Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple PowerBook Laptop 15.2" M8981LL/A (1.25-GHz PowerPC G4, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD-R/CD-RW Drive)

Like it or not, I've used Windows/PC for the past 12 years. Macintosh occasionally appealed to me, but I didn't get it partly because it's expensive, partly because of compatibility. At work and at home, I owned: Dell Inspiron, Thinkpad, Dell/HP Desktops, running Windows 98/2000/XP. Also I tinkered with Sun workstations running UNIX (I'm an EE guy and have a respect for UNIX).
After 12 years of Microsoft (and blue screens), I made a bold switch to Apple Powerbook 15" with 1.5GHz/512RAM/80Gb, and I'm so happy with this system that even 5 stars are not high enough.

- The sleek aluminum chassis and the wide screen generate Wow! effect.
- This 15" machine is lighter than my old Dell laptop.
- It's very quiet during operation, but the bottom side may occasionally become hot.
- The keyboard has a good depth and touch, and the backlit keyboard is simply cool.
- Using the built-in microphone, you can play the bundled 3-D chess game via OS X's voice-recognition. Isn't that futuristic?

About software compatibility (from EE guy's viewpoint):
- MS Office 2004 for Mac became my favorite patch of programs. Even better than the XP version - a very important factor in my decision to switch.
- Math tools, especially Mathematica 5 and Matlab, run well on Mac.
- Favorite design tools, Adobe Photoshop and Carrara 3, work well. After all, Mac was built for them.

- There are tons of open source programs you can use: GIMP, A/G BLAST, ...
- Some layout and CAD tools are not compatible. I have to use old PC. For those number-crunching jobs, however, I don't use laptop anyhow.

As much as I enjoy steering this elegant silver machine, I love to navigate through the Mac OS X. As Sun's Bill Joy said during an interview, "Mac OS X is rock solid". I like the idea of using UNIX commands on my Mac, although I can do everything with the user-friendly Mac interface.

Yes, Powerbook is more expensive compared with Dell and other PCs, but you get what you pay for: top-quality components, futuristic functionality, eye-catching design, and the enormous joy of owning a rock-solid elegant machine (like BMW!). You'll definitely like this one!

When you are buying a Picasso, you can't expect to pay discount. The Powerbook G4 is a premium computer, and you pay a premium price. What you get puts competing PC-based products to shame, except, alas, on price.
The biggest advantage of the PBG4 -- besides, of course, the operating system -- is design efficiency and elegance. Despite having a 15.2-inch screen and a fast processor (one optimized for intensive video applications and presentations), the PBG4 weighs just 5.6 pounds and is stunningly slim at 1-inch thick. Check your average ad for similarly equipped laptops and they simply can not compare.

Take Sony's VAIO GRX for example. It boasts a "gigantic 16.1-inch screen." Okay, great. I'd love a 16-inch screen too. But then, in the fine print, is this laughable phrase: "Just 8.4 lbs. and 1.8" thin."

Let's see, sounds like a great tradeoff, doesn't it? You get about 12 percent more screen real estate, 55.5 percent more weight and 80 percent more bulk (and faster battery drain to boot).

The Sony is about 20 percent cheaper, mind you, but I already told you about that part, right?

Let's compare Apples to apples, then, shall we? A new VAIO model with a 15-inch display and Combo drive sells for about a grand less than Apple's deluxe Powerbook, and a few hundred below the bottom-of-the line. You would think with a smaller display, maybe they could take out some of that bulk? Naw. This one is "Just 8.6 lbs. and 1.8" thin."

I don't know about you, but if the Sonys bulk up any more, their owners will be able to throw out their old "Body By Jake" video tapes.

Now, there are a number of competitors using Intel Centrino chips now that are finally becoming competitive with the Powerbooks -- you can now get wider, higher resolution screens (a great 15.4-inch model on the Compaq x1000 series) that are less ugly and heavy than before. Battery life is comparable to the Powerbooks, for once. You can now find DVD burners, though not slot-loading models. But the PC 'books all come down to being utilitarian, plastic hunks of hardware, mostly thrown together with only an eye on maximum features for minimum price. Apple's are the product of a harmonious mix of design and integration that lead to a pleasing whole. It's the only company I know of that creates 5.6 pound pieces of aluminum art that will literally have you cracking a 1,000 watt smile when you open it up for the first time...And isn't that worth a few hundred bucks? A thousand? How much did you pay for the painting above your sofa?

Taking this computer with you also gets you noticed. Jealousy abounds. You are instantly associated with the "cool" people. Add an iPod and you would fit right in to any hip hangout and become a magnet for like-minded folks who appreciate that there is more to life than just megahertz. Folks who understand feng shui and design and a better way of life will be attracted to you. Trolls will be repelled. Another bonus.

By the way, you might also consider buying Apple's 3-year protection plan. Sure, it's expensive, but if you bought that Picasso, would you take it with you on an airplane (not to mention through overzealous security guards) without insurance?

Continual restarts and bugs finally got me looking at Mac about six months ago, so after some preliminary research, dove headfirst into buying a generation 5 PowerBook (Ti, 1 Ghz, w/ superdrive).
Was an immediate converter into how seamlessly everything fit into one another. Making movies while importing music from iTunes and photos from iPhoto were a snap. Getting directions to any business via Sherlock is easy. Type in your Uncle's name from a state away, and Sherlock will get his address from Address book and recalibrate the directions. Wow.
Anyways, after a month of owning the Ti, started drooling over the Aluminum PowerBook. It was faster, much faster connectivity (USB 2.0, Firewire 800, Wireless G etc..), Bluetooth, stronger hinges, and an aluminum finish which should be much more durable than the painted Ti.
I had read about the white splotches on screen, kernal attacks, and the releasing latch...so I sold the Ti and ordered the Aluminum and opened the box with a little apprehension...

Two weeks later. I think I made the right choice. Aluminum casing seems much more rigid and stronger. iLife 04 processes things much faster. Screen when closed is not quite flush as one corner is slightly elevated. No evidence of white blotches, but my personal preference was the screen of the Ti. It sits a little higher off the keyboard than the Al (due to hinge structure) and the interface between screen and casing just seems more fluid and finished.
The Aluminum is literally hot. Almost hot enough to melt my polyester pants when I'm ripping a music CD or just have a couple of intensive applications running. The Ti never ran this hot and contrary to another reviewer on this site, the fan is on about 25% of the time. It's still quieter than previous generations, but it's on nevertheless.
I love the backlit keyboard, but when you're looking at the keys from a 25-45 degree angle, you seen bleeding of the light from the edges. A little distracting. Apple should encase the fiberoptics and embed it so the only light release is at the top of the clear character of the keys.
The new screen design prohibits this, but I still prefer to have some ports available only in the back. When using the PB as a desktop, I would prefer to have the monitor port and power port available in the rear. The light of the AC adapter is distracting and when I use the monitor adapter, I would prefer that clutter in the rear.
Surprisingly, with all the talk about the poor wireless reception of the Ti, I got better reception with the Ti than the Al (even with it's redesign of the antenna in the screen.)

All in all, I am pleased with my switch to Apple. It has changed my digital life. I took pictures and movies before, but they just sat in my closet. Now with it's included apps, I am excited to present it in a format that's viewer friendly and allows me to be creative. Even with all that I listed, I think the move from the Ti to Al will be worth it, but that will probably until they release the G5 PowerBook in the upcoming year, and then I'll probably be kicking myself again.
The increase of processor speed, USB 2.0, Bluetooth and backlit keyboard were the main reasons I upgraded. I am a little concerned that this is the first generation of a new line, but in actuality, it may also be the last, as the G5 has to be coming out soon.
Hopefully I have been able to throw out some nuggets of info that aren't typically on your normal reviews of specs and published info out there.

I read a couple of reviews about Apple support and would like to share my experience. We had a hard drive go down on Monday, called Apple Support on Tuesday and arranged a (free) pickup the next day, they came and picked up the computer on Wednesday late afternnoon, they returned the computer completely repaired first thing Friday morning (again with free delivery). Thats right, ONE DAY TURN AROUND.

Yes, Apple warranty does not cover cases where you break your computer yourself but what warranty does? Did that reviewer think he should be able to to drive his car over his computer and then have it fixed for free?

Apples stores are now available all over the U.S. At apple stores they have something called the "Genius Bar" where experts are waiting to help you with your problems for FREE. Especially in the case of a laptop, if you have a problem or wish to learn how to do something, just take your Mac to your local Apple Store and get all your questions answered. Instant Gratifaction.

I bought a 12-inch Powerbook after I gave my old Sony Vaio notebook the Pete Townshend treatment - I put my fist through it. (Yes, it looks like a stained glass window.) I hadn't used a Mac in years, but I decided I'd had it with Microsoft and Windows. All it took was one weekend and a good book - "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual," by David Pogue -
however, and I mastered the machine.

(Other than the size of the screen, the 15-inch model is the same as the 12-inch one.)

SOFTWARE
The computer comes with some great software. iTunes is the best media player on the market. I have almost 5,000 songs stored on mine. With the search function and browser display, it is easy to find a particular song. iTunes also keeps track of the number of times you've listened to a song and it allows you to rate your songs. It's easy to create a playlist. Also, burning one of those playlists onto a CD can be done with one click.

Safari is a great web browser. It has a Google search box built into the toolbar, prevents pop-up ads (I've never had one), has tabbed browsing (preventing a cluttered desktop), and allows for bookmarks to be added with one click.

iChat allows Mac users to customize their AIM and Rendezvous chat sessions in ways that the normal applications don't allow, such as adding pictures from iPhoto to their profile.

I haven't mastered iPhoto yet, but it is downloading pictures from a digital camera is as easy as plugging it into the USB port and clicking a button.

Also, Macs are less likely to get a virus or be overtaken by spyware.

The iCal and Address Book look good, but if you are going to sync a PDA with your Mac, you are better off using Palm Desktop software. Hopefully the functionality of those programs will be improved in the future though.

Finally, most of the programs work with each other. For example, if someone on my iChat buddy list is online, a green dot will appear next to a message from him or her in my Mail inbox.

I also use Microsoft Office, Quicken, Dreamweaver MX, and Palm Desktop - they all work well on the Mac. Office shares files perfectly with PCs.

HARDWARE
Spend the money and get the superdrive (CD-RW/DVD-R). DVDs have more memory than CDs and blank DVD-Rs are becoming more affordable. If you are into collecting videos of concerts, a DVD-R is a must.

I'd recommend upgrading to at least 768 MB of memory and the 80 GB hard drive. Burning a DVD requires a lot of memory and can take a while - this way you can use other applications while burning a DVD (on my old PC, if I was burning a CD, I couldn't use anything else). The hard drive space is really cheap. Plus, if you load your CDs on your computer, they can eat up a lot of memory, even as MP3s (my 5,000 songs take up about 25 GB).

Also, there is a lot to be said for getting the Airport Exteme card (although you can buy a third-party base station for less). I am able to browse the Internet in any room of my house - well worth the extra $100 or so.

I have the 12-inch monitor, but that was because Apple hadn't released the 15-inch in the new style when I made my purchase. The 12-inch is fine - it's much clearer than my old PC notebook - but if I had the opportunity, I'd probably go with the bigger monitor.

DRAWBACKS
-While most software is available for Mac OS X, there are some programs that aren't (Google toolbar, Yahoo! toolbar, Kazaa, AvantGo) or minor problems in software that is available (Quicken can't access accounts on Ameritrade via Macs)
-The PowerBook doesn't have a fan, which is great for the battery, but can cause it to get a bit hot underneath where the user rests his left hand.

Regardless of those drawbacks, however, buying a Mac was an easy decision. If you have any questions about it, click on my profile and send me a e-mail.

UPDATE: After 14 months, the hard drive started making noise and system performance got slow and I couldn't run as many programs as I used to. I called Apple and had to spend $300 for them to put in a new hard drive and some other hardware. They were unable to transfer my data to my new hard drive, so I've spent the past four days reloading all of my software and applications. No idea why the hard drive went. Hence I dropped the rating from five stars to four.