Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great
Review: Should you own this ibook? Maybe. In my opinion, it all depends on your preferences and your needs. I got this laptop as a birthday present and while I have to say it looked cool, it certainly didn't perform up to expectations. Here's how I break it down.
Pros
- Probably, the best thing about this laptop comapred with others is it's beautiful design. The sleek white plastic and the slot-loading combo drive certainly make it stand out from the rest. It's great how you can push a button on the battery and check how much battery life there is left and the display is good, though not as crisp or sharp as the other laptop's I've seen. Mainly Sony and IBM.
-It is also surprisingly quiet and hardly makes any noise at all. In fact, you just can't hear it when you're typing.
- The full size keyboard is also a plus. Most laptop computers come with funny looking keys that alter the way you type. Not this one. This makes it a pleasure to use.
- Battery life is also great. I have no idea where they get the six hour figure. Even with the highest settings. The highest I've ever got while using it is 3 and a half. Which is still better than average.
-I also like the I/O ports included. There's no serial or parallel port attached, which are useless to me.
- Multi-tasking functions much better on a Mac.
- Mac OS is also fun to use. I agree, that it is so much more stable than Windows. Of course it depends on which version you compare it to. I have never had any trouble with Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000. Not once. No freezes. No problems shutting down. No crashes nothing. But Mac OSX is a bit better when it comes to plug & play and it definately doesn't suffer from spyware. Not so far at least.
Cons
- Probably, the biggest minus of all is the fact that this model does not come with a wireless card. Apple did that obviously to lower the price to make it competitive. But it's still a bummer. Most of the laptops out there already have wireless G built in at an equal or lower price.
- Hard drive space is another. Most laptops again, average around 40GB with 60GB fast becoming the new standard. Apple will likely do an upgrade sometime in the future but right now, it falls behind others in this category. In the future I'm sure it will again, until the demand for a larger drive increases.
- I'm also a little dissapointed that this computer only came with 256RAM. It's pretty fast as it is, but Mac OSX is very memory intensive. It should at least come with 512.Not only that but there is only one open slot for you to upgrade. Which means you have throw the old module out to place a new one in.
-The speakers on this laptop are just awful. Again, it was a feature that had to be cut back in order to lower the price. The more you raise the volume, the worse the speakers sound. If you want to listen to any music or watch a movie, you're gonna want to use headphones.
- I hate to say it, but the processor in my opinion is slow. I had a 1.8Ghz celeron laptop with only 256MB RAM and it loaded applications instantly. I am tired of seeing that colored swirly thing.
-The slot loading combo drive can also be a bad. In the first few day of using it. A CD got stuck in it. Normally, when you use a tray version, you can use a pin to stick in the hole to pull it out. Not here. I almost had to call Apple Support because of it.
-I also don't like the one button track pad. This is really a personal thing though. I prefer being able to right click without the help of a mouse.
- It'd also be better if there were more USB ports and that all the ports were located to the back rather than the side. It would make things look a bit less conspicuous.
-Finally, there are some issues with Mac OSX too. For one, programs do crash - and when they do, they quit without warning. At least in Windows, a little sign will flash saying 'Program Not responding'. Not here. So you better save often if you don't want to lose your stuff. Also, there are program conflicts as well. Divx will not run on my Mac as it does on my PC and Windows Media Player keeps on quitting. It can also be very frustrating to 'find' programs and documents you might be looking for as they are scattered throughout the hard drive. At least, in Windows, everything is locate in the Start Menu alone. Also, you have to buy Mac Version software and hardware in order to use it. Which is a bummer if that happens to include programs like Photoshop, Office and an expensive scanner, as well as an MP3 player.
Having said that, should you buy this ibook? Or a Mac for that matter? Well yeah, but only if you can afford it. They are great machines. But if you don't have a lot of money to spend in the first place and can't afford to spend big bucks for Macintosh software and hardware, then there's nothing wrong with sticking to a PC. It's a machine for crying out loud and results matter much more than what platform you use. It's all preference. As for me, I gave my laptop back and was able to get a new PC laptop that suited my needs perfectly.
Rating: 
Summary: In reply to the previous review
Review: The new 12 inch ibook has a 1.2 ghz processor and an airport extreme card built in thats it.Only the 14 inch model carries a 1.33 ghz processor. The new ibook would cost you 999 $(from apple), with the mail in rebates and a9 discount this would cost you about 825$.Importantly, Amazon does not tax most states, apple collects taxes in almost all states I guess. So it would be 999$ plus 60 to 80 dollars.An airport extreme card would cost you 70 bucks making the total of this system to 895$. In essence you would be paying 150 dollars for a processor upgrade from 1 ghz to 1.2 ghz.If you dont need that increase this is definitely a better deal
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: There are things that make you say "cool!" Then there are things that make your jaw drop ever so slightly.This was not the case. Immediately upon opening this hidden Graduation present, in my mind, I thought, "wow." A subtle yet meaningful word like wow can be used to describe such a terrific machine. This is my first laptop and my first Apple computer. I've had years of experience on PC's, but I work just as well with macs. I'd been ogling this model for quite some time... but my ogling became a sign for my parents to buy it for me. A generous thing they did... yes... but was it worth their money? Absolutely. This review will take you on a step-by-step tour of the Apple iBook G4 Notebook... and boy, what a ride it will be. I recall ripping apart the old, red wrapping paper to see a brown box. Puzzled as to what was inside it, I gladly removed the tape and peered into a side of the packaging. I saw a white box with grey letters. Apple, I thought. Immediately, from the start, I could tell. God bless Apple's packaging. I ripped apart the box, and in the cardboard fury left in the wake of my terror... and exclaimed to the heavens the joy of recieving a laptop at the age of 14. Catching my breath, I sat down to set it up... expecting a PC-like installation from Hell... but, to my surprise, it was set up! Excelsior, it's ready! I personalized my desktop in a matter of minutes... choosing a snazzy green background and making my icons in the dock do a West coast-esque wave. But the thing that is most amazing is the internet capability. We have a wireless internet system as it is, and the AirPort chip automatically configured itself to our system. Amazing. I was on Amazon almost instantaneously. Now for the bottom line. Apple has been famous for creating "computers for dummies..." by making machines that anyone can operate with ease. I give three big "10.0" signs up for Apple for creating such an eye-pleasing, fold up machine of fun. It's a do anything, go anywhere machine. Kudos to the designers, and snickers to the programmers.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all it's thought to be
Review: This computer was not compatible with my wireless network and I needed to buy an upgrade in order to do it, so I just returned it
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE THIS COMPUTER!
Review: This little lap top is unbelievable to say the least. I just bought it several weeks ago so that I would have it when I head off to college. Having it has changed my life! Now, I have always been a mac person, but switching to Panther was the best decision I ever made. It is a remarkable difference, and you will never look back. If you are in the market for a small, portable, extremely powerful, attractive lap top, this is the one to pick. I reccomend that everyone start using macs, it would just make the world a better place!
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