 5 stars.

Summary: My favourite laptop ever

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