Apple Computers: Macbooks and iMacs

This Macbook looks great and quite different and is better made than many other machines with similar specifications. In white, which is the standard/cheaper option it looks very different from your average laptop. If you prefer Mac OSX rather than a Windows operating system I would certainly recommend it. I am a fan of unix, which is the underlying operating system for all Macs (i.e. the layer of software below Mac OSX) which is very accessible through a Terminal window, but this is probably irrelevant for most users. If however you prefer Windows (e.g. Vista) it is also possible to run Windows via a program called Bootcamp although of course this would add extra expense unless a copy of Windows is already available, because Apple only supply the one operating system, and this does impact a little on the available disk-space. Personally I think this is an extravagant way of getting a Windows PC , unless you really want that Apple style.

Some free open-source software is also available, such as GIMP, the Linux photo-editing program (similar to Photoshop), because Linux and Unix are in fact virtually identical, but any software specifically for Apple from any source will generally be as expensive as the PC equivalent and probably available some time later, because there are far fewer users of Apples (unless you run Windows on your macbook)

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In terms of performance it is a fast machine, with Intel dual-core processors, which can be made ever faster by doubling or quadrupling the RAM (1 GB is standard) although buying extra memory from Apple is expensive so upgrading using non-Apple memory at a later stage could be more cost-effective than buying a higher specification initially. Battery-life is very good at up to 6 hours and the clever magnetic power-cable that detaches if someone trips over it rather than pulling the macbook onto the floor has probably saved me a few quid in repair bills already.

It is however perhaps more expensive than some of its rivals and the screen is quite small for jobs such as photo-editing and I use it mainly with an extra, large monitor, as well, but so far I have had no regrets in paying the extra for this wonderful little machine.

After daily use for a year, I have no problems at all, I am still impressed with the styling and the functionality, but if cost were an issue I would buy a linux machine and use just free software. This is only really an option for people who are quite computer-literate. Alternatively a netbook with Linux or an older version of Window is also a very cost-effective alternative if you mostly use a laptop for web-surfing.

Advantages: small, compact, fast, good battery life, stylish, well-made, Mac OSX/Unix

Disadvantages: Mac OSX/Unix?

I have included a review of one of my other computers below - a suitable alternative if you prefer Windows Vista machine instead of Mac OSX

I have several Lacie external hard-disks attached to my Apple Mac computers and have mostly found them to be reliable, quiet and fast, until a few weeks ago when one of them (a 500GB Porsche designed one which I purchased about 18 months ago) failed. I needed a replacement and after quite a lot of research decided to risk buying a Lacie again.

I did a lot of research and chose a Lacie Disk Drive by Neil Poulton1

The Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi 2515 is a very good-value laptop. It is relatively inexpensive, at about £550, but comes with a good feature set, reasonably fast dual-core Intel processor (1.8 GHz), but the 2GB of RAM means it will actually run surprising fast with some more memory intensive software (e.g. photo-editing software). It also comes with a large disk drive (minimum 120 GB but larger ones are also available) It seems robust and well-made although I have mostly used it at home and have treated it carefully, so I haven't really tested this assumption. The screen opens and closes fairly smoothly and doesn't feel fragile like some cheaper models, although I still treat it carefully because I have had laptops in the past that in later life have started to flex near the hinges.

The Fujisu Siemens Amilo Pi 2515 has Microsoft Vista home premium installed, which has been surprisingly robust, rarely crashing. Vista Home Premium provides a good feature set to cover most of my non-business needs, without needing to pay the extra for the more advance versions of the software. I use Apple Macs as my work computers. Vista is not my preferred operating system as I have been using unix for almost 20 years, so I would prefer either Linux or Apple Mac OS X which are both based on unix instead of Microsoft DOS, but most people however will be very familiar with Vista.

The finish and feel of the casing are good when compared to the cheapest of it's competition, with dual colour, silver and black, casing that makes it seem slimmer, although not as stylish as some more expensive models such as my Apple MacBook nor as indestructible as my old IBM T42. The keyboard also has a reasonable "weight" to the keys, which don't feel flimsy, as can be the case with cheap laptops. I find the touch-pad annoying. It is too sensitive for me and the tap to select function gets triggered all the time when I don't want it to. This can actually be adjusted or turned off, but I haven't found the right settings yet, for me, and I share this computer with someone else who finds these setting almost perfect. Plugging in a mouse, of course, resolves the problem completely.

The screen is very clear, sharp and bright and a good size, 15.4", which makes it big enough to use for photo-editing etc. but without being too big to carry. Battery life is not great, often lasting less than 2 hours, but acceptable, and a spare battery would be a good idea if using it away from a power socket.

Overall the Fujisu Siemens Amilo Pi 2515 laptop it is a very good package that looks and feels a cut above many similarly priced laptops.

Summary: Good inexpensive laptop