skysenshi.com

I waited this long to write a review about Mi-chan because I wanted for the excitement to simmer a bit. Can’t be too hasty, especially when you’re evaluating something that you had just received after lusting over it for so long. It’s been three months since he arrived and I still am very much in love with him. Everything is so beautiful and shiny on a Macbook and even though Yahoo!Messenger is still at version 3.0, it still looks better than it ever did on a PC.

Mi-Chan has built-in iLife Studio, which allows you to create movies, DVDs, music that look professionally done. If you manage to buy Keynote and Pages, the Mac’s answer to Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, you’d notice the difference in available templates. Well, actually, even with the Microsoft Suite for the Mac, the templates are considerably better looking than the ones available on a PC by default. What’s really nifty about Mi-chan is that he has a built-in webcam, Bluetooth, and the ability to convert just about anything to PDF.

I remember my cousin asking me if she should choose a Sony Vaio over a Macbook and I recall replying with, “Think of it as if you’re choosing a husband.” You’d always have to go with the following critera:
1. Looks (Beauty) – Check!
2. Sophistication – Check!
3. Intelligence – Check!
4. Flexible to my needs – Check!
5. Shows me new ways of doing things – Check!
6. Can switch between right and left brain hemispheres – Check!
7. Reliable – Check!
8. Life expectancy – Ding! Ding! Ding!

Number 8 marks the clincher! I mean, really, who’d want to blow her investment over something that will leave her (or die on her) when the going gets tough? On the second day that I got Mi-Chan, a student of mine tripped over the DSL cable attached to him and sent him flying. Mi-Chan landed with a thud, but, except for the underbite he got from the ordeal, he’s still pretty much running. This is because Mi-Chan has SMS or “Sudden Motion Sensor.” It detects if there’s sudden movement and freezes the hard drive to protect it from possible damage.

Other noteworthy features include the iCal, which is heaven-sent for workaholics like me. I get to organize all my activities, both social and work-related, in color-coded goodness. The Photobooth is also a wicked tool that I use in lieu of a digital camera. Of course, I’d be nuts if I forgot all about iTunes.

Now, before you can say that I kissed my gaming habits goodbye, I would have to inform many PC gamers/web developers that there’s this thing called Boot Camp that lets you partition your drive in such a way that it can also run Windows. Yes, I have Ragnarok Online and Neverwinter Nights on the Windows side of Mi-Chan.

Like all relationships, it’s not always a bed of roses. For one, I can’t run Open Office files. Another thing: My hard disk drive space is too small. I had originally thought that since I don’t use a lot of space on my old PC, the same thing would apply to a Mac. I was dead wrong. Having two operating systems can drain your resources. If I had known this, I would have ordered at least 250GB of disk space. I also have too little memory, having only 512MB RAM to work with. I suppose I’ll have to upgrade.

Mi-Chan also heats up quickly. It would probably be a good thing if he’s human, but I need him cold. The best way to counter this problem is to have the air conditioning running or have fans directed at him. It would also be a good idea to get those steel stands that raises a laptop’s elevation.
Overall, I’m very satisfied with Mi-Chan. Scratch that. I love Mi-Chan. Enough to have my human boyfriend insanely jealous. Heh.

More pictures of Mi-Chan here:
http://skysenshi.multiply.com/photos/album/18

Rating: 8/10