Going back to Mac
Written: Jul 12 '08 (Updated Jul 13 '08)
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Pros: Attractive all in one design. Stable operating system.
Cons: Occasional re-starts required with some CD’s/DVD’s.
The Bottom Line: The iMac offers a great looking, very well designed piece of hardware, plus a very stable operating system. It's a winning combination.
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| nmg1969's Full Review: Apple iMac 20 in. (MA876LL/A;PE204877;INSTALL) Mac... |
I owned a Mac in the late 90’s and I really enjoyed my first Mac experience, however, for various reasons; I’d been using a PC at home for the last few years. Recently it was time to upgrade and after shopping around, I decided to go back to Mac.
I settled on the all in one design of the aluminum 20” iMac. The main reason for choosing the iMac is that I wanted the computer to be part of the living room, not tucked away in a corner of the spare room. The iMac is a great looking piece of hardware, which now forms part of my home entertainment system.
For those who are not sure what I mean by “all in one”, there is no “box” connected to the display. This makes the iMac a great option for those living in small apartments. If space is a real issue, you could even add a digital TV tuner to your iMac and replace your old television set.
The iMac features a widescreen LCD display that offers incredibly sharp and bright images. The display is suspended by a stylish anodized aluminum stand, which allows you to easily change the displays angle. The iMac has a very small footprint so using up valuable desk space is not an issue.
The back of the iMac includes the above mentioned stand with a hole for the power cable, a power button, headphone/external speaker input, three USB ports and two firewire ports. There's also a cooling vent for the whisper quiet fan.
The hard drive will provide more than enough storage for the majority of users. To give you an idea of it’s capacity, I have over 10,000 images, 4,000 songs and several hours of video, and I’ve only used around half the available storage.
Other features include speakers, a microphone and built in camera. The speakers are neatly tucked away underneath the display. The sound quality is very good considering their size and placement. The microphone does a great job (I’ve tested it using voice commands and during Skype calls). The camera is located at the top of the display and it’s very subtle – it’s not like you sit down in front of it and notice that there is a camera steering back at you. When the camera is on, there is a small green light next to it, so you know when you’re “on”.
CD’s and DVD’s are fast to load. My only complaint would be that occasionally some disks don’t appear on the desktop (perhaps 1 in 20 fail to show up) and a re-start is required to eject the disc. Hopefully this is just a minor glitch which Apple can find a solution for.
The iMac comes with an anodized aluminum keyboard and white plastic mouse. The keyboard plugs into the back of the monitor and the mouse connects to the keyboard. The keyboard is very nice to use and it has a very slim design. If desktop space is an issue, you may want to consider the wireless keyboard, as it’s much narrower. The Mighty Mouse is a fantastic little device. I find it very comfortable and easy to use. It features one main button, which can be clicked on the left or right. Clicking on the right brings up the “Copy and Paste” option, which most computer users rely on quite heavily. It has a 360 degree scroll button which can also be pressed to bring up other (customizable) functions. In addition to this, the mouse has two side buttons which can be squeezed together – again, this brings up other options depending on what you’ve selected in your system preferences.
An Apple remote is also included (it looks a bit like an iPod). One click of the menu button and your computer is transformed into a home entertainment system. This is great for family slide shows and checking out the latest theatrical trailers.
When you first get your new iMac home, the unpack and set up are pain free. You are guided all the way and after a couple of minutes you are ready to go. The operating system (I’m using Leopard/10.5.4) is a pleasure to work with. I also added a Mac version of MS Word and Excel to my system and I’ve had no issues with opening PC generated documents. I won’t get into any detail about the operating system (that’ll be a separate review) but if I could give new users one piece of advise, it would be to set up Spaces (in your System Preferences). Spaces allow you to specify a place for each of your common programs (i.e., Safari, Mail, iTunes, iPhoto etc…) - it keeps your desktop nice and tidy. Once you’ve got that set up, set the centre mouse button to access Spaces (you’ll be using it a lot, and the centre button is easier to access than the side buttons).
I thoroughly recommend the Apple iMac, so if you are in the market for a new computer, head down to your local store and give one a go. I’m sure whichever size/option you choose; you’ll be recommending the iMac to your family and friends in no time.
Basic tech spec’s:
Model: 20” iMac
Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Storage: 250GB
Memory: 1GB (expandable to 4GB)
Resolution: 1680 x 1050 pixels
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1199
Operating System: Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
nmg1969
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Location: Australia
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
I'm an Australian who loves bikes, hi-fi, travel and photography.
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