MacBook Pro - Sleek, Sexy & Useful

Overview


My last experience with a mac before this was in 1998, when the operating system still looked like it did on an Atari ST from 1988, and it managed to disuade me from even considering a mac for the longest time.

However, when my PC laptop packed up after long and faithful service, I decided to look at ALL the options. Far from being the one trick pony, video and image editing specialists that they used to be, I found macs had come on a bit. Quite a bit, actually...

Hardware

The MacBook looks fantastic. At 1" thick and only 2.5kg (5.6lbs), it is also a compact and light machine. The brushed aluminium finish is really nice, and really encourages you to take care of it. Look at me, it says, do you really want to scratch me? Compared to the plain black slab that was my dell, weighing in at 3.8kg (8.2lbs), it's a work of art.

The MacBook Pro abounds with nifty technology, like the firewire 800 port that will offer blazing file transfer speeds if you have an external hard drive with firewire 800 compatibility. There's the backlit keyboard, and the monitor that adjusts to the ambient light levels. The Magsafe power adaptor is a great idea. Rather than pushing the power adaptor into a socket, it's held in by a magnet, and should someone step on it or become entangled in it, it simply pulls loose. No worries about damaging the power socket on your laptop.

Powering the whole thing is the intel core duo processor. Running at 2.4Ghz, it flys. I've used it for image editing, video editing, music, as well as running games. 2Gb of RAM is plenty as well. I remember getting the occasional "Not enough memory" message from Windows on my PC when editing a particularly huge image....not on the Mac.

The wireless and bluetooth works perfectly. On getting it home and set up, the computer simply informed me that it had detected a wireless network, and had connected. I was a little surprised, since I don't HAVE a wireless network, but it was a nice gesture, all the same. The DVI port to hook it up to a larger monitor or even TV is a nice touch.

I've heard of heat problems with MacBooks, but this must have been solved, I haven't had any problems with it. I do have a couple of issues, the screen adjusts its brightness as I mentioned earlier, and sometimes it just goes too dim for my liking, and I haven't found a way to change it. 2 USB ports is not really enough, and you may find yourself buying a USB hub so you can add more.

The monitor is fantastic. I didn't get the glossy version, but it still does a great job of showing your pictures off at their best, the resolution is high enough to fit a lot on the screen, without it being unreadably small. I'm definitely glad I got the MacBook Pro with the 15" screen, as opposed to the smaller 13.3" on the MacBook.

Software

Firstly, the operating system. It's come a LONG way from the ancient looking thing I remembered. It starts up in about a quarter of the time that the PC took, and overall I'm now so used to it that I have trouble going back to the PC. It took some adjustment time, but not as much as I thought it might.

I've heard complaints from PC users that Macs are not as adjustable as PCs, they want to fiddle with settings and Macs don't really do this. Well, the reason for this, is that Macs don't need you to fiddle with settings. They just work. When I got my cable modem, I expected to have to sit about for half an hour while the engineer installed all the software, which is what happened with my PC (albeit some time ago). What ACTUALLY happened was I plugged in the network connector, turned the modem on, and I was connected to the internet. Oh. And it's the same with any device. Printers just work. Things JUST WORK. It's like a beautiful dream.

Some of the software that come as standard is fantastic. Garageband is a great little recording tool. While not the be all and end all in home recording, it's a great start for any musician looking to start recording. iMovie is a quite acceptable video editing suite. Like Garageband, it's basic but perfectly usable. Advanced users may want to look at something else, but for a free piece of software, Apple has covered all the bases with the suite of programs that it provides. iPhoto has all the features that most people are going to need, providing basic editing facilities along with the ability to add photos from just about anywhere. Add photos from networks, digital cameras, USB drives, anywhere.

Complaints, well, it would be nice to have something as standard that could save in word .doc format. Instead, it's an extra cost set of programs similar to Microsofts Office. Overall, it's not a massive issue next to all the positives that Apple has given you with the standard programs.

Compatibility

The main one I've come across is video. As standard, you'll have some issues watching videos online. However, there's plenty of updates available to sort this out. Flip4Mac seems to be the best app for watching .avi and .wmv files on your mac. Since installing this, I've encountered no problems watching video.

Safari seems to manage with webpages from every site I've been to, but should you prefer Firefox, it will install and run perfectly. No issues there.

Battery Life

Not great. About 2 hours, but I did buy an ex display model, so I have no idea how long it's been sat on display, plugged permanently in and charging. I've heard good and bad reports about Apples batteries, so I can only say that it's just about acceptable given the circumstances I bought it under.
Update: After a year of owning the macbook pro, I have to say that the battery is abysmal.  I barely get an hour of life from the battery anymore, less if I need to use an intensive programs like photoshop.  I will be looking into alternatives to the official apple battery.

Summing up

I've been extremely happy with my Mac overall. It hasn't crashed, locked up or been irritating in any real way. It's a pleasure to plug in a device and not have a box pop up telling me that it's connected, and then another box asking me if I want to print pictures, browse the files, open a program, or whatever. It just appears on the desktop.

If you need virus protection, these are available from the usual suspects, norton etc. I could wish there were more games available for the Mac, I suppose I could install Windows Vista, but frankly I'd rather just buy an Xbox 360 than let a microsoft product anywhere near my laptop.