iBook Gets Ringing Endorsement In Government Computer News

A ppleis iBook product line got a ringing endorsement from one of the main publications aimed at government purchasers in the US, Government Computer News. In a review titled "iBook is a lean, clean machine," Thomas R. Temin praises the iBookis styling, performance, the integrated AirPort card, and Mac OS X. His two biggest criticisms are a bug he says causes his iBook to crash when sleeping, and the fact that the iBook comes with so much software, it might be considered a perk for government workers. From the review:

The important advantage I find with Apple computers versus PCs could be a mixed blessing if you buy them off-the-shelf for agency users. That is the complete software bundle that comes with them. In my opinion, the included software negates the common notion that Apple hardware is overpriced.

You get a full office suite, AppleWorks, that is file-compatible with Microsoft Office, as well as fairly robust photography, music, DVD, movie-making, antivirus and e-mail applications, plus numerous other goodies. All this leaves a solid 30G of free disk space, but it also might make an agency-supplied computer seem too much like a personal perk.

All in all, the iBook confirmed my personal choice to switch from Windows to Mac OS. But there is a learning curve for new users. As a replacement unit for users of System 9, you wonit get many complaints

There is much more information in the full article at Government Computer News.