Apple eMac 17 in. (M9252LL/A) Mac Desktop

Pros: value for money; powerful; a joy to use
Cons: speaker quirks; no room for expansion

After coming into a tidy amount of money, I decided that it was time to make the switch. Coming over from a Pentium II 233, that switch was quite a relief. The price of the eMac was what attracted me to it, and i didn't share some people's opinions ...

Pros: Beautiful 17inch flat screen CRT, powerful processor, very inexpensive, includes software.
Cons: Beautiful, yet weighs a whopping 50 pounds.

The eMac is the ideal Macintosh computer for those who are just getting their feet wet in the world of Apple. It also packs enough power and punch to satisfy the more demanding home user, and includes plenty of extra software to please students, educators, and gamers alike. The clean, crisp 17 inch screen is a beauty to behold, and although it's not as graceful as the iMac, the eMac's fluid outline is enough to make any boxy computer envious. I bought the eMac due to it's extraordinary value, since it costs the same as any generic Walmart-sold computer yet carries the same stability and security as Apple's more expensive G4 towers (which contain close relatives of the eMac's processor chip). Also, although some say the eMac is not upgradeable, it is "upgradeable" enough to satisfy most users. This includes RAM upgrades and adding wireless 802.11g.

Pros: easy to configure Mac at a great price
Cons: None

After a co-worker recommended it, I bought myself a new eMac at J&R Computer in NYC. Lugged it home, plugged it in, and that was it. Super easy to configure Internet access -- just entered my ISP dial-up number and it configured itself. Can't say enough about how much I like it: It's stylish, mad intuitive and sleek. I dumped out some of the pre-loaded games n'stuff, and with a free memory upgrade from J&R it is almost as fast as the DSL I have at work. (Note: This is my third Mac in 11 years so I am clearly a Mac user.)

If you're considering buying an eMac, at around $800, don't hesitate -- unless you're a crazed memory hog who wants to edit feature-length movies, store gazillions of photos of your brothers' kids, plus download every album known to man. For word processing, e-mail, downloading music, Internet access and Mac user-friendliness it's a perfect gem.