Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, summer 2009) user reviews
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User reviews6
Brian McCarville 3 December 2010
Good: dozens of little design and engineering touches that make this computer the only machine I have ever owned that actually *works*.
Bad: no blu ray at this price?
Comment: Let me tell you about the moment that I officially became a member of the Mac cult.
It was a moment that happened while unpacking the machine for the first time. The first thing that impressed me was that every unpacking nightmare had been avoided for me. The packaging was full of easy to tear out tabs and plastic wrapping that seemed to un pack itself the moment I touched it.
Things were clearly and helpfully labeled, and the computer came out of the box simply and easily by pulling one very well placed tab.
Then I noticed it.
I went to open one of the CD packets, expecting a long fight with one of those giant labelling stickers ( you know the ones I mean- the large round ones that always tear and leave a sticky mess behind)
and lo and behold it was *perforated* so that it split in half without any effort ... And no mess.
You know what? " Hi. I'm a Mac."
The thing that professional computer reviewers conceal when they review Macs alongside PCs is that they simply aren't comparable.
To wit, name me the PC that has...
1. The solid metal body 2.The magnetized power cord, 3. the adapter that lets you split the cord length in two (so you can use the length that's safer) and folds the prongs back into the unit to keep them from snapping, 4. The little posts that come on the adapter so you can safely wrap the cord around it to keep it out of harms way, 5. keyboards that light *automatically* when its dark, 6. A magnetized computer lip that keeps the unit closed instead of latch (or nothing) 7. The DVD drive that is just a little slot in the machine so there are no moving parts to break 8. Oh gosh I could go on, but isn't this enough?
And I haven't even mentioned the "multi-touch" ( which has to used to be believed) or the brilliant display.
But mostly, it just WORKS.
It doesn't break down, shut down, freeze or crash, and there are NO VIRUSES. EVER.
But I suppose now I've answered my own question. If reviewers didn't make it seem that Macs and PCs were somehow equivalent, then all they'd have to say in their reviews is " Buy a MAC."
And then they'd pretty much be out of a job, wouldn't they?
Narkaji Gurung 6 October 2010
Good: Pretty much everything
Bad: Nothing really
Comment: Best laptop I have owned...
Justin Hoile 15 September 2010
Good: design, screen quality great for playing multimedia, key pad, battery life
Bad: expensive
Comment: First apple laptop purchase for coming from windows.
Little bit of getting used too but its a great experience.
SnookieBoo 24 March 2010
Good: An complete joy to use. Super-fast, intuitive. Used to hate computing - now I love it.
Bad: Can be a little *too* easy to move things by accident, but the same thing makes organising files an breeze.
Comment: Was pretty nervous about getting this machine. It was my first Mac, and many friends were disparaging.
Well, I shall never return to a PC.
From the get go this has just been wonderful to use. I thought installing all my devices (printer, old camera, router and all the other sundry bits) would be a pain, but I barely had to do a thing. Certainly none of the faffing about I associate with PC installations.
Oddly, my devices behave themselves much better than with two previous PCs. Coincidence? More stable drivers? Better inbuilt modem? Who knows, but it has made life less frustrating.
What I particularly appreciate is the lack of every other programme popping up to tell me to register/update/do a huladance/restart/crash etc. Software updates run quietly in the background and very rarely require a restart, and restarts are FAR faster than on the PCs I have experienced.
Crashes? I have been using the machine heavily for 6 months, with multiple applications open and have had no full crashes. The only programme that has crashed is Photoshop and I was trying to do something weird with it. Everything else runs like a dream.
My friends complain that a Mac is not as versatile as a PC, and this may be so for very techy people, but for me it does everything need it to. Lately I have been amusing myself my dipping down into the Terminal to start playing with UNIX (I haven't done coding since BBC Basic 20 years ago). I never had the confidence to do that with cmd on a PC.I did have to giggle though - typical Mac lets one change the terminal appearance so it is prettyful.
I enjoy the way that I can manage the system via Utilities. This kind of thing wasn't as clearly designed on my PCs and left me feeling nervous.
From reviews here and previous laptops I expected it to get quite hot, but it's been remarkably good. Sometimes it gets a little warm, and twice it did get a bit too cosy, but generally it stays at a very confidence inspiring temperature.
What else? I was worried that I'd have trouble finding all those useful little applications that come in handy for all manner of things, but to date I've been able to find great free stuff to do everything that I want.
And of course it looks and feels gorgeous, and has lots of clever design features (such as the magnetic power cable that quickly detaches if you trip on the wire, instead of yanking your computer to the floor). Still finding and noticing well considered things 6 months later, and I do like to explore a machine well when I get it.
If you do decide to choose one of these, I hope that it gives you as much pleasure as it has me. I am not some crazed Apple nut, but this product is really fine.
XX
karllines 1 March 2010
Good: Slim beautiful unibody with everything I need :)
Bad: Finger prints on the screen (easy sorted tho)
Comment: Excellent machine would strongly recommend:)
nick123222 24 October 2009
Good: SD card slot, speed, OSX snow leopard, backlit keyboard, screen, trackpad, overall design.
Bad: Right speaker appears louder than left due to placement of subwoofer.
Comment: This is the best laptop I have ever used or owned. Does everything I need very well, and is quick and easy to use. The trackpad is a pleasure to use and I don't know how I've survived in the past without gestures.