Rating: 
Summary: "Great laptop, did you get that at wal-mart?"
Review: Nope. Can't buy a Mac at wal-mart. but you can buy lots of pc's there. Curious isn't it? This machine obviously isn't for the masses. It is for the reserved few who want the best. It does everything my pc does, just better.
I will say that I don't really waste time with video games. If you are a gamer, you may not want a Mac. Stick to your Atari, or whatever. If you want the best in a personal notebook, that offers great speed, a system that never crashes, surf the net, grab email, manage your digital tools, (camera's, iPod's, iSight, iCal, iChat) you can't beat it.
It's also the most beautiful hardware, and operating system on the planet.
It's not for everyone, just the ones who know better.
Rating: 
Summary: iBook highs and lows
Review: They are sleek and lightweight. I was so happy with my iBook, that I quickly bought another one for my fiance. Even though they were slow to respond when running anything more complex than a text editing program, the small size, top design, and ease of use won me over.However, recently, I have serious doubts of ever owning an Apple again. Now, less than 6 months after making these two purchases, both iBooks are back with Apple technical support services for repair. My troubles also appear to be related the common 'logic board' problem, that has caused hundreds of posts on the Apple support forums. At this point, my only thoughts are how to unload these two systems for something that I can rely on :(
Rating:
Summary: Best laptop for the money, by far
Review: This is probably the best designed laptop I've ever used. It's compact, light, and everything a laptop should be. My experience with other laptops is that they are usually rushed to market and poorly designed, overheating to the extant that they crash.
For students, this is an excellent laptop that actually holds its value and usability, something that is instantly compromized when you buy some other laptop, and, like another reviewer said, is extremely durable; something ideal for a student throwing it into a bag of textbooks and notebooks. The speakers are truly impressive sounding for a laptop. Most other notebooks' speakers sound tinny and strained, at best. Also, the Apple support is second to none. Some complaints, however. The keyboard is of course very small, and the keys give the impression that they are going to break, or become dislodged, or something of the sort (they won't, I assure you). Like a previous reviewer said, they take what can seem an eternity to start up, and the 128 MB of RAM that comes with is not sufficient, to say the least. Mac OS X is extremely resource intensive, one could say it squanders CPU power on unnecessary window shadows and effects. If you have the nerve to partially take apart the laptop, this can easily be solved, in part, with another stick of RAM. The 12" screen can be a little small, but if you are truly bothered by it, an adapter comes with the ibook to hook up to a VGA monitor.
OS X is also the most developed operating system put forth by one company, and is also the best looking. I haven't discovered any problems with networking that would have been any easier with a Windows laptop. The internal airport card is also a blessing (there is no PCMCIA slot), and it saves from the possibility of losing the card (without the even more catastrophic loss of the laptop).
Apple generously supplies almost all the software one would need in order to accomplish most computing tasks right out of the box. For an all-purpose computer for the average user, I would say the ibook is a very viable option. If you're into high-end graphics, audio and video editing, and you have money to burn, a Powerbook is probably your best bet. Be warned though, aluminum is an extremely good heat conductor.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Money Spent
Review: When investing in a laptop/notebook, it is always difficult to draw a line as to how much to spend. Do you spend a couple of hundred more to get that dvd burner or do you settle with just the cd-rom?
The Apple iBook with DVD-rom/CD-RW combo drive is the best value for money I have experianced. I'm a student and believe me, this was no small investment for myself, however I am extremely glad with the results. The programs run smoothly and beautifully. While opening 3 or 4 programmes at once is never a good idea on any laptop, the iBook can work its way through with little trouble. I have it just under a year now and it is going wonderfully. All the software on it is excellent and easy to use. There has been no trouble for me in terms of transfering from PC to Mac. The constant updates Apple makes available mean that my software can be kept consantly up to date.
The DVD playback is spectacular for a notebook. The detail is so crisp, its just as good as any tv. You can also see the screen clearly from a much wider angle than most notebooks.
The sound leaves you a bit wanting, but its still pretty good for a notebook.
The battery life is fantastic. Everyone keeps saying they cant rely on their battery life where as my iBook can power on for up to 5 hours if im just working on the net.
The biggest warning I have for buyers is that the networking between my iBook and my universities PC based network has basically been a dead goose. It just doesn't want to register.
It is just such a fun, jam-packed, beautifully presented piece of technology. I cannot imagine ever going back to PC.
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