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Apple iMac Desktop with 17" M8935LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive)Platform: Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and below
Brand: Apple
Binding: Personal Computers
Warranty: 1 year warranty
I'd give it 4.5 if I could - it's almost perfect! [Posted on 2003-05-22]
I'm writing this review on my brand new iMac 17" and I'm grinning ear to ear. I do wish I'd made the switch long ago. I have to admit that I sat on the fence for almost a year before making the move over to Apple. The iPod is what finally pushed me over (more about that in another review). I won't rehash what other folks have already written. What also makes the iMac worth the money is the software that's packaged (free) with the deal. Off the shelf it's sold as iLife and it includes iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto. Trust me - you won't have to buy additional software for the iMac unless you're computing for a living. The included Appleworks suite is all you need for most publishing applications. And with the included browser, calendar, address book you're set for email and web browsing. Set up was a cinch - I timed it - 10 minutes flat and I was surfing the web and had my email set up. Of course I already had an ISP service and I'm a bit of geek, but it was remarkably easy. The only reason I can't give the iMac a perfect 5 is because of the pitiful mouse and keyboard. I've been spoiled with my ergonomic keyboard from Microsoft and their intellipoint trackball mouse. Once you've used these you can't go back to anything less. I really hoped I could avoid sending more money to Bill, but ... One other note of caution - please note that only one of the memory slots is accessable to the consumer. Therefore if you need 1 GB of RAM you will have to have the 256 MB RAM chip replaced by an authorized service center. Otherwise the most RAM you can install yourself is 512 MB in the user accessible slot bringing the total to 768 MB. Not an issue for most users, but something to consider. The only way around this is to buy direct from the Apple store. The other bonus from buying direct from Apple is that the units from the store have Bluetooth built in! The downside here is delivery time - it took almost 2 weeks to receive my iMac from California to North Carolina. A wait made even more agonizing by the fact that my iPod was delivered in two days from Amazon!
Beware! [Posted on 2003-07-02]
I would strongly recommend that anyone buying one of these "little beauties" run the hardware test disk as the first task after getting it up and running. If there is ANY problem noted, call Apple immediately. I have taken mine back to the store 5 (yes FIVE) times with fried memory chips and finally, they replaced the logic board. I'm not sure what all of that means, but I do know that the frustration has made me question the wisdom of my switch to Apple. I bought it because I wanted to work with the iPhoto and iMovie programs and heard such glowing things about Apple creativity. I would just like to get to the point of trying it out! Seems to be working well now, but I have lost a lot of confidence in it. I am never quite sure that I haven't developed ANOTHER hardware problem when something doesn't work right.
Nearly Perfect... [Posted on 2003-07-30]
I have had this computer for nearly 6 months (since March) and I have been very happy with it. I have added additional memory and have recently expanded the hard drive with the addition of an external 160 gig 7200 rpm drive. I mainly use the computer for general office work (ie letters, spreadsheets, etc). But since I got the computer I have been editing video using IMovie and creating DVDs using IDVD. The ILife software is very nice and I have generally been pleased with it. The ease of use of the ILife software really makes the computer shine IMHO. ITunes, IPhoto, IMovie and IDVD make it possible for the average user to import and use the digital media that far outstrips the average PC. Things I struggled with on my Dell using windows 98, are easy with the Mac. Other people more technically savy than I can most likley do the same sorts of things I can, but average windows users are usually impressed that I can do things like make movies, etc... This is not to say this is perfect, but it seems to be much closer to perfection than windows based machines. Unlike one other reviewer, I have not had any hardware problems with my computer, nor have my parents (my father has a 17" powerbook and my mother has a 17" Ibook like mine).
Praise from a new mac convert [Posted on 2003-08-13]
It's been a little over a month since I bought this machine, and I'm only kicking myself for having kept my feet in the Gatesian concrete for so long before. The machine itself is brilliant in its design, look, and efficiency. I picked it up at an apple store in NYC, and didn't ask for any upgrades since I wanted to take it right home from there. However, I would recommend those who can spend $50 more to opt for 512MB of RAM rather than the standard 256, although it runs quite well on the latter. The graphics, for which apple is so famous, are everything they're cracked up to be and then some. The mac browser, on which I'm writing now, safari, is a cut above IE for speed, design, and interface. What truly distinguises the mac, however, is how it does more with small packages: OS X is about half the size of windows xp, and runs more efficiently and with more ease and sensitivity to what users really want to do with a computer. I've spent some 15 years with my head under the hood of Mr. Gates' dirty windows, and although I learned a ton of information and made myself look pretty smart at work in the process, it was dreary constantly having to work around or fix the bugs that the skinny billionaire could have easily taken out himself before he sold me his OS. For windows users who are looking at this with the same question in their minds as I had: "is it worth it, after all these years, moving to a completely new platform" the answer is yes, it is more than worth it, if you're willing to make a few comparatively minor sacrifices. Obviously, (unless you want to keep a windows PC on the side) software will have to be replaced or trashed--don't worry, the proprietary productivity software sold with these macs, called appleworks (which I believe is a reworking of the old Clarisworks), is extremely functional and versatile, and the way windows software is constantly being ramped up, a gradual transition won't be that much of an additional expense, in exchange for the beauties of working on a platform like OS X. One caveat about hardware, however: you will have to consider the possibility of replacing your peripherals: I had to set aside my HP Officejet R40 and buy a comparable all-in-one device that's compatible with the mac and uses USB cables rather than the parallel port (it was only $200, so it's not a back-breaker). If you can handle those passing challenges, you are not likely to look back ever again to the PC: the imac in particular, is a stroke of design genius, and OS X is the only computing environment I can ever claim to have actually enjoyed looking at and working with. Finally, if you're what they call a "power user" (i.e., you like to have the fastest and most loaded machine on the market when you buy), you may wish to wait for the vaunted G5 to appear (I think they're actually taking orders for it now). But the 1GHz G4 is a powerful enough machine to do everything that a PC is capable of, with as much speed and far more grace and balance than any PC I've owned can claim. And if the $2,000 price tag of an imac is rather too much for you, consider the emac, which starts at well under a thousand but uses the old CRT. In any event, you won't go wrong with the mac, and if you're like me, you'll only be wondering what took you so long.
Really Great! [Posted on 2003-08-19]
Not only is it great looking... it works great too! Painless switch from Windows... Haven't needed to purchase any addition software becuase the bundled software does everything... And it is super cool looking!
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