PenaFire.com

Apple MacBook MB881LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop Review from G.Ernest B Mlodger42. It’s Good to Be Home Again, My first Apple was an Apple II Plus way back in 1980. Those five hundred dollar each 5.25 drives still haunt me. Then came 1985 and I switched to Microsoft and sold my box of Apple stuff. Since then I have been a Windows user both personally and professionally, finishing up a third career as a systems person managing hundreds of installations, servers etc etc. Upon retirement (who else has three laptops and five desktops running Linux, XP, Vista, and now OS X) I began to dabble once again in the Apple world. I think it was Vista that pushed me over the edge; Vista and all the evildoers who try to infect our PC machines with viruses and malware. Dante should have a new circle of Hell for them.

First I tried a MacMini to try out the operating system. It wasn’t easy to upgrade but I did it–bigger HD and more memory. I love that little machine and it was cheap.

Then my old Toshiba laptop began to exhibit signs of death. Time for a decision. I could continue to use my test box Dell laptop D600 (solid machine) with three swapping HD’s–Linux, XP, and FreeBSD (yeah, I know), or make the switch to Apple for good.

Being retired and semi-poor, I researched and went with this new MacBook White 2.0. First you just have to upgrade the HD and memory, but that is easy and cheap. The Momentus 320/7200 and some Crucial memory are the way to go, and your total cost is only about 130 bucks. Using SuperDuper to clone the drive is dead easy.

The MacWhite is kinda ugly, no doubt about it. Even my wife who is a very practical, no nonsense computer user and never cares what a computer looks like as long as it works, said it was an ugly little thing, yes? And yes, for the same bucks you can get a seemingly faster PC laptop with bigger screen. But hey, for a bigger screen, I use my MacMini on a nice old 19inch LCD. Laptops are for laps, for traveling, for packing around, and for daily use. If you can only afford one and want both, then by all means spend a couple of grand and get the big one with 17inch screen.

Overall I like the following: OS is a dream to use; ergonomics the best, software better than most and no time wasted on all that junk that you have to do to keep XP/Vista safe and running smoothly. Could that be the Unix ancestry? I think so. Weight and size are just fine for my needs. It is portable and connects quickly to foreign and domestic networks. I like the firewire that they kept, and the superdrive they added. I like the keyboard and ease of cleaning the case.

Things I would change if Apple hired old computer guys from the trenches: keypad on this model probably not as cool as that on the more expensive model; a black model would cost so much to offer for the same price; the display okay but again probably not as cool as the 1250 dollar model of the same machine with the aluminum case and backlit screen. Which has a smaller carbon footprint–polycarbonate or aluminum? Who knows. It seems tough and probably won’t dent.

If you want good guts, though, and aren’t a fashion conscious poser, then this is the box for you. Take the 3 or 4 hundred dollar savings and buy some extra goodies–bluetooth mouse, case, and some software plus upgrades and you will be much happier.

If you want a gamer, go upscale or get a high-end PC. I have Fusion on my MacMini and the Vista package only gets used about once a month. I may try the boot camp routine on this laptop if Windows 7 is worth anything, then again, by then I may be totally brainwashed and have only Linux and OS X.? Ubuntu sure has come a long way.

The price schedule could be improved for Apple products but then again, sometimes even a used Lexus is a better deal than a new Chevy.

I give it 4.5 stars. Good luck and enjoy your Macbook.

P.S. Oh yes, there are lots of good videos, training materials etc to get you from PC to Mac. And one last thing: their delete key is too bizarre: it is really a backspace key, but you can fool it into becoming a PC delete key by holding down the fn key while you use it, then it goes forward like we old PC geeks are used to seeing.

To check price or purchase Apple MacBook MB881LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.

Related posts with Apple MacBook MB881LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop Review