Super Discounts Available now--iMac G4 800MHz Combo Drive
Written: Mar 02 '03 (Updated Nov 07 '03)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Quality of Tech Support:
Pros: Stability of OS X, Screen quality, speed, ease of use/setup
Cons: Transition pains from Windows, Limited 3d party software, single-button mouse, needs more USB ports
The Bottom Line: Overall: Highly recommended for business/academic/Internet uses. I can't make a positive or negative recommendation for gamers. More expensive than similar-performing PC's (but not so much if you compare high-quality units).
pilotpat's Full Review: Apple iMac 15 in. (M8535LL/B) Mac Desktop
Note:I wrote this review a while ago, when the 800 MHz iMac G4 was the top of the line iMac. I am still very happy with my purchase and swap to Mac - with the exception of the one early hangup mentioned below (when trying to install Citrix), I have not had another system crash in over a year. Yes, a couple times I've had programs [mostly Microsoft Office] "hiccup," but it's never brought the system down.
Now that the 1GHz is out (plus the speed-demon G5/Dual G5), there are some outstanding deals on the 800 and 900MHz iMacs on MacZone and MacMall.
And now back to your regularly scheduled review...
I am a die-hard PC user. Haven't used a Mac for 13 years, and then had memories of the "luggable" suitcase Macs (laptops would be a misnomer), tiny B&W screens, and the "Fatal Error" screen with the tiny "bomb" icon. When I joined the military, the standard was (and still is) Windows PC's with a few Sun systems here and there.
So, when I bought my first home computer I naturally bought a Windows machine and continued to do so until this year. Over the past decade-plus, I have found myself bewildered, angered, confused, and otherwise dissatisfied by PC's. After a year-long period of research and experimentation, I finally made the decision to switch to an iMac, and so far I am quite happy.
I purchased my iMac 800MHz with a 15" monitor and the CD-RW/DVD-R drive for $1295 from MacMall. As accessories, I opted for an additional 512MB RAM to make 768MB total ($40 after rebate), SmartDisk USB Floppy (Free after rebate), HP 5500 color printer ($50 after rebate), Office X ($189), and their extended warranty ($175, but they covered the $85 2-day shipping in exchange for this purchase).
The shipment arrived in 3 boxes. One was the floppy via FedEx, another the printer, and the third was the iMac itself. The iMac box is well designed with form-fitting styrofoam packing. In the box was the keyboard, mouse, supporting documentation, ApplePro speakers, and the single-unit iMac/screen.
Setup is incredibly easy. I scanned the directions (very clear) removed everything from the packing and plugged one power cord from the iMac to my surge protector. There are 3 USB attachments for the keyboard (short-cord mouse plugs into one of the 2 USB ports on the ApplePro keyboard), floppy, and printer. I plugged an Ethernet cable into the iMac and my router, speakers into their port, and pressed the power switch. All this took about 5-7 minutes.
The first thing you notice on power up is the quality of the screen. It's huge. After a screen test, it appears that I have a single always-on red pixel - I only notice it if I order a full-black screen - which is well within the parameters of industry acceptability, but irritates my perfectionist side. But the screen is clear and bright. It does take a bit of time getting used to the "fuzzy" appearance of very small (sub 10-point) text. The difference between a standard monitor is noticeable, especially in the lack of eye-strain after a several-hour stint.
The entry screen is simple and got me up and running with the iMac within minutes. Then it was time to start the transition pains from Windows to Mac. Here's the major challenges I've found in that process:
- I miss the 3-button mouse, especially the scroll wheel. You can do the same things by using the keyboard and mouse, but I miss it. Some die-hard Mac fans say I'll decide otherwise later, so I'll go a bit longer before I buy a 3-button optical mouse replacement.
- The Mac's "Control" "Option" and "Command" keys are in the same position as the "Control" "Windows" and "Alt" keys on the PC. They do many of the same functions, but distribute them differently. For instance, to skip back to the beginning of the word you're typing on a PC, you can hold down "Control" and hit the back arrow. On the Mac, that will bring you to the beginning of the line (which is what the "home" key on the PC does).
- When you close the active window of an application (such as Safari - an excellent beta browser, by the way), it doesn't close the application - Cmd Q does that. No worries with running multiple applications (Mac pioneered that).
- The three buttons at the top left of an open window don't function quite the same as the three on the top right of an open window in the PC.
- The interfaces between the printer and other peripherals tend to use pull-down menus vs. tabs.
- It doesn't crash regularly. So far, I have only managed to get it hung up once after installing Citrix, when I had to "force quit" Finder while shutting down for the night.
I am exceptionally happy with the iMac so far. I don't play many games (although the included Otto-Matic has me slightly addicted), so I can't tell you how it does with those. The included graphics-editing interfaces are much more intuitive and user-friendly than the PC. Surfing the Internet goes well whether I use Safari or Explorer. I've networked it together with my old PC using a D-Link Di604 [I'll review that soon] and there do not seem to be any significant compatibility issues. The Apple website, by the way, is one of the best support websites I've ever used.
So what are the downsides?
- Like I said, I wish Macs came with 3-button scroll mice.
- Limited software (though I have all I need or will use)
- No reasonably-priced ergo keyboards with the added functions as the ApplePro keyboard - volume, mute, and eject [see my review on the Adesso EKB-2100 for more on that].
- Limited USB ports - after plugging everything in (including the floppy and printer), I'm left with one on the keyboard to swap between my PDA cradle and digital camera
Overall: Highly recommended for business/academic/Internet uses. I can't make a recommendation for gamers because I have no experience to draw from. Slightly more expensive than similar-performing PC's (but not so much if you compare high-quality units).
SHAMELESS LINK
Thinking of getting an ergo keyboard? See my updated review on the Addesso Tru-form keyboard
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1295 Operating System: Macintosh Processor speed: 701-800 RAM: More than 256 Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
For the same cost as the original iMac several years ago, the new iMac provides a host of breakthroughs, including a stunning flat-panel display, blaz...More at eBay
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