- Joined
- Aug 5, 2007
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 1
Hi. First post. I'm in China. I found an Apple reseller in the town I'm in (about 6 hours south of Beijing) and decided to buy a Macbook two days ago.
It's a 2nd gen. Specs: 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo (base model) for 9,500 RMB, which is USD $1,256. (There is an extra "import tax", apparently, even though these machines are actually made in China. Whatever.)
I set the deal up last week, and also sorted out 2 x 1GB Kingston sticks. Those cost me 650 RMB, or USD $85.
*************
I picked up the Macbook this Tuesday, and had the fellow in the shop insert my new ram. Then, we booted up, and he proceeded to load me up with all the right software, Chinese style -- CS3 Suite, Final Cut Pro, etc.
He loaded English versions off his iPod. Heh.
Anyway, as CS3 was installing, I tooled around, and came to notice that there was no Bluetooth.
Not installed!
Buddy doesn't have any other Macbooks onhand except his demo model. He says he'll have to ship the machine to Beijing to have the Bluetooth installed, and then shipped back to me.
I tell him to instead tell Beijing to keep my flawed machine and send me the current, 3rd gen. base model. For that, I'll have to pay about $100 US extra.
He tells me he's not sure how this matter will proceed. He asks me to give him a few days to sort out the problem. He then gives me the store's demo model to take home with me, until whatever...
So, that's my story. I have no idea what will transpire, but I'm hoping for the best.
*****************
I've been using the store's demo Macbook for two days now. I have owned Powerbooks in the past, most recently a 12" 867MHz Powerbook.
Speed
I decided not to install my 2GB Ram into the loaner machine, just to see how it feels at 512MB. Speeds are good. There's a bit of a lag when using Photoshop CS and MS Word (both use Rosetta, so it's understandable, given the RAM).
Physicalities
The loaner was a bit dirty. This morning, I gave it a serious rubdown with a wet cloth and a speck of dishwasher liquid.
As this won't be my computer for long, I'm not worried about scratches or whatever. So I gave the palmrests and keys a serious scrub.
Maaaan, the result: no scratches and an absolutely goregeous white.
Impressions thus far
This is a very solid machine. It seems not fragile in the least. The keyboard has a good feel. The plastic does as well, and seems easy to keep clean.
I'm a smoker, so yellowing is an issue. Given how clean this morning's rubdown worked, I'm not as concerned as I was before I purchased. I was contemplating Macstyles, but not so much after having seen the quality of the plastic.
Rating: 4/5. Apple loses one point for fudging my Bluetooth.
I'll keep you updated. Thanks for reading!
It's a 2nd gen. Specs: 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo (base model) for 9,500 RMB, which is USD $1,256. (There is an extra "import tax", apparently, even though these machines are actually made in China. Whatever.)
I set the deal up last week, and also sorted out 2 x 1GB Kingston sticks. Those cost me 650 RMB, or USD $85.
*************
I picked up the Macbook this Tuesday, and had the fellow in the shop insert my new ram. Then, we booted up, and he proceeded to load me up with all the right software, Chinese style -- CS3 Suite, Final Cut Pro, etc.
He loaded English versions off his iPod. Heh.
Anyway, as CS3 was installing, I tooled around, and came to notice that there was no Bluetooth.
Not installed!
Buddy doesn't have any other Macbooks onhand except his demo model. He says he'll have to ship the machine to Beijing to have the Bluetooth installed, and then shipped back to me.
I tell him to instead tell Beijing to keep my flawed machine and send me the current, 3rd gen. base model. For that, I'll have to pay about $100 US extra.
He tells me he's not sure how this matter will proceed. He asks me to give him a few days to sort out the problem. He then gives me the store's demo model to take home with me, until whatever...
So, that's my story. I have no idea what will transpire, but I'm hoping for the best.
*****************
I've been using the store's demo Macbook for two days now. I have owned Powerbooks in the past, most recently a 12" 867MHz Powerbook.
Speed
I decided not to install my 2GB Ram into the loaner machine, just to see how it feels at 512MB. Speeds are good. There's a bit of a lag when using Photoshop CS and MS Word (both use Rosetta, so it's understandable, given the RAM).
Physicalities
The loaner was a bit dirty. This morning, I gave it a serious rubdown with a wet cloth and a speck of dishwasher liquid.
As this won't be my computer for long, I'm not worried about scratches or whatever. So I gave the palmrests and keys a serious scrub.
Maaaan, the result: no scratches and an absolutely goregeous white.
Impressions thus far
This is a very solid machine. It seems not fragile in the least. The keyboard has a good feel. The plastic does as well, and seems easy to keep clean.
I'm a smoker, so yellowing is an issue. Given how clean this morning's rubdown worked, I'm not as concerned as I was before I purchased. I was contemplating Macstyles, but not so much after having seen the quality of the plastic.
Rating: 4/5. Apple loses one point for fudging my Bluetooth.
I'll keep you updated. Thanks for reading!
)
