Ayesh Arie World

By Iorwen on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply

This is my first Mac computer. My first four computers ran Win 3.1, Windows 95, XP, and Vista (from about 1995-present). I have quite a lot of time spent on each of them. Switching from Windows to Mac is not difficult, but it can be a bit frustrating for a week or so. There are Windows features that you will miss, but they are mostly overcome by overall advantages in my opinion.

I’ve spent two weeks with this machine now. If I had written this review after one day, I would have probably stated that I regretted the switch to Mac. After getting more proficient with the machine and realizing how well it works, I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

This review is going to be a mix of my impressions of both the hardware and the Mac operating system from a new Mac user perspective.

The only difference between my machine and the one on this product page is that I ordered directly from Apple and upgraded the hard drive to 250GB (from the 160GB base option). I am using 2gb of ram and the lower-end processor.

My Mac OS impressions:

The biggest thing I missed from Windows at first was the task bar. Mac uses the “dock” to replace the task bar. The dock is kind of like the quick launch toolbar in Windows spread out across the entire bar, with large icons. Having used windows with a task bar for the past 13 years, I missed the ability to see all open programs and switch between them with the task bar. The dock has a tiny dot below the icon on running-programs, but nothing else to separate it from other program and folder icons. The dock is not nearly as useful for multitasking as the task bar.

The saving grace that rescues the Mac from awkward app-switching while multitasking is called expose. Expose is activated by either pressing a key or using a multitouch gesture (four-finger swipe). Expose uses the entire screen to display all open windows and allow you to switch between them. It’s like alt+tab on steroids. Having used the machine for a couple weeks, I miss using expose when I use my Windows machine. As much as I hated the dock at first, I have to give the advantage to the Mac for managing multiple windows while multitasking.

The controls for open-windows are quite different than in MS-Windows. In Mac, there is a resize, hide, and minimize button instead of maximize, minimize, restore, and close. To close an app on the mac you need to use a menu command or keyboard shortcut. The Mac resize button kind of works like restore/maximize, only it’s a bit more awkward. A commenter here pointed out that it resizes the window for ideal viewing without using the entire screen. I find myself resizing windows by dragging corners more than I ever did on a Windows machine. I really miss the ability to maximize, if for no other reason but to avoid distractions. The green resize button may be better on an enormous monitor, but not on a 13″ notebook. When you minimize or hide an app on the Mac, it is only available from the dock and is hidden from expose. I’ll give the window size-management advantage to Windows in this contest. The windows system is just easier and more logical in my opinion. It isn’t a deal-breaker, but I do miss the Windows “window controls.” If you are a frequent user of the F11 key while web browsing in Windows you’ll have to kiss that feature goodbye. Neither Firefox nor Safari will go full-screen.

Windows Explorer is “replaced” with an app called Finder. Finder is kind of like the start menu and an explorer window all rolled up into one. Compared with older versions of Windows, finder is adequate but Vista’s explorer is quite a bit easier and more logical to use. I prefer Vista’s preview pane to Mac’s coverflow. I miss the “up folder” button. I have found myself mostly using the view that puts files, folders and apps into a column view for easiest computer browsing, and it just isn’t as elegant as Windows Vista. The lack of a maximize button has caused frustration especially in the finder, because the finder likes to stay in a very small window unless you drag the corners.

The Safari web browser is nice and quick and has a decent security reputation. I have been switching back and forth between Safari and Firefox. Firefox has crashed a couple of times and I really like being able to use multitouch gestures with Safari, so I’m leaning toward making Safari my main web tool. Reading RSS feeds, and the bookmark toolbar are really well done in Safari. Browsers are so personal that it’s difficult to recommend one over the other, but as a Firefox user in Windows I think I have high standard and Safari has met or exceeded them.

I absolutely hate the iPhoto app. Iphoto does not allow you to organize and browse your photos in folders. It imports your pictures and sorts them itself based on time/date stamps on the photos. This works fine for personal vacation snapshots but it completely mixed up the rest of my images. Folders that were neatly organized for work projects, and fun web clippings, and adult stuff were all shuffled into one big mess after I imported my image collection. I ended up just deleting all of them and not using iphoto at all. Right now I’m just using Finder to browse my photos and the preview app to view them. Light editing work isn’t possible in the preview app and I still haven’t decided what to use for a basic photo editor yet. Vista’s photo app is junk but it’s still superior to iPhoto if you like to keep your photos organized using your own folder system. I know people who love iphoto. It comes down to whether you want the ability to organize your collection yourself. If you have a big mess of photos, you’ll love iphoto’s ability to organize them via event and face recognition.
Edited to add: you can organize your photos into “albums” after you import them into iPhoto, but be prepared to spend a lot of time reorganizing everything. Even after you organize into albums, the main library screen gives you views of your entire collection (perhaps things you don’t want everyone to see).

I have not used Garage Band or iMovie yet. I’ll update later when I get a chance.
Edited to add: I played with garage band a bit and it’s pretty powerful. It allows you to import and export AAC and MP3 tracks and record sound in multiple tracks. Very easy to use. The only other audio app i’ve ever used is audacity and I much prefer Garage Band. I haven’t used any of the music lessons it offers yet but plan to soon.
I played with iMovie for a few minutes and it seems pretty nice and very intuitive. I actually don’t mind Windows Movie Maker, which is included with Vista. I would not consider it a big step up from Win Movie Maker, but it’s a nice app.

The mail, calendar, and address book apps are basic but work very very well. The address app will import common file types easily. It will sync with yahoo out of the box. Address book will only sync with Google contacts if you own an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Everyone has an opinion about iTunes. I’m a big fan of it. It’s exactly like the windows version only it runs a bit faster without the bugs. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, the Windows-iTunes bug with time/date being wrong after the computer sleeps is not an issue on the Mac.

Time machine is the Mac’s backup app. It is amazing and very simple. I’m using an external drive plugged into my Apple Airport wireless router, as a backup disk. My wireless disk showed up on my desktop instantly once I plugged it into the router. Time machine noticed the external drive right away and went to work backing up my files (after asking permission of course). Now my machine automatically backs up any changes every hour as long as I’m in range of my wireless access point. Time machine is a big load off my mind. If I ever have a drive failure or my computer is destroyed I have an exact backup of everything without remembering to backup my files. Vista will backup according to a set schedule, but it lacks the ability to easily look through backups for specific files. Time machine is wonderful and make wireless backup effortless.

The Mac disk utility is almost as good as the one in Vista and it’s easier to use. It’s far superior to the one in XP. I used it to format my external wireless drive because the Mac router couldn’t read NTFS formating (although the computer can read NTFS drives via USB for some reason).

The graphics control software is a joy to use. When I plug in my external monitor it immediately extends my desktop to the new monitor. Adjusting everything from resolution to rotation couldn’t be any easier.

Boot camp is a utility that allows you to create a partition and install Windows as a secondary boot system (you need to own or buy a legal single-disk 32bit copy of either Windows XP or Windows Vista). When you start up the boot camp utility, it gives you a choice between using either 5 or 32 GB of space for the Windows partition. I learned the hard way that Windows XP SP3 won’t fit into 5GB. You need to give it at least the 32 GB (which left me with almost exactly 200GB on my “250″ GB drive). Installing Windows using the Boot Camp utility is very very easy. Once you get Windows loaded, your OSX install disk makes quick work of installing drivers for all of your laptop’s hardware. It’s too bad that Nvidia and HP aren’t as good at putting together easy Windows driver packages as Apple. In order to boot into Windows, you simply press the “option” key during bootup and it allows you to choose which OS to run. Windows XP absolutely screams on this hardware.

The hardware:

The hardware is where this computer really shines.

The biggest advantage is…

Read more ›

By Tyanne on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply

Well I must say I am very happy i did not buy apple’s first iteration of the 13″ aluminum macbook last year b/c they really got it right the second time around upgrading it to a macbook pro! Its nice to have that “pro” stamp on a 13″ now! Apple has listened to their customers adding almost everything we have asked for and more, and managed to reduce the price! Thanks Apple!

CHANGES FROM LAST YEAR
- $100 less
- 13″ aluminum macbooks became macbook pros
- 2.53Ghz up from 2.4GHz dual core
- 4GB RAM up from 2GB
- led display has 60% greater color gamut than previous model
- new advanced built-in battery that lasts up to 7 hours vs 4hrs
- FireWire is back (after all the complaints of first model)
- SD card slot (replaces express card slot)
- new models now come with iLife ’09
- separate digital audio input is gone
- new model uses the same integrated mic and headphone port as the iPhone

PROS
- finally a price cut with a performance upgrade! i knew apple could do it. i was tired of paying for aesthetics and not performance.
- new Snow Leopard Operating System comes pre-installed! Same great ease of use with much faster performance!
- much better lcd screen! inline with the pro models…still glossy and still some glare but much nicer!
- backlight keyboard on all 13″ models now! ( i really enjoy this as it can be controlled from low to high)
- battery life is significantly better than last year.( i get about 6 hours w/ regular use not the 7hrs that is reported)
- the computer is designed beautifully truly a head turner.
- iLife 09 suite is superb for pictures, movies, and music. Good software really does sell hardware.
- SD card slot accepts SDHC, which goes up to 32GB and works like a charm. (can boot from SD card as well)

CONS
- aluminum outer casing does dent easily if dropped. (buy a soft case for it!)
- power cord is short and does not reach as many places as I would like…must sit very close to power outlet.
- battery can’t be removed easily
- SD card sticks about half way out of slot. eye sore.
- blu-ray option would have been nice but understandable given licensing fees. (many blurays are offering digital copies which help)

Taking into consideration all the great improvements over last year with a nice price cut I can now truly recommend this near perfect Macbook Pro!

By Ketaki on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply

I just got my brand new 13.3″ Macbook Pro in the mail. I customized mine with 4GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive, but with the entry-level 2.26 GHz Intel processor. I unboxed it in front of my mother and sister, and they were both oohing and aahing about how beautiful and thin it was. They also loved the magnetic connector on the end of the power adapter that snaps the power cord into the computer nearly by itself. I powered the computer up, went through the Leopard setup screens, and within minutes was logged in. While starting up, the light sensor powered on, the screen dimmed, and the keyboard lit-up automatically. Everything about this computer suggests ingenious design and engineering, with great attention to every detail. It is very light, and since I am using this for school, I am very happy with the size and form factor, particularly the charger. Switching from a large Dell that sported a charger that could be used to bludgeon somebody to death, the small white charger that is about the size of a wallet is a breath of fresh air. This laptop will be a pleasure to travel with.

Are there things this computer lacks? Yes, there is no Blu-Ray player, which would have been nice, but for me was not a deal-breaker. I suspect that the next-gen MBP’s will phase out the rotary hard drives and switch to solid state as the standard, and will all have Blu-Ray players. Until that time, this little laptop is more than sufficient.

If I had to come up with a gripe about this computer, there is really only one- and this is true for most of Apple’s products- the iPod, iPhone, and MBP’s- I wish that they would not coat portable products with textures that are so easy to scratch. It is apparent that after a few months of toting this to class, it is going to have some scuffs on it. It seems like a bit of a paradox that a company that puts so much value on aesthetics seems only to care about how the product looks when it is taken out of the original packaging. That said, this laptop feels extremely sturdy, and apart from normal wear and tear marks, I am not fearful that it will fall apart, which is a whole lot more than I can say for my previous piece of crap plastic Dell.

In reading other reviews, people seem to be unable to understand that this qualifies as an ultra-portable laptop. It is simply not going to have a peripheral hookup for every type of flash card and five USB hookups. Are people serious with lambasting Apple for merging the audio jack in/out ports into one single port? Really, who gives a rat’s a$$? This is a PORTABLE computer, not a media center. If you are a user who favors those things, then you are free to go out and purchase the necessary adapters, but I would rather have a lightweight computer that I can easily tote around. If you want a laptop that is prepared for any occasion, go buy an 8 lb. Dell desktop replacement, and have fun. I for one think people just want a reason to moan or find something to complain about. The fact is that for the money, you are not going to find a better laptop than this one. It costs a bit more than competing PC products, but I have owned Dell’s and HP’s, and I can tell you, you get what you pay for. If you use your laptop for at least a couple of hours a day, I think it is worth a couple hundred extra to get a really high quality product that makes you happy, and that is why I upgraded to the MBP.