Review: Apple's iBook G4 Notebook

Before leaving on a trip to Switzerland I was a little unsure about bringing one of the most important things I own, my Apple iBook G4. Seeing as I had always had it attached to my hip before I left, a part of me wanted to sever all ties, but another part of me knew I couldn't live without it.

This little contraption is my life. First introduced in 2005 this model was made just for the traveling student. It features the signature white bulletproof case, and yes it is actually bullet proof as it's made using a durable polycarbonate plastic enclosure. The mere 4.9 pounds gives me the mobility that I need. The 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processor makes surfing the Net and running programs extremely easy and fast. A slot-load Combo drive is perfect for watching DVDs and burning CDs which makes my entertainment life that much easier. The driving force for me though was Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor technology. This helps protect a spinning hard drive if the notebook is accidentally dropped.

A 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive is encased in this powerful notebook. Integrated wireless communications technology featuring both 802.11g and Bluetooth 2.0 allows me to search the Internet from my bedroom in Switzerland to my hostel in China. A built-in 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet hookup, two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire® 400 port are discreetly placed along the side of the notebook making it easy to connect all your peripherals.

Not only is the hardware amazing but also this little monster machine includes some of Apple's best software like Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger," the fifth major release of the world's most advanced operating system. To top it all off Apple even threw in iLife®, their award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring iPhoto®, iMovie®, iDVD®, GarageBand™ and iTunes®.

I must say that before I decided on a MAC I weighed all my options. There were PC's out there that were much cheaper and worked with all my existing programs. They were even as small as the iBook, but as a person in the publishing industry I knew that this was the notebook for me. After seeing all the great extras that Apple included I was sold. Even with buying a cheaper computer I couldn't get the kind of quality that I was in desperate need of from anyone else but Apple.

I never thought I would depend on something as much as I do my iBook G4. It keeps me connected to the outside world and lets me create my own world inside. I love my Apple iBook G4 Notebook!