Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 164
 Great machine, one very tiny problem! February 26, 2009
Richard D. Silvius Jr.
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My Windows XP desktop has really been showing its age lately, and as a college student I've been increasingly frustrated by not having a laptop. The computer labs at school are always packed, and professors are increasingly assigning online activities and posting lecture notes online -- all of which it is very helpful to be able to access during class, without having to print out a ton of materials from the web at home. Besides school, I also planned to migrate all my photo processing and video editing tasks over from the XP machine to this one.
I have generally had to reinstall Windows XP on a fairly regular basis to keep my desktop running like new, and I'd been hearing a lot of things about how macs don't have a lot of the problems associated with windows. Ultimately, I decided to definitely go mac after trying Vista on a few different PC's and hating it.
I started doing my research. The new macbook pros had recently come out (the ones with the "unibody"), but after reading myriad complaints about the super-glossy screen just being obnoxious, I hastily bought this previous generation of Macbook pro with the matte screen option. If you look at it, the specs are nearly the same. OK, the RAM speed is 667 instead of 1066. The video card was the previous model from nvidia, although with 512 mb of dedicated RAM. To get comparable specs in the latest generation, you'd have to pay a LOT more (over half of a thousand dollars, *since amazon is so good at censoring dollar figures*)
Anyway, I've been using my mac for about two weeks now, and here are my thoughts:
This machine runs great. It's fast. I really like OS X so far. The touchpad is great, and HUGE compared to others I've seen. AND it still has a button, which I prefer to the new MB pro's giant buttonless pad. Scrolling with two fingers is SO much better than a mouse wheel or clicking the scroll on-screen. I purchased 4 gigs of RAM to upgrade this (it comes with 2). It's a cheap upgrade, and I definitely noticed a difference right away. I'd recommend it. Someday I plan on upgrading the hard drive to a 500gb 7200rpm -- again, not much money for a huge upgrade. The factory drive is just fine for now though.
Anyway, there was one little problem. After using the machine for a couple of days, I noticed a dead pixel on the screen! It's about a quarter of the way from the left side, in the middle of the screen. I really had to think about sending the unit back for another one. If I hadn't already installed a whole bunch of software and pretty much "moved in", I probably would have exchanged it. I read about the problem online, and it's not uncommon. Apple doesn't even consider it a warranty issue unless there are 5 or more bad pixels. I thought about it, and after using the machine for a couple more days, I realized that in practice I simply did not notice the dead pixel. I generally only see it if I look for it -- and unless the screen is all white, it's pretty much invisible the rest of the time. I decided just to keep the unit, and the pixel really hasn't bugged me since, although I subtracted a star because for the price, I really feel the screen ought to be flawless.
Anyway, at the end of the day this is a fine machine -- I'd highly recommend it -- especially if you think the high gloss screen of the new model will be a problem, or if you are faced with having to get a Vista machine. I'd definitely recommend OS X over Vista or XP. Hope that helps!!
PS, I've noticed that the price on these has gone up appreciably. If you think you want the older model, you might be running out of time! All glossy screen haters are gonna be snatching 'em up!
 Excellent computer from a company with amazing customer service! February 23, 2009
Roman815 (Los Angeles, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A year ago I bought a 17" 1.67Ghz Powerbook on eBay for 900 bucks. After playing with it for a week I noticed that there were white circles in the middle of the screen. In addition, the screen would go out when I adjusted it. So I took the Powerbook to the Apple Store and I was in luck because it had 6 months of warranty left on it. This had not been advertised in the eBay auction so I had expected Apple to tell me that I was out of luck. Anyways, Apple told me that it would be one week before my Powerbook was fixed. A month later I received a call telling me that it would be at least another month before they received the parts necessary for the repair. So Apple offered me a 17" 2.5Ghz Macbook Pro in exchange for my old Powerbook even though this particular Macbook Pro model was released just a week earlier. I accepted their offer and traded in my old Powerbook, that I had bought just a month earlier, for this top of the line computer.
Since then I have used my Macbook Pro for taking notes and tests in law school, for playing Warcraft III and Call of Duty 4, for watching many movies with front row, and for picture and audio editing. This computer is magnificent and does all that I throw at it very well. The screen is very bright and the keyboard is a pleasure to use. I don't think any other laptop has a keyboard like this (high quality feel and lights up). I've had a Compaq, Dell, Powerbook, and several iBooks and this computer blows them out of the water in every regard. Even the screen on this is brighter than that of the old Powerbook. If you're into gaming then you'll really appreciate this laptop. I play Call of Duty 4 with all the setting up without any problems.
My two complaints are that the sides of the top case started to come apart due to warping, creating a small gap, and that the button in the middle that opens the laptop is awkward and hard to use. Although nothing can be done about the button in the middle Apple did replace the case. This is obviously why Apple introduced the unibody Macbook Pro's and scrapped the button in the middle and replaced it with a magnet.
An added bonus to this laptop is the 4 and a half hours of battery life and the magsafe connector. However, if I had a choice between this laptop and the newest version I would go for the newest one because of the unibody case and the 8 hour battery life. Nevertheless, the keyboard on this model is much better, it comes with a matte display standard, and it looks more professional since the entire laptop is silver rather than silver and black. The new model looks like a dude who just got a black eye. I suspect that any Macbook Pro will last many years and I look forward to spending the next 5 or more with this one.
Love it! February 23, 2009
Mariela Perez-Simons (NC)
I really love this Mac and the different software that came with it. It took about a week to get used to it, after using a PC for years, but I could never go back to a PC now.
[...]
 missing ILIFE 08 software February 22, 2009
kazandjaz (ny)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Although the laptop itself is great I do have 1 issue. The technical description states that this laptop comes with ILIFE software including garage band pre loaded. IT DID NOT!
I called amazon and they told me the could not help me as the laptop comes from the manufacturer to me direct. They offered no solution to getting the garageband software. Amazon's website offers no customer service remedy that I can find to help me!
Incredible! February 20, 2009
Chris Oliva (Greenwood, Sc)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
wow ok my dad bought one of these about a year ago and i was kind of skeptical. the few times he actually let me use it (hes a bit obsessive about it) i was impressed. im currently in college and this thing does all that i need and then some. replaced my old desktop and im loving it. This is my first mac and its easier to use than windows, yet it also provides all the advanced functions i need to write software. There are so many things i can do with it. Currently i am dual booting with leopard and vista 64 bit.
Showing reviews 11-15 of 164
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