How long have you had your Mac Notebook

Oriel

Hi Folks,
Just after Christmas, my PC notebook died on me after nearly 5 years. It was still going well until the day the screen stopped working - I could use photoshop, MS Office etc perfectly well.
Now that I've just spend a LOT of money on a MBP - I'm hoping to get the same life out of it, or as close to as possible.

Things that I am NOT impressed with regarding my MBP:

• The heat
• The screeching noise
• The mooing
• The fact that the DVD burner is only 4X speed, and single layer.
• The lack of PCMCIA slot. (There is damn all out on ExpressCard)
• The fact that the Firewire is only Firewire 400.
• The lack of USB ports.

So, how long have you had your Mac for? Did you think the initial money shelled was worth it?

Steve.

condra

white macbook.
6 days.

Im hoping to get a decent life out of this critter. I would consider 2 years to be a good lifespan for me, based on the fact that this is my 4th computer in around 8 years.
I will more than likely buy a desktop machine in a couple of years and keep the lappy for dvds and mobile photoshopping etc.

I know Ive only had this lovely thing a few days but I think Im already 99% that my next computer will be one of those brilliant mac minis. If I didnt need a laptop for DJing Id jump on a mac mini. They're the absolute dogs business IMO.

The macbook can support 2 gigs of ram and I can upgrade the hard drive to a 120 gig 7200rpm jobby. Im hoping the 1.8ghz core duo will do the business for quite some time yet.

Like Sincurea, I would have liked more than 2 usb ports. Personally I think 1100 is about right for a macbook.
What annoys me is Apples steep pirces for people who want that bit extra. 50 quid for an extra 20 gigs is reasonable enough I suppose, but IMO 80 gigs should have been standard in the first place.
The extra cash they want just for the black colour is ridiculous and I think this obvious cynical greed will be damaging to Apples reputation in the longer term.

CrowdedHouse

sinecurea wrote:

Things that I am NOT impressed with regarding my MBP:

• The heat
• The screeching noise
• The mooing
• The fact that the DVD burner is only 4X speed, and single layer.
• The lack of PCMCIA slot. (There is damn all out on ExpressCard)
• The fact that the Firewire is only Firewire 400.
• The lack of USB ports.

Steve.

I'm not being smart but why did you buy it so ?

Cabaal

CrowdedHouse wrote:

I'm not being smart but why did you buy it so ?

In relation to lack of usb ports, firewire, dvd burner and PCMCIA slot it sounds like he didn't do enough re-search, it pays to actually pay attention to the specs before you buy.

No point bitching about it later

Oriel

CrowdedHouse wrote:

I'm not being smart but why did you buy it so ?

I did plenty of research. I was going to get the machine anyway, I just thought that for the money, I should have got more for the amount I spent. Those things wouldn't have stopped me from buying it.

Huggles

sinecurea wrote:

Hi Folks,
Just after Christmas, my PC notebook died on me after nearly 5 years. It was still going well until the day the screen stopped working - I could use photoshop, MS Office etc perfectly well.
Now that I've just spend a LOT of money on a MBP - I'm hoping to get the same life out of it, or as close to as possible.

Things that I am NOT impressed with regarding my MBP:

• The heat
• The screeching noise
• The mooing
• The fact that the DVD burner is only 4X speed, and single layer.
• The lack of PCMCIA slot. (There is damn all out on ExpressCard)
• The fact that the Firewire is only Firewire 400.
• The lack of USB ports.

So, how long have you had your Mac for? Did you think the initial money shelled was worth it?

Steve.

I dont have some the issues you are experiencing, have you contacted Mac at all?

[*] The heat
[*] The screeching noise
[*] The mooing

??????????????

deRanged

I've had my ibook for about 18 months now, delighted with it.
I had to get the airport card replaced, and I upped the RAM to the max possible.
I definitely think the money I paid was worth it.

I can't really justify changing to a macbook yet, the ibook isn't obsolete enough. Once it does go i'll definitly get a new Apple portable, most likely the smallest macbook available.

Oriel

TheGooner wrote:

I dont have some the issues you are experiencing, have you contacted Mac at all?

They've decided to ignore most customer's complaints about it. They released a software update for the heat issue, which didn't do very much.

Huggles

sinecurea wrote:

They've decided to ignore most customer's complaints about it. They released a software update for the heat issue, which didn't do very much.

Thats very unlike apple. Any issue I have ever had they have been more than helpful! If I were you I'd call them on 01 407 3000. I think its a Mon-Friday number but you get the option to talk to a technician, ring them and see what they say! Good Luck

rainbow kirby

iBook G4 12" 1.2GHz/512MB RAM/30GB HDD.
1 year old today

Very happy with it, just want more power so I'm upgrading in 3 months time. I'll be going for a 2.0GHz Macbook Pro, probably maxing out the RAM and going for a decent-sized HDD.

Peteer

Powerbook G4, 1.25GHz, 512MB Ram, 80GB HD, BT, AE, FW 400, FW 800, PCI Card slot, no mooing, some heat.

November 2003. Still serving me very well. Would like a Macbook or Macbook Pro but this machine is far from ageing so can't see myself leaving it for sometime.

Anyone got a spare "A" Key, daughter tore this one off and it sometimes becomes loose.

Cheers,
Peter

Elessar

iBook G4 final model 1.33GHz, 1.5GB ram (I definately overdid it there) 12 inch, 40GB HD.

Bought in January. I had waited for the keynote speach in the hope that the Macbook would be released then but unfortunately it was only the Pro models. So I went ahead and purchased the iBook. I'm very happy with it, and as much as I want to upgrade and have the latest cool models, I can't justify it as the iBook can do everything the new ones can without bother.

Reasons for wanting an eventual upgrade however are:
Would like a bigger, higher resolution screen.
Would like a faster processor (Only thing it's slow for is CS2 and DVD encoding, then again I rarely use CS2...)
Faster hard drive (7200rpm is necessary imo)
Bigger hard drive
Backlit keyboard
Better speakers
Better video card

Other than that it's an excellent machine, one that I use for everything, including pro level video editing, without a hitch. It was great for typing assignments aswell when I was in college. I've even left my powerful pc to gather dust, except for the odd game.

Hopefully before the end of the year I can sell it and get a Macbook Pro (once they're worth having, and once I have the cash!).

Ham'nd'egger

MIne is a 12" 1ghz Powerbook, and may I say that although I have not used it much since I got my iMac last March, it stil was pretty nifty. I have the intention to use it in my car soon to keep a instant tabs on my accounts on the road so soon enough it will be back to active use.

K.O.Kiki

12" iBook (1.33Ghz G4, 512mb RAM, 40Gb HDD), bought around September '05.
The underside heats up badly sometimes (like when I'm in bed). The damn harddrive is too small for my needs. Sometimes I wonder whether I should have bought more RAM. And some tasks tax it pretty hard.

But it's got the best form factor for typing IMHO, and it's very portable - I can still get 4.5-5.5hrs out of it at times And, of course -- it runs OSX

Sad Professor

iBook 12" G4 1GHz. it just passed it second birthday. great computer, haven't had a single problem with it.

i had been waiting on the macbooks to upgrade but i'm not too wild about them. they are good value for the specs but as usual with apple's consumer line its some small money saving detail that screws it up.

i'd love a macbook pro but can't really justify the expense for the 15". if only apple would release a 12" or 13" macbook pro. the old powerbook 12" was the perfect prosumer computer but they've left a big gap there once again.

still i love my ibook, it does everything i need. i'll probably stick with it till the next big OS upgrade.

condra

they are good value for the specs but as usual with apple's consumer line its some small money saving detail that screws it up.

dude theres nothing wrong with macbooks at all. theyre brill.

Sad Professor

womoma:

i'm sure they are. but i'm very hestitant about them for some the reasons already mentioned. i particularly don't like the new glossy screens and the keyboard. both of which lowers the quality of the notebook for me.

how do you find these things?

dubmick

and what about the hard drive only being 5400 rpm and only 60 gb (small by todays comparsions)?

I think Apple are taking the p*ss as usual.

condra

I like the glossy screen. From straight on its lovely. Im the only person who uses the computer so its not like anyone has to look at it from an angle.
I think the keyboard just needs a bit of getting used to. Right now Im using the macbook primarily as a desktop machine with an external mouse and keyboard, and soon, another monitor.

dubmick the 60gig hard drive can be upgraded to 80 gig for 50 euro which is reasonable enough. 5400rpm is fine for most peoples needs IMO.

dubmick

I have the money ready to buy this but I just think the basic model is too basic. I'm impressed by the built-in insight though.

Hopefully we will see an improvement on the next version.

Sad Professor

dubmick wrote:

Hopefully we will see an improvement on the next version.

you may be right. Rev Bs are always an improvement. i just hope that we don't have to wait as long as we did with the powerpcs. surely now that apple have gone intel they should be able to push out the updates faster. but knowing apple....

babypink

currently a powerbook thats just 2yr old...before that an ibook g3 for 18 months then a big gap back to an old powerbook duo that i had again for 18 months.

rogue-entity

I just got my first (ever) Mac two days ago. Its absolutly fantastic, lightyears ahead of my old Dell wintel that I had. And this one can actualy play HD movies unlike the other computers in the house.

abetarrush

Im gettin a Macbook this summer to save myself from suicide! my PC needs to be restarted like 5 times a week, tis so annoyin, stupid windows!

And i jus think Macs look better

Im gna get the Macbook with 1GB RAM, 1.83 Core Duo, 60GB HD, and get the 3 year plan

costs 1,500. thought I should just go to dell but it works out the same

The_Conductor

Powerbook G4 500Mhz, 17" widescreen

I've done a few upgrades on it myself. Its now:

1Gb PC133 SDRAM
80Gb HDD
Airport extreme
4 port PCMCIA USB 2.0 add-on card (AMI chipset)
O/S 10.4.7
Combo DVDROM CDRW drive

I love my Powerbook!

irishguy

Have my MBP about 6 weeks and i think its great, better than any other laptop other there. I am now a total OS X convert ony use windows to play games and write to an external NTFS drive, also i am not a big fan of Office for the mac if they sorted out those three problems OS X would be the greatest OS ever.

Everything about the MBP is class except the superdrive (which is anyhing but super) its only X4 speed thats pretty poor given the price paid it should be X8 or X12 by default, it is also fairly noisy. And apple will you just give in a use two mouse buttens i hate having to use a USB mouse the whole time. Other than that i am a very happy OS x convert

K.O.Kiki

irishguy wrote:

And apple will you just give in a use two mouse buttens i hate having to use a USB mouse the whole time. Other than that i am a very happy OS x convert

One-button control rules for laptops! I always have to look down whenever I'm using a Windoze laptop, and have to remember which thumb I'm using - so unintuitive!
Bah!:rolleyes:

irishguy

Even if they let you hold down the button for 2secs to right click, but this doesnt work in all apps its a bit stupid