PowerBook

Here is my review for my PowerBook and accessories:

First off, I absolutely love my PowerBook. It is a 17inch 1.5Ghz G4 with an 80 GB 5,4000rpm hard drive and a 128Mb V-RAM (9700 ATI). In every aspect, I love it. This is my first Mac, as well as my first laptop. It is extremely thin and fairly light, yet the display is huge. Coming from the PC world, I’ve gotten used to OS X in a blink. I keep wondering why I haven’t been using Mac’s longer. I’m not flaming PC computers or PC users; I’m just saying that for *me* Mac’s are the better choice.

Screen:
Big. Bright. Glare free. Beautiful. The screen is awe-inspiring. I like how it adjusts automatically, but sometimes I change the brightness myself, which is only a keyboard click away. It has no dead pixels. Screen brightness is even and uniform. Viewing angles are excellent. What else can I say? It is fabulous.

Keyboard:
This is my fist lappy, but I love this keyboard. It is crisp, and I love how clicks just so. I haven’t had any problems with it what-so-ever. The keyboard lights up, and I personally cherish this feature. I use it a lot at night and it does make a difference. I can control the keyboard brightness with, once again, the touch of a button. The only thing I would change about the keyboard is the up/down/side-to-side arrows. They are small, which isn’t good for gaming. The touchpad is exceptional as well. After a few days I got accustomed to the touchpad.

Speed:
It seems fast; on par with my PC desktop. I’ve made this discovery (and it could just be me) that the speed of it is even with my PC, but the real difference is multitasking. For example, when it loads, turns on, opens this file, etc., there is no real difference. However, when I am using my PC and I open up multiple files or I am trying to do lot’s of different things (multitask) there are great delays. On the Mac I can open up anything and everything without any delays or problems. Expose also comes in handy under such circumstances. My PowerBook’s ability to multitask is one gigantic reason as to why I love the machine so much. I’m one of those people who, while the computer is just turning on and the OS is just loading up, like to open every application I plan on using. My PB takes it like a champ.

Battery:
Not the greatest, but I didn’t buy a 17 inch display for the battery now did I? Actually, it seems rather descent. It has lots of different battery saving features. At first I just let the computer pick battery preferences (under automatic), but now I find myself controlling them. The battery will last a good while if I turn the screen brightness down and use it for basic apps.

Accessories:
Under software I’ve purchased AppleCare, Microsoft Works S&T Ed., and Unreal Tournament 2004. AppleCare is simply for protection/warranty. Microsoft Works is for two things: word-processing and for the interchangeability with PCs. Unreal Tournament plays superb on my machine. I just got the game, but the graphics are nice and game play splendid. Under hardware, I’ve gotten a few items. At CompUSA I got a cheap 15 dollar Kensington mouse. It works well for its intended purpose of game play and web scrolling. Next, I got an iBreeze. This has two fans, but what I really got it for was to prop my PB at an angle for easy typing. My machine hasn’t gotten hot at all, so I don’t use the fans. For anybody who cares, the iBreeze fans are really quiet with just a little hum. I also got a few items from RadTech: a keyboard cover, a sleeve for the whole computer, and cushions for the screen. I would recommend the first two, but I haven’t put on the cushions yet because of procrastination. The keyboard cover protects the screen, and I also use it to wipe off the screen (it’s made of microfiber), and to wipe my residue of the keyboard and touchpad. Lastly, I got a Booq backpack. The backpack is a little bit big, but I really like it. Padded room for my PB and extra room for my schooling items. The backpack is high quality. Everything I’ve bought I’ve liked; there are no regrets. By the way, I also got a 20GB iPod. The iPod is a must; I simply use it everywhere. The griffin voice recorder works well, but I haven’t used it too much as of yet.

I just bought a canon Powershot A80 yesterday. Once I get it up and running I will try to post pictures. Until then, be free to ask any questions or share any comments. Feel free to ask any questions if you want any specific info about the PowerBooks or any of the accessories. Thanks.

Apple gives decent discounts to college students. And btw,I don't see it as "killing" or wasting money. To me, everything was a good buy. I also got help from my parents because we are going to be doing lots of sharing.

1. Yeah this is my first Mac. I love it.

2. I don't have any questions. The thing is so easy that I don't see the need. I'm learning about it so fast. However, I do have a friend who showed me some cool little tricks. If you know of any "cool little tricks" I would love to hear them.

3. I think OS X is the pinnacle operating system.

4. Thank you very much.

I've been playing Unreal '04 all night. Call me crazy, but I think the games RUNS better with everything turned on high (details, etc.).

Nothing wrong with the screen at all. No dead pixels

Viewing angles are really good. I mean, I wouldn't watch a movie from the side or anything, but I can, for example, read this from any angle. Brightness is really, really even. I've seen sony X-brights and I liked how bright the screen was. For that brightness, however, you are going to get glare. My screen suffers from no glare (I haven't been outside yet). My screen isn't as bright as X-bright, but it is still wonderfully bright. It plays movies like a dream (no glitches).

It terms of resolution, the screen is nice and tight, but at the same time font isn't to small. Sometimes when I'm playing Unreal I feel as if I'm watching a DVD the graphics are so crisp. Somewhere in the future I may get Rainbow Six 3, but I'm not sure. Money isn't as available to me as it was a month ago; I'm not sure why