Excellent reason to abandon Microsoft permanently

Author's Rating:

Pros: Built Like a Tank, Battery Life, Mac OSX, Size/Weight, 802.11b/g, Included Apps

Cons: Keyboard pressure, Screen durability

The Bottom Line: 
Best portable computer currently available

Author's Review
The iBook G4 is in my opinion (I'm not saying this lightly) THE best portable computer one can own, and I have pretty much (as the title states) abandoned Microsoft permanently; done away with its shortcomings, complexity, and unreliability. I won't dwell on the advantages of Mac OSX, as others have more-than-adequately covered that, but suffice it to say that once you've fallen in love with OSX, you'll never look back. At first glance, the iBook G4 seems simplistic, almost dumbed-down, but once you open it up and play with it, you'll soon appreciate the seamless integration of OSX with the iBook's hardware, the ease of doing virtually anything that you can with windows, and (most of all) the incredibly meticulous design of every tiny detail of the iBook.

Hardware:
The iBook is made of polycarbonate with an internal magnesium frame, giving it a very rugged and sturdy feeling. The hard drive is rubber-mounted to the frame, making it difficult to make the HDD skip or crash. there aren't any protruding doors, trays, or buttons to get caught on anything; the closed iBook is remarkably smooth. The optical drive is slot-loading, rather than a tray. The latch to close the display is recessed during use; when you close the screen a little magnet makes it pop out. Note that if the screen doesn't open when you press the button, try pushing gently down on the screen while holding the button, as this helps disengage the latch. The screen itself is beautiful, and subdues glare very well for an LCD display. However (like all notebook screens), it will blemish/scratch easily, so be very careful what touches it, being sure to clean it often. Also, do not put any pressure on it (poking/prodding with finger) for it is very detrimental for an LCD display. The battery is light and easy to pop in and out with a coin, and its 2ish amp-hours will be plenty for an afternoon of use, thanks to the iBook's very efficient processor and HDD. Also, the battery features a handy button, which when pressed, illuminates a series of 4 LED's adjacent to it telling how much juice you have left. The adapter is also notable for its sleek, small, and light design, with pop-out prongs and cord-winding hooks. The tip of the cord has an illuminated ring around the plug, which changes color from orange to green when charging is complete. The data ports of the iBook are all situated along the left side of the iBook, and are as follows (from front to back): headphone port, mini-VGA port, two USB 2.0 ports, firewire 400 port, 10/100baseT ethernet port, modem port. The keyboard is full-size and a pleasure to use, but the keys will not register unless you press them (ALL) the way down, to prevent accidental typing. The space bar doesn't always respond if you tap the side of it, so use 2 fingers or press it more in the middle. The trackpad is intuitive and sensitive, although there's only one button (true with most Macs though). For easier clicking, turn on "use trackpad for clicking" under System Preferences, so you can click by tapping the trackpad itself instead of the button. The speakers sound deep and full for a notebook, although they are not very loud. I recommend a Belkin Tunecast II for playing music over a stereo. There isn't a heat build-up problem with the iBook, as the bottom of the case only gets semi-warm after an hour or so. The adapter gets warm if you charge the iBook while using it (which is usually the case, I am doing so while writing this). Built into the display is the Airport antenna (on the sides), and a microphone hole to the right of the screen. All in all, a very good layout, and a very well-designed notebook.

Software:
Mac OSX is pretty much standard across the Apple spectrum, so if you've used any newer Mac then you can appreciate the design and unix-based stability of Mac OSX (which is why I'm only briefly covering it in this review). The included apps such as iPhoto, Safari, AppleWorks, iChat and iTunes are far superior to their Microsoft counterparts. The main complaint I hear from those who I convince to switch to Mac is from those insufferable corporate users who must have MS office functionality. AppleWorks includes a converter for this purpose, allowing for you to open and save documents in .doc format. If you still insist on MS office, my iBook came with a trial of MS Office Mac, which I am happy to report looks and feels exactly the same as its Windows version. The included network preferences in OSX make connecting to the internet a snap, whether you use modem/ethernet or the iBook's super-cool Airport.

Summary:
Buy the iBook G4 if you want a durable, appealing, useful notebook, with seamless integration and great software. Or if you're a Masochist, buy a Windows Notebook at a discount store near you.