Well, about a week ago I received my new Apple MacBook Pro in the mail. And, after a week, all I can say is WOW! The specs for my new computer include 2.16 Ghz. Intel Core Duo processor, 1 Gb. RAM, 120 Gb. hard drive, and the glossy widescreen display. Apple has made purchasing a computer as easy as possible. Once you select the computer you want there are 3 options for upgrade which include RAM, hard drive space, and the display. Some of the positives include:
1. Good looks. Well, it has me beat there. At 1″ think, it’s much thinner than my brothers new 15″ Dell E1505.
2. Quick startup and shutdown time. The system is up and running within seconds (less then 15 seconds), putting it to sleep and waking it up takes less time (less than 5 seconds), and shutting down takes less time than system start up. These are all better times than my previous PC.
3. Calendar, Mail, Address Book are smooth. They are easily comparable to, if not better than, Outlook. This is a big plus as Outlook would cost extra for a Windows computer. Add the fact that earlier today I was able to sync my Motorola cell phone within a minute using the bluetooth functionality. Of note, getting address book info from Outlook to Apple Address Book isn’t easy. By that, I mean, I had to enter them all in again. That wasn’t fun.
4. iPhoto. This tool has been great. Nothing that comes with Microsoft comes even close. I used Macromedia Fireworks on my previous computer and think iPhoto is much more user friendly for someone like me. It should be noted that Fireworks is tailored more for web design. Either way, I’m happy with iPhoto.
5. Dashboard. The Dashboard includes a group of mini applications called Widgets that sit on the desktop. Applications include a Calendar, Clock, Weather Stations, Stock Tracker, and Language Translater (which translates Greek flawlessly). The Apple website includes other Widgets for download.

Now, there are a few glitches that I’m trying to work through.
1. iChat. As good a tool as iChat is, it doesn’t work with MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger Id’s. After doing some research I found a version of Yahoo Messenger for Apple OS X and it works great. It also works with the iSight camera.
2. iWeb. This is a great tool for non-techies to create and manage a web site including photo albums, blogs, and podcasts on the .Mac site. However, for someone that owns their own domain name, a lot of the functionality doesn’t transfer over making it useless for me.
3. Office / Quicken. I haven’t started using Office for Mac (trial version) or purchased Quicken for Mac, so I have no basis for comparing them to the PC versions. Lucky for me I still have a working PC that I’ve used about once per week to catch up on my finances. I haven’t really need Word or Excel. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Overall, I have no regrets purchasing an Apple MacBook. It’s a great computer that I would recommend to anyone looking for a top of the line laptop with great features not found in their Windows counterparts.