Rating: 
Summary: Super-Solid Laptop for Anyone on a Budget
Review: To put it simply, Apple's new iBook is an engineering marvel. The design is sleek and elegant, yet the case can stand up to a good beating. The iBook comes with an awesome set of features--pretty much everything you might need is already part of the package, including FireWire, CD-RW drive, and 10/100 Ethernet. Despite having a relatively small screen (12.1" diagonal) compared to some PC laptops, it still supports a full 1024 x 768 resolution at millions of colors. The screen is very bright, and the battery, while not quite the 5-hour powerhouse that Apple advertises, still manages about three hours doing normal operations. The 500-MHz G3 processor is spritely and gets things done quickly, although it doesn't have quite enough power to do a large amount of movie editing or graphics work.A few drawbacks are as follows:
The internal CD burner is only 8x at this time, which is markedly slower than the 16x and 20x external FireWire burners available now. The iBook comes with only 128 mb of RAM, which is just barely enough for most things. I would strongly encourage upgrading to at least 256 mb total, as RAM is very inexpensive these days. The video memory in the iBook is only 8 mb, with a weak graphics controller as compared to what goes into the G4 desktops. As such, the iBook is only mediocre at gaming. The 10GB hard drive is already pre-loaded with almost 5GB of software and sample mp3's, so I would highly recommend upgrading to at least a 20 GB drive. In conclusion, the iBook is a solid purchase for anyone who wants many of the features of a desktop machine, but in a portable package. The drawbacks listed above are mostly forgiveable, as sacrifices had to be made somewhere to make this such a reasonably-priced machine. The new iBook no longer has a built-in carrying handle, but Apple has managed to trim quite a bit of weight and bulk, making it a joy to use on a daily basis.
Rating:
Summary: Great Computer
Review: Until I got the Apple iBook, I had been a diehard Windows user. But finally, I'd had enough of the Windows anti-trust and not to mention the problems with the actual Windows OS. So finally, I decided that I'd get a Mac. The perfect choice for me was the Apple iBook. Since I got it, I've discovered that my choice was a good one. The only problem I've had is that AOL seems to crash a bit. Otherwise, the Apple iBook is basically the greatest computer I've ever used. I realize I haven't put a lot of info on the iBook in, but trust me, the iBook is quite simply the greatest choice for a laptop computer. Actually, for a computer period.
Rating: 
Summary: Durable, Easy, Powerful, and a minor glitch
Review: We bought the iBook because we needed something to get us online to do banking while on a two-month long trip across Europe. We decided to get the combo drive because we wanted to watch DVDs while on the train and back up data. Before we left, I put some things on it such as auto-complete forms in Internet Explorer and some other things in programs. Well when we got to London (first place on our journey) I was annoyed to find out that these items had dissapeared, both in OS-9 and OS-X. But that was no big loss. We also found ourselves using the cd-burner drive for a few other uses. We made a few audio CDs while in the car because we needed something to listen to, and while the built-in speakers are of high quality, they weren't good enough to allow all 3 passengers to hear it. The DVD drive worked flawlessly right out of the box. The CD Burner drive also worked. I had a few problems in OS-X with iTunes but it was easilly solved by downloading iTunes for OS-X for free from Apple's website. Another great feature on the iBook is it's 5-hour battery lifespan. We used it on the plane, on the train, and in the car (even cd-burning and dvd reading) and it never ran out. The included power adapter makes travel easy since the cord winds up in itself. As my first Macintosh computer, I was very fond of it, although some features that I use in Windows will keep me away from an apple in the future, but my mother would say otherwise. I give it 4 stars because while I thought it was great and easy and had no major problems, I still need to use programs that are native to the Windows platform, and also sometimes I find it a bit hard to navigate the Macintosh platform. Oh well, that's just me though, go figure.
Rating:
Summary: More for Your Money
Review: With a 600MHz G3 (approx. 1.2 GHz pentium) and 128 MB RAM, this little computer is a deceptive powerhouse. Portability, durability, and ease of use are the traditional accolades for Mac laptops, but this one is the first to pack real value. The new operating system, the faster chip, and the added storage space make the iBook a perfect investment for college students or business people on the go. With a DVD player, iMovie to edit digital movies, iTunes to manage MP3 files, Palm software built in, and free word processing software all included, the iBook is ready to become the hub of your digital lifestyle.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect compromise
Review: You can't have everything. At least, not at 1,199 bucks. The bottom-of-the-line iBook is exactly what it should be: Extremely portable and extremely friendly. Extremely fast? Not. This is a compromise machine -- the screen is small and the processor is the slowest available on a Mac. At 12.1 inches, the screen is among the smallest you will find on a laptop nowadays, but it is super-sharp. And the fairly pokey processor is still more than adequate for word processing and iTunes and some basic graphics applications, and for surfing the web. Also, 128 MB of RAM is downright puny in today's computing world. You'll definitely want to upgrade to at least 256 MB. Now, for the good part. By making those compromises, the iBook is not only cheap, it is light -- under 5 pounds. Check out a similarly equipped laptop from your weekly Bestbuy ad, and you will see behemoths weighing in at 6, 7, 8 or even 9 pounds! And you will rarely find one this thin, and never one this cool. Battery power on the iBook also far outshines its PC competition, helped in part by that small screen and slow processor. This is basically the perfect machine for someone on the go -- including reporters like me -- or for a K-12 student. If these compromises are simply too much for you, Apple has an alternative for you -- the no-compromises, 5.4 pound, 1-inch thick, super-fast Titanium Powerbook G4. It's your choice. You get what you pay for.
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