Comments on: Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3Inch Laptop

By: FastMoneyPlayaaa

FastMoneyPlayaaa — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Mac is Over Rated and Over Priced… Buy a PC with Windows 7
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
My son has had a MacBook for about 2 or 3 yrs, and it has been a disapointment. I’ve got 3 Dell’s in the house, but my son insisted on getting a Mac because he thought it was better. First of all, for $1K, all you get is a basic computer with a small HD and only a 13″ screen. For ~ half the price, you can get a PC with a 15″ screen and more powerfull chip and drive. We’ve had several reliability issues with the Mac. One time, the bottom half of the screen stayed blank, so we had to bring it to the “genius bar”, and fortunately it was still under warranty – solution was to replace the screen. On two other occassions, we had to bring it in to have the disk drive replaced since the CD/DVD’s got stuck and would not eject. Another problem with Mac is they don’t run all the programs that a PC does. So my son just partitioned his HD and installed Windows7 on his Mac so he could run the programs his Apple OS won’t run. He conclueded that Windows7 is better, and he wants a Dell notebook for his next computer. My other son also wants a Dell notebook now.

My kids learned a valuable lesson which I am passing on to you – you don’t always get what you pay for.

By: Skyhawk

Skyhawk — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Missing Firewire Port will lock you out of many great products
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The absence of a FireWire Port is a MAJOR flaw.

Get the smaller MacBook Pro instead. (Only $168 more)

This Macbook is a non-starter due to no Firewire. Removing Firewire is like taking all the Philips screwdrivers out of a toolbox.

Firewire Target Disk Mode is arguably one of the most useful Mac diagnostic tools. With Firewire you can safely migrate, REPAIR, or perform component tests on a Mac, without damaging the internal drive. Ethernet may work, IF you have two FUNCTIONAL machines. The great thing about Firewire Target Disk mode was that if the Hard Drive or OS was corrupted, or the computer was for some reason unbootable you could still get data off of it quickly, without tools or special equipment. Firewire Target disk mode has saved my rear several times on every machine I have owned.

Thousands of devices are Firewire ONLY, with more coming out all the time and this Macbook will NEVER be able to use ANY of them.

Some FireWire advantages are:

True Target Disk Mode (ethernet can be used ONLY if the 'Bad' machine will boot)
FireWire can be daisy chained
Bus Power - FW - Up to 30V/45W vs USB 5V/500mA
Peer to Peer Connections (no host or CPU required)
Multiple Host on a bus support
TCP/IP Networking support
No Drivers Required (config ROM built in) aka Plug and Play
Remote Control of devices like cameras
CableTV Box Support
You can't transfer (at full quality) a VHS tape or other Video tape using an Analog-to-DV Converter without Firewire
DMA transfers - device to device data transfer no CPU involved

Firewire allows two operating modes. One is asynchronous, like USB which suffers from latency, bus contention and collisions.

The other is isochronous mode, and it lets a device carve out a certain dedicated amount of bandwidth that other devices can't touch. It gets a certain number of time slices each second all its own. The advantages for audio/video should be obvious: that stream of data can just keep on flowing, and as long as there isn't more bandwidth demand than the wire can handle, nothing will interfere with it. No collisions, no glitches. Firewire is Rock Solid.

There are no USB to Firewire adapters. (Desperate Macbook owners are looking, but it can't be done.) Firewire MUST be in the computer. USB can not "keep up" with Firewire speed.

The Macbook Pro has Firewire. (The 13.3 inch is Only $168 more.)

The MacBook has no slot for an Express Card. There's NO WAY to connect any Firewire device to the new MacBooks...period.

Keep in mind that when Apple dropped ADB, SCSI and floppy drives in the Mac at least there where alternatives. USB floppy drives and usb to ABD adapters that protected your investment. There is NO option to connect existing or future Firewire products to the new Macbook.

When you have a Mac (with Firewire) that will not boot, it will most often still work in target disk mode making it possible to either fix the hard drive or at least back it up.

If you want to go into a creative field then Firewire is a must, and will be a standard for a long time, this includes video, photo, and especially anything to do with music.

Firewire is "isochronous", basically meaning that you can pump "clocked" data though it in real time. USB works more like TCPIP, with the data chopped up into packets and later reassembled.

Firewire is continuing to improve. (Firewire 3200 will be out soon.) Firewire is more relevant than it ever has been.

Apple has always been a visionary company, leading the way in new technology adoption. This one has me scratching my head. They have removed a mature, ubiquitous and robust protocol and replaced it with... NOTHING!

Get the smaller MacBook Pro instead.

By: Jason Rubo

Jason Rubo — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Great Laptop, very powerful, but PC might still be better for you!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Hi everyone,

Yesterday I purchased the brand new Macbook. This is my first Mac and have been using Windows products for over 15 years. I have not had any major issues with Windows, but I needed a change because of some issues I was having with my Sony Vaio. The Vaio had Vista on it so it was a memory vampire but I figured when I upgraded its memory, I thought it would fix the issue. I still had problems with running my photoediting programs and internet. I knew I needed a switch and after looking at all the things I need a laptop for (word documents, music creation, photography, etc.).

Do I think everyone needs to chuck their Windows computers out the Window (see my joke, I am a funny guy) to go and purchase a $1000 laptop? Definitely not!!!! Do I think that if you use the laptop for the same things as me that you should consider purchasing one? Yes! I do love the quick speed with my Photoshop Elements and Garageband is amazing because I don’t need to go and shell out lots of money for recording equipment,

With this ongoing battle between Mac and Windows users, I say forget who makes one and look at what your going to truly being using the computer for and make your decisions from there.

Hope this helps!

By: James Ford

James Ford — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

First Mac Ever! Best Operating System Ever!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This laptop should be a great choice for anyone young and old alike. Easy to use and stunning display made it a easy choice for me. They talk this laptop up and they definitely should. It is everything they say it is. I am actually using it now. I was skeptical about the seven hour battery but it is true. The only con is there no SD card slot, but hey i’m not paying an extra $300 for the pro, just for it. I can always get a usb SD slot for cheap. But yeah definitely a great laptop. I’ve used Windows up until this laptop and I will never go back. Mac is an all around great operating system with everything you need and could want. And best of all Mac can’t get viruses, we all no Windows can…

By: D. Michael Elkins

D. Michael Elkins — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Worth the wait for me!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have been an Apple computer user exclusively since the early 1990's when I first purchased an LCII for use at home and then a Powerbook for use at work. For some reason I never got around to buying another laptop until this new model of the MacBook was announced, although I had used several other Apple desktops over the years.

After reviewing the specs and comparing the price and features to the lowest priced MacPro, there didn't seem to be any reason not to go with the MacBook over the MacPro, at least for my own purposes. I was initially worried about the lack of a Firewire connectivity since I have always used a separate Firewire drive with my desktops for Time Machine backups and/or extra storage space. It was not necessary to utilize a Firewire connection to load everything onto my laptop from my desktop since this was done wirelessly through the SetUp Assistant. Since I am not using my laptop as my primary computer, I do not feel that the lack of Firewire connectivity is going to present me with any problem going forward.

Thus far I have been very pleased with my MacBook. I believe that my high-school age son feels the same about the one that I purchased for him but to find out for certain would require me to get him off of his long enough to actually hold a conversation!

By: Nicolas A.

Nicolas A. — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

MAC IS GREAT!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I actually bought a year ago, but now I remember how much this comment and reviews helped to choose this mac. Ive got the black one which in my opinion is better than the white one (white one sometimes get yellowish) and although the black one does get some smudges as everyone says, they are minor, really, they will not make it look worse. IT IS THE NICEST AND BEST COMPUTER EVER MADE!! and now at a really good price (I paid $1499 for it). It is even nicer than the new one!! The new one has really good features so you might be opting for that one, but please buy a MAC. It is, really, the BEST OPERATING SYSTEM EVER!! It is easy, fast and you will like it (if you are thinking you might not i assure you that you will). There is nothing out there that can compete with the mac operating system.
This computer is great for everything. If you are a heavy gamer I don't recommend it, but if you are not buy it or buy any mac out there!!
MACS ARE THE BEST!! It will really make your life simple and more entertaining.

If you do buy one before buying Iwork or Microsoft stuff try Neooffice which I believe is great and sufficient for school and probably work!!

By: George E. Jelly

George E. Jelly — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Fabulous laptop – but check before you depart the store!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just picked up a MacBook Pro 13″ for my daughter yesterday (not from Amazon). All the raving reviews are really true – it is a very well-built and fabulously running system. Bright LCD, great backlit keyboard, very good battery life and MacOS is fast and snappy. I have installed Windows 7, using Bootcamp, and it also runs very well. Mine did not come with Snow Leopard so I had to download a 23-Mb update from Apple to get the drivers “right” in Windows 7. But, caveat emptor, I assumed this MB would be equally nice as the one I bought late last year (from Amazon) for my oldest daughter. After I brought this one home, I discovered a rub mark (not bad – but noticeable) and a long but small scratch on the aluminum lid. I will put a nice laptop skin on it to cover both – but an $1100+ system should not have damage like this. So – if you don’t want any scratches/etc – buy from Amazon! If you buy from a brick and mortar – I suggest that you open the package in the store and check for visible damage.

By: Kathern Bartlett

Kathern Bartlett — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

decisions decisions…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
First and foremost I love MAC. When i was younger my mom had a mac and i absolutely HATED it. After buying a windows HP last year and getting billions of stupid pop-ups, and having to search through 20 folders to find one thing, or programs closing for “unexpected reasons”. I decided to switch. I personally think mac’s are very simple to learn and once you learn all the ins and outs you’ll wonder why you ever used windows. It reminds me of the iphone, how the App’s are click and go. It is the same with the mac. I’ve debated getting the macbook and macbook pro, but for the price and the fact i won’t be using it for games, i decided on the macbook. I currently own the macbook air and love it. I have zero problems with viruses, i never get pop-ups or random programs on my comp that i will never use. The Iphoto is awesome, and has a face recognition so you can create albums depending on whose in the picture, by place or by date. I also love IWORK, which i use to do all my homework for school, it saves in pdf. and .doc which is the most common. A random thing i noticed is the webcam is way clearer then other windows computers. Garage band is loved by many who love music and want to create ringtones or tracks. There is also Imovie for burning movies. the mac i use is only 1.6 ghz (speed) and I can have 5 windows open and running and i never get an “unexpected error must close”. So if you are daring enough to try something new, are tired of silly pop-ups, and stupid stuff that comes with your computer then this is the laptop for you.

By: Greg Bennett

Greg Bennett — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Best Laptop I’ve Owned – Excellent MousePad!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Always had windows computers. Have the new Toshiba w/ Windows 7. This Mac blows it away – yes it’s $300 more but has a much faster processor, a built-in camera that blows away the toshiba in resolution – the toshiba is worthless taking pics – the pics are too dark to make out. Video card and screen graphics blow the toshiba away. Mac boots up and is surfing the internet faster and also shuts down faster. Mousepad along is worth $100 xtra in my book – I always used Logitech wireless notebook mouse because of the sucky designs. No need to with this – just scroll to where you want on the pad and click down right on that spot – no searching for a separate button in lower left. Much more comfortable design w/ more room before the keypad and much more comfortable on hands. Is heavier than toshiba, but not enough to make any usable difference. Extension cord power cord is great also and no massive transformer to tote around – like the magnetic plug in connector as well. I recently switched to iphone 3GS and was so impressed vs blackberry curve I had to try this out and will purchase one for my daughter when she starts college next year. Also do not plan on wasting money on antivirus software – a huge annual savings as mac osx snow leopard doesn’t get the hackers that windows does because windows is in corporations and most people own them. Was cheaper on amazon w/ free 2 day ship w/ amazon prime which I am a huge favor of and no sales tax ($225 total savings).

By: NK

NK — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Great Apple Quality but the Aluminum Body is hardier
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is a great laptop but the aluminum body Macboook Pro is much hardier for $ 200 more. Of course the Apple laptops are 30 to 40% higher priced than HP and other Windows laptops so you need to see which OS suits you best – Windows 7 or Mac OSX.

Also the price of this laptop was $999 list and sold to me by Amazon for $952 + tax. Around 2 weeks later the price has gone down to $ 884.98. I feel ripped off.