I'm new here, just going to write a few reviews and see what happens.
Not sure of the rules/etiquet...
I'm new here, just going to write a few reviews and see what happens.
Not sure of the rules/etiquette so please excuse me (or let me know) if I get it wrong.
Member since:17.05.2009
Reviews:20
I got my MacBook a month ago and, despite having been a heavy PC user for the last 20+ years, I'm a convert. It's just great.
I got it because of all the good stories I'd heard about them; usability, security, availabiity of applications and it's stylish looking too, not like the lumpy almost invariably black Windows laptops out there. It's not cheap at £700 you can get a lot of PC for that, but I really like my Mac, so I'm not going to linger on that side of things.
The 13" screen is crystal clear, the keyboard feels nice and it doesn't take long to get used to the trackpad style mouse. It's super fast to boot up and shut down, less than 30 seconds from 'off' and probably less than 5 from 'sleep' mode. That's stunning compared to my other machines that can take anything from 5 to 20 minutes to do the same.
It was initially a bit of a leap of faith to go from the familiar surroundings and user interface of Windows to OS X, the Mac operating system.
Additionally, I had built up a fair bit of knowledge and collection of software applications for Windows too. But, one month in, it's been great, with very little issues at all.
Setting up wireless access, finding and installing apps; all very straight forward, no issues at all, no 'Blue-Screen' no need for Anti-Virus. And there's a stack of unambiguous help out there, that works first time.
So, for anyone looking to jump to Mac, fear not, there are equivalents for pretty much everything you need, many of them free. So here's a 'top ten' of apps, effectively the 'essentials' for day to day work/play.
I know there are alternatives to all of the below, but these are the ones I plumped for. One prevailing factor influenced the choices below; they're all open source/freeware. My budget for toys is dry following the arrival of the MacBook, so it's cheapies or freebies for me for a while.
So here goes:
1. Browser (Firefox) With the advent of Firefox V3.0 (FF3), I was finally teased away from Internet Explorer (IE) on the PC. The time taken to develop css sites and make them work cross-platform was hugely reduced, I was a convert. I'm sure Safari is truly great, but I'll be sticking to FF for dev for the foreseeable future.
2. Messaging client (MSN Messenger for Mac) A no brainer really, need to retain the continuity with my previous MSN contacts. That said, I've hardly used it since I installed it.
3. Twitter client (TweetDeck)| If you're into Twitter, you need a client. This one fits the bill nicely, lets you group your followees and has a nice user interface. It has a few nice features, like url shortening and picture display.
4. Music (Spotify) Obviously iTunes features quite heavily on the Mac OS platform. And, with the iPhone, you need it to sync and for app download, which is fine, but only works for music you already own. That's where Spotify comes in; Spotify gives you free access to the music you don't own. It's like having a radio where you're the DJ.
5. Fonts Gotta have fonts. In fact, gotta have loads of fonts. The Mac comes with over 100, covering the main requirements. But now I've extended that a little to include some of the more funky ones. I'll leave it to you to search for them yourself.
6. HTML Editor (Smultron) I've been using EditPlus for years now, it's a great little editor. Unfortunately EditPlus is a Windows only app, so I needed an equivalent. The EditPlus Wiki recommends this one (amongst others), so I've gone for that. Still to try it out, but it has a good reputation, so expecting some great things from this. No idea where the name comes from.
7. FTP Client (Cyberduck) To upload files for bimbogami, I need an FTP client. Was using File Explorer on Windows previously, so reckoned I'd better get something proper for the Mac. Cyberduck, despite the bizarrely unrelated name, fits the bill nicely (see what I did there?).
8. Image Editor (Gimp) GIMP is a bitmap image editing app. So far I've only used it for cropping and re-sizing, but from the menus it looks as though it can do pretty much everything I've ever done in Photoshop in the past. BTW, GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, nothing to do with fetishists, so they say.
9. Image Editor 2 (InkScape) This one's for vector graphics. not had much time to play about with it yet, but it comes highly recommended and on first impression, it looks pretty good.
10. Productivity (OpenOffice) I hate calling it that. Word processor, Spreadsheet and presentation, otherwise known as MS Office. Well, I've plumped for the free, compatible OpenOffice. Not had to do much more than open and update a few MS Office things so far, but it seems OK.
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(+) cool and quite robust trackpad, good display,64-bit windows 7 (-) few connectors,dell drivers only, not realy for gameing (most models), finger print prone!
The MacBook uses a graphics processor that economizes space in a whole new way. A ... more
traditional computer logic board contains multiple components: the CPU, two chips that control communication throughout the computer, and the graphics processor. The logi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 2 in stock
Instead of assembling a notebook from many minor parts, the MacBook was reinvented from ... more
just one: the solid-aluminum unibody enclosure. It gets full credit for making MacBook thinner, lighter, and even more stunning. But its not all beauty. Because of ...
Postage & Packaging: £5.60 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Fresher than WIndows, Easy to use, Good looking, Nice colors, Good Value for money Disadvantages: Keyboard is not very responsive, One botton mouse
doubleheman 22.06.2008 (22.06.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo
Advantages: They have loads of other products to add and I can use my Iphone to controll the music Disadvantages: A bit on the expencive side but it's worth it in the long run.
Advantages: portable, runs very fast, large storage with TimeMachine application for backing up your work Disadvantages: some problems with using Safari, though this may be due to the wireless network I am using, costs!
very helpful by (100%):
