Review: Apple MacBook Pro

Hello, my name's Gerard and I used to be a Windows snob.

Well, that's not entirely true - I dabbled with a ZX Spectrum and Atari 520 ST in my youth - but apart from that, every computer I've owned has had a Windows operating system. Even my smartphone uses a Windows- based operating system.

In fact, I was so dismissive of Apple computers that if anyone even mentioned the name Apple, I would screw up my nose and dismiss Apple computers as tools that only graphic designers and posers owned.

But things have changed, especially since I got an iPod Touch for my last birthday, and after having my nail-bitten fingers on a MacBook Pro lapbook for the better part of a month, I must admit that I've changed my tune about Apple computers: I'm in love with the MacBook Pro.

I even tweeted on Twitter about how impressed I was with the MacBook - with one of my followers even suggesting that I must be smitten because I said publicly how I felt.

Perhaps it was the brushed- aluminium finish and smooth lines of the MacBook that swayed me first (it really does look nice) or maybe it was the fact that the Apple did everything I wanted - and nothing I didn't (forced patches, programs constantly locking up and becoming unresponsive) - or maybe it was the edge-to-edge glass on the screen, but I'm starting to see what all the fuss was about Apple computers.

The MacBook Pro came pre- installed with applications such as iPhoto, Garageband, Photo Booth, iMovie, iTunes, and Mac versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Entourage.

The keyboard was responsive. I loved the touchpad and the battery life couldn't be faulted, although the MacBook does heat up quickly because of the aluminum chassis which transfers heat with ease.

Watching movies on the 13.3-inch screen was also a delight, although the glossy screen sometimes made things hard to see because of glare, depending on the lighting.

I love everything about the MacBook Pro, but there is one thing that is stopping me from buying an OS X MacBook Pro today: its game-playing capabilities, or rather its lack of game-playing capabilities. I'm a gamer and I have a lot of games in Windows PC format. I can't play them on a MacBook Pro.

Update: Apparently you can run Windows stuff on a Mac, due to the fact that Mac's have been running on Intel processors for years. I've been advised that Mac's come installed with Apple's BootCamp software which lets you install and boot from Windows exactly as if it were a regular PC.

SPECS

Apple MacBook Pro (A$1999 (NZ$2525))

Intel 2.53Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 4Gb 1066Mhz DDR3 SDRAM memory, 250Gb 5400-rpm hard drive, 13.32-inch LED backlit screen, nVidia Geforce 9400 graphics with 256Mb shared memory, built-in camera, 8 x slot-loading SuperDrive, SD card slot, FireWire 800 port, two USB ports, 2.04kg, 32.5 x 22.7 x 2.41cm.

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