Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iBook Laptop M7701LL/A (600-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)

I bought this iBook on Amazon about a month ago. At first I wasn't sure if it was fast enough for me, but it has grown on me. In fact, I love it. Mac OS X is beautiful and runs fine on the iBook. I did add 512MB of RAM in it, which helps. Office v.X works great. I didn't like Apple's Mail program or Appleworks so I broke down and bought Office.

The CD-RW works fine, and I love iTunes and iMovie. In fact, this machine is fine for the semi-professional like me who dabbles in digital video or photography. I haven't tried iPhoto, but it looks like a great program to manage your digital photography.

I also enjoy the 14" monitor as well as the extra room on the keyboard for my hands.

Unless you need the power of a G4, I think you will be very happy with the new iBook.

Tired of the battle between Microsoft and its Pirator's (which are genetically related, I'm sure), I decided to leave Windows after XP, and take the Mac plunge. Anyone slightly computer saavy knows that UNIX is simple, stable, and yet a complex OS, and that is what sold me on Mac. They realized it with Mac OS X. It's a beautiful aqua interface, easy to locate files, and OS X comes with the programs to create your own OS X applications for your own use, or even to distribute for free! And yet, it's simple enough that my 5 year old can use it by himself to play his children's games. With Mac dropping prices to compete with PC, they have become the superior Computing system. Even my Linux friends are switching to Mac because the Motorola Processor is faster and expends less energy via heat than Intel's Pentium. It's good to be free from Microsoft chains!

This is my first Mac. I have been a PC gear-geek for a long time and no piece of computer equipment has been as fulfilling as my iBook 600. I'm by all means a computer geek, but anybody my age and younger is going to be pretty proficient on computers. My first concern was the software compatibility issue since most of my textbooks came with software that would only run on a win machine. However, the Mac with iTunes, and iPhoto kept on coming up as what I wanted and I knew I would be graduating at the end of this semester so I bit the bullet and bought a iBook with iPod just for fun. Now I use the iBook for everything from project presentations and reports (thanks to Microsoft Office for mac v. x) to using iTunes to make cd's, and iMovie to make movies out from my camcorder. ! Try dealing with that stuff on a Win machine and see how muchyou like doing that! Software for students is way cheaper so I loaded up. I cannot be happier with my iBook. I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget. OSX is a BLAST!!! rock solid and very quick. I added 512 mgs of RAM , kicking it up to a total of 640 MB,so that really helps. I am already sticking up for Apple and I haven't had the machine for more than few days. Also, this thing is FLAWLESS!!! there are no ckracks, no protruding drives, the battery is even all around, the keybord is great...no flexing, the screen is bright and crisp.After using this iBook for a few days now with OSX, I wonder why I ever used a PC/Windows based machine for so long, and why I wasn't more aware of Mac products. All I remembered about Macs were the cheapy b/w outdated models in my University a few years back. Actually, I've never even seen an iBook for sale in my city, too. Why is that? Well, it's a very nice machine, runs quickly and is very stable. ...its a masterpiece! I can't wait to take it to class tomorrow to show it off. I LOVE APPLE!!! (I'm a windows convert)

As a consultant, I never considered an Apple laptop fearing a lack of compatibility while on the road. That all changed when I got my hands on the new iBook. The nicest machine I've ever used. Still a consultant, and everything that I write in MS Office for Apple OS X is directly cross-platform compatible with Windows Office systems. In the 5 months that I've used the iBook I've never once had a system crash. Unbelievable! This is a machine that all PC users should check out.

The problem with Apple is they make such dang gorgeous computers. Though my iMac was great, who could resist this with the 14" screen & CD burner? Realities: Learning the workings of OSX and dual booting take patience and a good Mac book (I use 'The Missing Manual' by David Pogue); spending more on the best looking laptop is no big deal (who doesn't spend as much as they can on a great looking car?), i.e., why would cheaper be better. The only criticisms I have would be with the workmanship--I don't think the integrity is as top notch as I expected, but that's not enough to knock a star off the rating.