Apple MacBook MA254LL/A 13.3" Notebook PC (1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DV

Apple MacBook - The Apple MacBook features the latest in mobile computing technology. At it's heart is an Intel Core Duo processor. A processor with 2 separate cores. In English, that means it's like having 2 processors in one. The MacBook also features a glossy 13.3" widescreen display. It's 79% brighter and has 30% more viewing space than the previous iBook model! You also get a suite of Apple created software titles like Front Row for navigating your computer via the included Apple Remote, and iLife '06, which handles...well, your life. Everything from music, photos, video, calendars, blogs, podcasts, and more. These are some amazing features, but the MacBook has a lot more to offer.... 60GB 5400RPM SATA HDD Slot-Loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive Write Speeds - up to 24x CD-R & 16x CD-RW Read Speeds - up to 8x DVD-ROM & 24x CD-ROM Intel GMA 950 Graphics Processor with 64MB of shared memory (memory is taken from the main system's RAM) Built-in iSight Camera 13.3 Glossy Widescreen Display 1280x800 Native Resolution Ports - 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 1 FireWire 400, 2 USB 2.0, Mini-DVI (support for DVI, VGA, S-Video & Composite Video Out via optional adapters), Combined Optical Digital Audio Input/Audio Line Input, Combined Optical Digital Audio Output/Headphone Out Built-in Stereo Speakers Built-in 54Mbps AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11g) Support Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) Module Color - White Unit Dimensions - 1.08 (h) x 12.78 (w) x 8.92 (d) Unit Weight - 5.2 lbs.

Customer Reviews:

A very good laptop!!!
I got my macbook a week ago and could not be happier. I am a Computer Science student that does a lot of programming and the macbook handles that just fine. Connecting to the internet is easy, the iSight camera and photobooth are very fun, and all the standard mac programs are great.

The laptops shortcomings: when you close the lid, every thing shuts down into sleep mode (itunes pauses, iChat disconnects, etc.). This could be an option that I haven't found yet. The speakers are the another shortcoming of this laptop. Of course all laptops have bad built-in speakers, but my friend's Dell XPS completly blows these out of the water. The speaker is quiet, and who thought to put them on the back of the case when the only time you can hear it clearly is when the lid is closed and you can't play music when the lid is closed? (sorry for the extreme confusing run-on sentence). This laptop should come stock with 1GB RAM instead of 512. I am already starting to see problems occur with only 512. If you upgrade the RAM, do not buy the upgrade from apple, instead google "macbook ram upgrade", buy the ram yourself, and put it in yourself, it is easy, takes 30 seconds, and you will save hundreds of dollars.

Despite these three somewhat-dissapointing features of this laptop, the good outweighs the bad by alot. I have been frustrated by my Windows XP machine for months now. I got a virus and had to reformat my hard drive, the computer takes 2 minutes to boot up fully even after reformatting, and now I am constantly worried about viruses. The macbook only takes 30 seconds to boot up and I never have to worry about viruses.
--2006-11-18

Almost perfect
I rushed into buying this because I saw an offer of free Parallells and a free carry case, I'm glad that I bought it. I discoverd how well iMovie works with my Digital Camcorder and now I have plenty of time to practice using them together.

The only significant problem I have is using a trackpad instead of a mouse but that's a laptop, not a macintosh, problem.
--2006-11-17

hopefully your works better than mine
This machine is not nearly as fast as I expected. Several applications seem to run slower than on my older laptop. Your mileage may vary depending on what you do.

I bought my machine shortly after it first came out and like 4 of the last 6 Apple products I purchased in the last two years it had problems and I was forced to return the item which took far too long both in the Apple Store where I was fored to wait for "a genius" at the "genius bar" and then from Apple which took two weeks to repair the item. When it arrived back, it wouldn't boot up. Another trip to the Apple Store and "genius bar" which seems filled with self absorded people who are not that capable. I love Apple stuff but I wish they would stop releasing beta hardware and improve customer service.
--2006-11-10

White Macbook
Overall very pleased with the Macbook. OS X is so superior to Windows that it's a joke. Only criticism: The area just to the right of the trackpad on the white one tends to pick up dirt from the heel of my hand as it rests on it. The black one, which is virtually identical except for the color and which would presumably avoid the problem is hundreds of dollars more, an added expense that I do not think is worthwhile.
--2006-11-10

An excellent laptop with a few small issues
I bought this laptop for my daughters birthday. She loves it. I love it myself. I love the magnetic power cord connector, and the magnetic lid latch. These are nice features. Apple pays good attention to detail. I was tempted to order one of these for myself. I instead opted for the Macbook Pro 17".

The only things I don't like about this laptop are (minor things):
1) glossy screen has more glare than the normal screens, but better contrast.
2) Speakers are definitely under powered or too small. They work fine in a very quiet environment, but are not loud enough in a mildly noisy environment.
3) 512MB of ram is just not enough for OS X. 1GB should have been the minimum (and is in the new core 2 duo model).

I experienced none of the problems people had reported earlier (mooing, random shutdowns, etc....). It appears that Apple has all the kinks worked out. I highly recommend this laptop if you can live with the problems listed above.

If you're a windows user and worried about getting a Mac, don't be. These new Macs can also run windows, but you'll have to buy a copy of Windows to run on them. If you also buy Parallels software, you can run Windows from within OS X (Needs more memory though). Nice!
--2006-11-10

- Apple Computer