What do you use for Macbook/MBP for?

[Maxx26]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

 

[yellow]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. This would be helpful because viewer could find similar type of users and learn about there experiences.

1) MBP, 2.0GHz, 1GB RAM, ATI x1600 -> currently dual bootable Tiger / WinXp

2) Work. Large group IT support.

It would probably be more beneficial if you told us what it was that you wanted to do..

 

[Xander562]

1) MBP 2.0Ghz 256VRAM 1GBRAM 15.4" display
2) EVERYTHING! no, i plan on using some Architectural design programs on it in the future, i use the ilife apps, all basic computing things like surfing the web etc. and i'll probably buy Logic Express and Final Cut Express.
3) what i like, it is a very fast machine, and as i usually use it on a table, i really dont notice the heat very much, that is not to say that it doesnt get hot, because it does, but this does not warrant me not buying it, as i rarely would use a COOL laptop on my lap. i like the magsafe, i like the speakers, which i think are ok for a laptop(im sure someone will disagree) i am pretty much happy witht the entire thing
4) what i dont like, the only thing i can find to complain about it is the heat, which i cant justify complaining about. of cours i woudl LIKE it to be cooler, but its not excruciatingly hot to begin with, you know what i'm saying? sorry if this is confusing, OOh and if your wondering about the whine, there are easy fixes, so dont worry about it.

 

[Danksi]

1) MBP 2.0Ghz 256VRAM 1GBRAM 15.4" display

Was that a refurb?

I've been looking at the same spec'd MBP on Apple Canada refurb site...

 

[celebrian23]

1.MBP, 15.4'', 2.0ghz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD

2.surfing, ilife, light gaming, ichat (will be used with office, photoshop, and illustrator in 2 months)

3.I love it's aluminum look. I like how fast it is, even with stock ram. I love having a backlit keyboard. I love the speakers- quite impressive for a laptop. And I love how well the ilife suite runs.

4.It can get very hot at times. It weights more than I'd like. I'm not a huge fan of the keyboard. It seems to occaisonally have the intel airport problems. It's whine has become louder in the 3-4 weeks I've owned it

 

[docal97]

hi, i have the 15" mbp for several days, upgrading from powerbook 1.5 ghz. I think the mbp is excellent in all respects, it is fast as hell, and is cool looking to boot. I use it for websurfing, photos, dvd projects and some gaming, and it has been flawless to date. No whine, no mooing, quiet as can be. It is a bit warm on the bottom, no more than the powerbook really. I use the Ilap, which is actually more comfortable than having the unit on your lap, and eliminates any heat issues for me period.

I highly recomment this unit, it is the best notebook/computer i have ever had.

best, al

 

[Bern]

1) MacBook 2Ghz, 2GB ram, 60GB HDD

2) Web design, some graphics work with PS, digital painting with Corel Painter IX.5, and all the usual daily stuff.

3) I like the way it looks, it's much faster than my last edition 12" Powerbook was, love the glossy screen, I like that I can swap out the HDD when I need to and I'm really happy with the increased resolution.

4) Not sure what I don't like about it yet. The heat is not an issue as I hardly even noticed and I use it on my lap from time to time (never caused any discomfort).

 

[FragTek]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

1) 17" Glossy MBP / 2gb RAM / 100gb 7200RPM HD

2) Video editing, photo editing, web design, surfing, gaming, windows... A little bit of everything

5) Nothing, no complaints at all.

 

[risc]

1) I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2.0 GHz, 128 MB VRAM, 120 GB HDD, 2 GB RAM I bought it in May - it got delivered a week ago - because I was sick and tired of not having a portable anymore, so I sold my Power Mac G5 and the MBP was the replacement.

2) I use it for everything I did on my Power Mac so it is probably easier to name the apps I use rather than describe what I do with it: Adium, Art Directors Toolkit, Audio Hijack Pro, Comic Life, Earth Browser, Fast DVD Copy, GraphicConvertor, HandBrake, iPodRip, iSquint, JBidWatcher, KrossWordz, Nicecast, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, Pac the Man X, RealPlayer, Snak, Solitaire XL, Transmission, Transmit, VisualHub, VLC, Parallels Desktop, Tremulous, and Virtual ][. I also use iWork 06 for basic word processing, and the other bundled OS X apps for the same stuff everyone else does with them.

3) I've always loved the look and feel of the the AL PowerBooks and this is no different, I also can't get over the fact I have a notebook that feels Power Mac G5 fast. My machine is the 5/25 - 5/28 batch and it has no whine, or heat issues and I love that too. I also love the speed of other OSes when using Parallels Desktop it's great for work being able to have Linux or Windows running in a Window.

4) I really can't fault my machine at all. It does have a stuck green pixel in the top left corner that I can't notice unless I'm looking at something red, but even this isn't a problem as my work is about to become an Apple warranty centre so I'll just get one of the notebook techies to get me a new display when the contract is signed.

I guess you could say the MacBook Pro is my favourite computer EVER!

 

[Anonymous Freak]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

Original 2.0 GHz MacBook Pro, 2 GB RAM, 7200 RPM 100 GB hard drive. When home, it gets plugged in to two external hard drives: one for backing up, one for video storage; and a dual-layer DVD burner.

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)

First, I'm a Geek. It's on my business card. I have been a Mac-head since 1986, and a PC user since 1984. I like having both: complete control, and having it easy enough to use that I don't even need to think about how to do it. So there are parts of the Mac OS I love, and parts I hate.

Main use in terms of sheer time is web browsing. I go on 2-3 appointments a day scattered around town, so I map out my appointments ahead of time on my notebook. It sits next to me in the car acting as my map.

Second would be iLife. iTunes a lot (daily podcasts plus some music listening,) iPhoto a lot (I take a lot of photos,) and iMovie/iDVD occasionally (I have a two year old, and the grandparents like to be kept up to date.)

Third: Windows. My job is being a computer technician, so I do need to 'keep up' with Windows developments. I have two Parallels 'machines' set up with different configurations, plus Boot Camp set up in a third manner.

Fourth: Games. Both Mac (WoW, LEGO Star Wars,) and Windows through Boot Camp (multiplayer Command & Conquer mostly.)

3) what do like about it?

It's fast. WAAAY faster than my old 867MHz PowerBook G4. (It's even faster running PPC apps through Rosetta than the G4 was native!) My old PowerBook had a 12" 1024x768 screen, so the larger physical size and resolution are a godsend for photo and video, and help significantly with web browsing. (Except those annoying websites that define a fixed 800 pixel width.)

I can run Windows on it. I no longer have to keep a PC around just to run Command & Conquer, and Parallels is orders of magnitude faster than VirtualPC on the PowerBook was.

4) what don't you like about it?

I had the initial battery die, but it was replaced under warranty. I would have liked dedicated S-Video out, and would have liked the extras included with the 17" model (3rd USB port, FW800, Faster & DL Superdrive.) I don't like that processor speeds increased less than two months after I took delivery of one of the very first ones. (But it makes me glad I didn't pay the extra $300 for the 2.16 GHz model, which would also have delayed my shipping,) and finally, it's too big. I liked my ultra-portable 12" PowerBook, and my old Duo, and even my old Sony 8.9"-screen 'PictureBook' subnotebook. Even the MacBook (non-Pro,) is a LITTLE too large for my tastes, but I've come to accept my 15" as acceptable. (I had to buy a new bag, and I don't like the bag as much as my old bag.)

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

 

[wako]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

Currently since school is out of session, my macbook sits infront of my PC so I can surf while playing games. Or infront of my TV so I can surf and watch TV

When school is in session...

1. Black MacBook 2.0Ghz/2Gb RAM/80Gb/Superdrive be working in clamshell mode with my Dell 2005FPW monitor. BT Mouse and Keyboard

2. Mostly surfing, word processing, movies, music, downloading random things

3. Widescreen goodness. Ever since I got my 2005FPW, I just had go widescreen for everything! I also like the look. Black is such a nice color Oh and I LOVE the new way of right clicking. I always found it such a hassle to figure out what key it is to right click. On some apps it would be different. Like some apps would be the Apple key, other would be control, and sometimes option.

4. Heat. It is hot. A have a baby Cow in it. Usually it knows not to make a peep, but sometimes it just has to.

 

[jackmack]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

MacBook Pro 17", 2 gigs ram.

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)

Surfing, a bit of gaming, mostly heavy graphics (I'm a webdesigner/graphic designer)

And a foot note... I runs Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 and it works just fine for me (no where near as laggy as I feared).

I also have parallels set up so i can access some of my special programs for my SEO work.

3) what do like about it?

I love the look. I love the colors (if you're a designer, don't get the glossy). I love the boot time. I love everything.

4) what don't you like about it?

During hot times like now, it gets "sweat prints" on it, but nothing a Screensavrz cloth can't handle.

I also dislike how hard it seems to be to network with my windows machine to grab files. But im sure im just dong something wrong

 

[The Senator]

I have one of the first 1.83ghz macbookpros, I never complained or cried to apple about the whine or heat and with time the whine just stopped and it didnt get that hot anymore, its not that I got use to it, the temp just starting dropping and the whine slowly went down with time

I use it everyday for checking email, itunes and adium. I also do a lot of video editing and the thing is realy fast at it. I also installed windows on it and play bf2 when I'm out or sometimes at school. I also have temspeex installed on it and use that program and adium when I'm playing BF2 on my pc, so I have two computers going instead of alt tabing to view stuff all the time.

I love this computer, this is my favorite computer I've ever had and it is my first mac. My friends all love this thing and they all freak out when they see me playing on it and say how cool it looks. I love how lite and small it is for a 15 inch notebook. I love the remote and isight and now being able to play BF2 on it. I also love the backlit keyboard

my complaint is the airport, it sucks I cant take my computer that far from the router and sometimes it just dropps connections. I dont have these problems on the windows side so I think its a software problem

 

[thehuncamunca]

1) MBP 15" 2GHz 2GB RAM 100GB HD 256MB ATI x1600 graphics card
2) use it for school and some gaming-getting civ 4 next week
3) there's not much not to like about it
4) my MBP generates way too much heat

 

[Sesshi]

1a. MBP 17" 2.16Ghz, 2Gb RAM, 100Gb HDD sitting on Griffin iCurve, 2 x Belkin USB Hubs, Keysonic illuminated keyboard, Microsoft Wireleless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0, Ext. firewire IDE drive enclosure with 400Gb HDD, RME Fireface audio interface, 23" Apple Cinema Display (my main Desktop)
1b. Macbook 2ghz, 1Gb RAM, 100Gb HDD (my actual 'notebook')

2. Wordprocessing / emails / project notes / scheduling first. Surfing, listening to music and general iLifey stuff for the rest. No games (I have PC's for games) and no heavy graphics (if you don't count the occasional peeks at naked ladies). I'm thinking about Parallels to run Napster/Urge/Rhapsody/etc if that's possible but for anything else I haven't felt the need to run Windows on my Macs.

3a. I would like the ability for Macs to 'age gracefully'. i.e. styled with wear & tear in mind, or the shells to be made tougher. It's just that they look sleek and new or very secondhand. There doesn't seem to be an in-between state.
3b. Heat on both machines, or to be more specific the cooling systems. I would like a choice on the control panel whether to run the system noisier but cool or quiet and hot. At home I would run the latter, while out and about (and in high summer) I would run the former.

 

[it5five]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

1. White MacBook 2.0ghz, 2GB RAM, 120GB HD. I also have a 250 external which will be used for video storage.

2. Right now: mostly browsing, chatting, listening to music. When school starts/I buy FC Express, I'll be doing some editing/writing on it.

3. It's really fast. I haven't had any problems.

4. There isn't much I don't like about it.

 

[Abstract]

1. White MacBook 1.83 Ghz, 1GB RAM, 80 GB HD.

2. Web browsing, listening to music, writing my thesis, iPhoto, and anything else to do with photos.

3. It's fast, but with 1 GB of RAM it chokes when I keep iTunes, Firefox or Camino, Mail, iCal, Address Book, Automator, Word or Excel, and iPhoto open at the same time, especially when I try to edit a photo via iPhoto (ie: open the photo in full screen mode). However, more RAM would fix that, and it's still much faster than my previous PowerBook.

4. I love everything about it.

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

1) MacBook Pro, 1.83 GHz, 1.5 GB, almost always shut and connected to an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

2) Surfing, Word Processing, iLife Applications. And That's It. The only reason why I really wanted the GPU was because of Vista, and the only reason why I really wanted the Pro model was because of the screen - it is worth, in my mind, 300 dollars more than the MacBook model in just its screen.

3) It's not hot, it's extremely quiet (extremely quiet), it's so fast (seriously, it is overkill for my needs, but oh well), and it never breaks - ever.

4) I guess the whine was annoying...but it got fixed in one of Apple's software updates (is this weird???). Um...I guess the gap between the screen and the case bugs me a lil', but all of the Pro's have it so...that's about it...

 

[xparaparafreakx]

1) MBP 17" 2.16/120 GB HD/256mb x1600/usb modem
Mac OS X.4.7 and Vista Beta 2

2) Surfing net, Games both on mac and pc side, some graphics, lots of Network Admin stuff with Xserve.

3) How its fast and better then my TiBook 15" and looks better.

4) I hate how everyone *itches about it. The fan is not loud as my TiBook and it gets hot but not super duper burning hot. Your hand should not be near the CPU just like your fingers are not to touch the RAM on the AlBook or the Darker colorer area in the TiBook.

 

[watchmainspring]

video games!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[archurban]

1) white macbook 2ghz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD, mac os x 10.4.7. hesitating for installing vista even I have vista beta 2 DVD. but I already installed it to imac 20-inch. it just runs fine.

2) internet surfing, iLife, photobooth, mail, ichat, address book, ical, adobe lightroom, aperture, google sketchup, google earth, photoshop, graphic converter, iwork (keynote, pages), omni outliner, sofa control, ipod related apps like isquint, viddy yup, pspware, senuti.

3) new design of keyboard, magsafe, magnetic lid, built-in isight, front row, glossy screen (very clear, crisp, bright), 1-inch thin form factor, wide touch pad, easy to install hard drive, more longer battery life. well, I just love mine.

4) macbook is hot that I don't like. mooing? I can't really call it as moo. because I hear something. but it's very subtle, really hard to hear unless there is no noise from outside or inside home. it's more like purr..... not mooing. but when I do some heavy work, fan is immediately response, suddenly temperature goes down. but as I said, I don't like hot. I also got very little vibration. I'm not sure whether it's coming from HDD, or fan. but it does. but what's funny is when I put some thick paper on the bottom of macbook, it's suddenly gone. even put the same paper on any edge on the bottom, I got the same result. it is interesting. from now on, I just put mine on thick pamplet. I thought it was hdd problem. but after checking hdd by particular software, it had no problem, just fine. it's probably related with loosen case around hdd or somewhere.

 

[Kace]

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?
mbp 17" (non glossy)/ 2GB RAM

2) what type of computing do you do?
web design (flash, dreamweaver), photoshop, FCS

3) what do i like about it?
speed, much faster than my PB G4. screen size

4) what don't you like about it?
would like a higher res screen

 

[dextertangocci]

2Ghz white MB, 512 RAM (soon to be 2GB ) 60GB HD (soon to be 120 )

I use the iLife suite extensively, iChat, iWork (NOT office , light photoshopping, browsing MR & Popcorn 2 (+ MTR )

 

[plarusa]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

PB 12" 1.5G, 512M ram, 80G HD. MBP 2.0G, 1.5G ram, 100G HD.
I used them for

Windows software development (I use ssh, Remote Desktop, Windows in a Parallel VM)
Email/web surfing (Entourage/Safari)
School master thesis on Linux Kernel (I run Linux in a Parallel VM)
Documentation (MS Word)
Finances (Excel/Turbo Tax)
Video/TV recording and DVD burning (EyeTV/Toast 7)
Entertainment (itune/iPhoto/iMovie/quickTime)
Electronics design/board layout (eda tools under X windows/MI-Sugar)
Learn Mac software development (Xcode)

There is not much to dislike about either computer. I am a recent but extremely satisfied Apple user. The MBP in particular is the most versatile computer available.

 

[rickylacoste]

If current owners would tell us what they do with there macbook/MBP's it would be very helpful to those of us considering buying. I propose answering these four questions:

1) what macbook do you have and how is it set up?

2) what type of computing do you do?
(surfing, wp, iLife, windows, gaming, heavy graphics, etc.)
3) what do like about it?

4) what don't you like about it?

This would be helpful because a viewer could find similar type of users and learn about their experiences.

1) MBP 1'83 1,5 Gb 80 Gb HD

2) Music (Logic Pro 7, Reason, Live) and basic tasks like surfing and writing.

3) Perfomance. It's roughly equivalent to my 2x2,0 Ghz G5 with 2'5 Gb of RAM if we give credit to the CPU meter. Looks. Virtually Silent. Front Row, Integrated iSight, iLife, Possibilty of dual booting. Great keyboard and screen.

4) Before the firmware update Heat was a concern. After that, it has cooled down to confortable levels, but still it wouldn't be wise to put it onyour lap. Anyway, I wouldn't trade an ounce of perfomance for ten degrees less, so I suppose it's ok for me.