I have been involved with PCs for about 10 years, and with the exception of home built machines I've been disappointed or angered by almost every PC I've ever operated. The last straw was when the power port on my dell inspiron 1000 took a dive in the middle, forcing me into an unexpected computer search. I decided I wanted something with more battery life, that could still run word, and had software that actually worked. I have over 500gb storage on my home pc so i had no need for an upgraded HD. I also liked the idea of the magsafe power port on the MB pro. I talked to a few of my mac friends and they all love them, so i decided to switch. I waited for the 13.3 MB and ordered it, with the 1gb upgrade. It's been exactly one week since i've had it.
Here are my current observations, starting with my nitpicks:
Battery life: I've found that while using several browser windows, with wireless, a usb drive connected, and word, life is about 3 hrs at best energy settings. It exceeds all my needs, but I was hoping for more. Switching to "better performance" doesn't seem to add or take any life away, but I haven't had enough time to really tweak it for my use.
Games: I still prefer solitaire and freecell to any installed mac game. I plan to remedy this by installing more games; any suggestions are welcome.
Startup time (OS and application): a dream. 25 seconds to startup, 33 seconds for a restart. Love it! Unfortunately it has taken nearly as long to start word, but I am under the understanding that it has to do with emulation software and will pass soon enough.
Heat: I have experienced absolutely no unusual heat from this thing when placed on my lap during prolonged use.
Screen: The glossy screen is very nice and I don't see what some people have been complaining about regarding any glare. No drawbacks for me at all on this one.
Power port and open/close: Awesome features. Love the fact that I can't damage my power port. Love it. I could still trip on the chord and take the MB down with it if I wanted to, however.
Application/ OS usability: I was born into Windows and its all I've known. But OSX is VERY easy to learn and get used to. And its nice having useful applications on call; it will be even nicer when I learn how to use all of them. I don't like how osx seems to hate not being connected to the internet (as i'm in a moving transition and won't have internet for another 2 weeks), but turning off airport solves that one immediately. I've never had to restart to modify an application or any system settings; removing a usb drive takes one click and a tenth of a second. I haven't had any problems adjusting to life on a mac, with the minor exception of not having both a backspace and a delete button. I don't know the equivalent of the alt+tab function yet, but once I do usability will get even better. Basically the only flaws I've noticed in programming are my lack of knowledge regarding them.
All in all a superior machine to my old 1000 and a joy to use.
Here are my current observations, starting with my nitpicks:
Battery life: I've found that while using several browser windows, with wireless, a usb drive connected, and word, life is about 3 hrs at best energy settings. It exceeds all my needs, but I was hoping for more. Switching to "better performance" doesn't seem to add or take any life away, but I haven't had enough time to really tweak it for my use.
Games: I still prefer solitaire and freecell to any installed mac game. I plan to remedy this by installing more games; any suggestions are welcome.
Startup time (OS and application): a dream. 25 seconds to startup, 33 seconds for a restart. Love it! Unfortunately it has taken nearly as long to start word, but I am under the understanding that it has to do with emulation software and will pass soon enough.
Heat: I have experienced absolutely no unusual heat from this thing when placed on my lap during prolonged use.
Screen: The glossy screen is very nice and I don't see what some people have been complaining about regarding any glare. No drawbacks for me at all on this one.
Power port and open/close: Awesome features. Love the fact that I can't damage my power port. Love it. I could still trip on the chord and take the MB down with it if I wanted to, however.
Application/ OS usability: I was born into Windows and its all I've known. But OSX is VERY easy to learn and get used to. And its nice having useful applications on call; it will be even nicer when I learn how to use all of them. I don't like how osx seems to hate not being connected to the internet (as i'm in a moving transition and won't have internet for another 2 weeks), but turning off airport solves that one immediately. I've never had to restart to modify an application or any system settings; removing a usb drive takes one click and a tenth of a second. I haven't had any problems adjusting to life on a mac, with the minor exception of not having both a backspace and a delete button. I don't know the equivalent of the alt+tab function yet, but once I do usability will get even better. Basically the only flaws I've noticed in programming are my lack of knowledge regarding them.
All in all a superior machine to my old 1000 and a joy to use.