The Most Durable, Stylish, Reliable, Powerful Portable You Can Own

Author's Rating:

Pros: Durable, Reliable, Stable, Innovative, Great Software, Easy to Use, No Worries Ever, Great Warranty

Cons: more expensive, technically less software, fewer Mac compatible accessories than for PC

The Bottom Line: 
Get a Macintosh if you are considering buying a new computer. They look great, run great, and have almost NO PROBLEMS EVER. The extra money is WELL worth it.

Author's Review
I just finished my senior year at high school, and like every other excited freshman entering college, I needed a reliable portable computer to bring with me. For the last 10 years or so, I have always used Windows computers, because they're the most common and the most well known. But as many people would probably agree, Windows offers nothing but problems and hassles that I didn't have time to deal with. System failures, incompatibilities, crashes, reboots, frozen screens, spyware, viruses, reformats...all commonalities with Windows computers. So, I decided to try out a Macintosh computer this time. It's the best decision I've ever made. This review is pretty long, so if you want a list of cool features of the Mac, scroll down to the bottom of the review. Also, the subjects of this review are titled so you can read what you want skip what you don't.

Design/Operating System
There are so many good things about this computer, I don't even know where to begin. But I have to start somewhere, so let's talk about the basics first. You could love Macintosh computers on their aesthetic beauty alone. All of their products are so stylish, contemporary, and innovative looking. They put so much into design, you cannot help but look and admire them. The Powerbook G4 happens to be a small, thin, powerful computer assembled in a durable, professional looking aluminum casing. It can withstand any moderate scuff or bump you may (accidentally) given it. Moving on, Macintosh has a completely separate, completely different operating system. The current version, known as Panther, includes unprecedented reliability and 3rd party support. The way Panther is set up, programs all independently of the operating system. So, if something should happen to a program (which is rare, if ever), the whole computer doesn't need to be rebooted. The platform also provides stability that Windows can't touch. I have not once had to restart my Mac because of a problem. Panther also comes with a user friendly interface that is visually amazing and functionally insurmountable. The programs that come with it are also customized to fit every need you can think of, from the mail program that allows easy use of multiple mail accounts, iTunes, which is the best music jukebox program available, to iPhoto, which automatically recognizes digital cameras, loads pictures, and provides an integrated feature that lets you easily order prints online. Panther is also specially designed to integrate perfectly with the iPod, for ultimate compatibility. Macintosh software is all about no hassles, ease of use, functionality, and unprecedented stability. They surely have not missed their mark.

Hardware
That said, I'll now move on to the hardware aspects. The powerbook that I purchased features a 12" screen, a 1.25 Ghz G4 Processor, 512 mb of ram, a 40gb hard drive, an airport extreme card, built in bluetooth, and a superdrive. The entire computer weighs only 4.6 pounds, and the battery gets over 3 hours of life. The G4 processor is specially designed by apple to process data in 64 bit chunks, compared to the 32 bit chunks processed by the fastest intel processor. This means that data is processed more than twice as fast on a mac. Macintosh hardware is also designed to use Ram twice as fast as any other computer, so that means programs will load fast, and you won't have to wait while your computer hangs on a processor demanding command. The airport extreme card allows you to surf the web wirelessly on both 802.11b and 802.11g networks. The antenna is in the monitor, which improves reception and eliminates the need for any external hardware that could break or become lost. Apple's superdrive allows you to burn your own dvds, which is a really really neat option! To accent this feature, Apple has created its own dvd making software package called iMovie (which allows you to load and edit movies) and iDVD (which allows you to create menus and compile a dvd, which can then be burned). All software is, of course, included.

Advantages Regarding Viruses/Spyware
One of my MOST favorite features of the Macintosh brand is that it is almost completely invulnerable to viruses. There are almost NO known viruses for the Mac. This means you don't have to worry about what is downloaded and run, because few, if any viruses are even able to run on a Mac, let alone do damage. Windows is so insecure and open to virus destruction, and with new viruses coming out daily (yes, new ones are discovered daily), why run the risk of losing important documents and files? Another huge problem with the Windows platform is the new and INCREDIBLY annoying problem of Spyware. Spyware imbeds itself deep in Windows, self-propagates, and opens holes for new spyware to be involuntarily downloaded. It then watches your internet activity, and delivers pop-up after pop-up after pop-up. It also makes your computer run incredibly slow due to several hidden programs running simultaneously. Spyware doesn't work on Macs. It's as simple as that. Spyware is of no threat because it is incompatible with the structure and file system of the Macintosh platform. This will save you hours and hours of hassle, I promise.

Software
Last, but not least, the software! You might be thinking to yourself, "Yeah, Macintosh sounds good, but the whole world runs on Windows. There must be almost nothing available for Macs!" Or, you may not be thinking that. But if you were, you're wrong. Many major software suites available for Windows are also available for Mac. The Office Suite, for example, has many original and creative features that can only be found on Mac. Windows Media Player is available for Mac (though Quicktime and Mac's DVD Player, which are both included, work much, much better). Quicken, Antivirus software, and Network Utilities are also extremely available. In many cases, the Mac versions are much more feature-packed and reliable.

Apple already has many of its own softwares included with its operating system. I've already talked about iTunes, iPhoto, Mail, iMovie, and iDVD. Also included is a cool program called Sherlock, which, using your zip code, provides immediate access to movie listings and times, stock quotes, Amazon, eBay, image search, phonebooks, flight times, dictionaries, language translations, and much much more. Garageband is a program that allows you to create your own music using real instruments or software based instruments. Address Book stores all your contacts and relevent information. iCal keeps track of important events, dates, and can even bet set to signal an alarm when something is coming up. Safari, the web browser, offers extremely fast page loading, built-in pop-up blocker, java support, and integrated download manager. All the software runs seamlessly on the Mac, because Apple designed the hardware, the operating system, and the programs for superior compatibility.

List of Cool Features
- All programs have every option you could ever think of wanting. Remember the feeling of wishing some Windows program could do something that wasn't available? Those days are over...

- Mac's operating system has a built-in feature called Expose. There are three different functions of Expose, which can be set to activate when the mouse is moved to certain corners of the screen, or by pressing the F9-F11 buttons. The three functions are: sliding all windows out of view to reveal the desktop; sliding all windows into a configuration so that all can be seen, and the desired window can be selected; hiding all windows except for applications so that a desired program can be selected. All are done with fluid, innovative animation for a really cool and useful effect.

- Macintosh uses a Dock, which is comparable to Windows' Start Menu. The Dock can be sized according to preference and placed on the left, right, or bottom of the screen. It allows you to select and quit programs with ease. There is also a magnification option that makes icons larger as the mouse approaches and lands on them. Magnification level can be adjusted, and all animation here is fluid as well.

- iChat is a cute little program that allows you to chat online with friends via and AIM account or a .Mac account. iChat is also designed by Apple for great features and compatibility.

- You can color label icons on the Desktop to find them more easily.

- You can set your desktop wallpaper to change every so often to a new picture for a new look all the time!

- Panther provides a sidebar in the folder view that you can add your most used folders to for fast and easy access.

- The 15" and 17" powerbook models have an ambient light sensor that dims the screen and illuminates the keyboard automatically.

- Joining and switching wireless networks is incredibly easy compared to Windows, with full access available on the top toolbar of the Operating System.

- When you put the computer to sleep, it has a cute little light that fades in and out to give a snoring effect. Additionally, the laptop can be put to sleep any time by closing it, and will wake up immediately when opened (no waiting to resume as with Windows).

- Mac OS has a feature that allows the computer to be run almost completely on voice commands. You can make it switch programs, open programs, quit programs, save documents, etc. It's really cool.

- Built-in bluetooth has a "discoverable" mode that automatically discovers other bluetooth devices and bluetooth enabled computers.

- If you want to switch users on Panther, the currently logged in user's screen will spin out of view on a big cube as the other user's screen spins into view.

- Almost all new devices (digital cameras, camcorders, mp3 players, external hard drives, etc) have innate support under Macintosh.

All in all, I am extremely happy with my Apple purchase...way more happy than I've ever been with any Windows computer. My system has never crashed, I've never lost a Word document, and I've never had to reformat my ENTIRE computer because of a virus or spyware attack. The machine runs as fast, if not faster than any PC, and the software features are fabulous. Plus, you get an automatic 1 year parts/labor warranty with your purchase. Yes, Windows computers are less expensive, but just remember, you get what you pay for.