Rating:  Summary: Absolutly Beautiful Machine Review: I recently bought the new iMac, and it is absolutly amazing. I am somewhat of a gamer, and the graphics are great. Warcraft 3 is stunning on the new lcd screen, and even the older games still look great.The computer is extremley functional as well as space saving. The small cpu is very effective, and the vertical and horizontal movement of the magnificant LCD screen is smooth and effortless. Apple truely hit the nail on the head when they designed this computer. The only problem would have to be the lack of a floppy drive. While I completely understand that Jobs is attempting to bring Apple into the new Millenium (though it's 2 years old) by making a computer without floppy drives. However, his one mistake was that in a Microsoft world, floppy drives are still the main source of transporting files between PC's. I still must commend Apple with their promised ease of use and compatability with other products. I was able to transfer all of my Microsoft Word Files over to the Mac without any trouble. It is truely amazing. This computer is everything they promised and more. Everything in it will be useful in the years of technological advancement to come.
Rating:  Summary: Truly Fabulous Machine Review: The new iMac is the best personal computer I have ever owned. All you have to do to know you bought the right PC is watch everyone of your friends oooh, ahhh, and drool over it every time they're over. Apple is pitching this as the "digital hub" and they have executed to perfection. This computer comes loaded with tons of software for editing and sharing digital photographs, video, and music like never before...and with unbelievable ease. Since buying my iMac, I have turned years worth of old home movies into wonderfully compelling and entertaining little films, and have shared them over the web and via DVD with my friends and family. My wife, an avid scrapbooker, has found a new venue for putting together our family photos with iPhoto and the Photo Books you can create. Beyond the software and the beauty of the unit, the OS on this machine is beautiful and it refuses to crash. I have pushed it to the limit by downloading, installing, and running several apps, all simultaneously with no problems (try that on a Widows machine). Finally, most of the myths about Mac are just that...myths. I run Office on the Mac and develop spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations, and Word documents that I share with my co-workers who are all on Windows machines. I have Quicken, Madden Football, and many other popular titles. The myth about software is just not true. If you are a family that wants a PC that truly enhances your life and gives you the tools to create priceless treasures like the videos and photos, then this is the machine to buy.
Rating:  Summary: My first iMac Review: The G4 flat-panel iMac is a joy to behold and a delight to operate. This is not only my first iMac , it is my first real computer. (...) Apple knows how to design good-looking hardware. It also knows how to create first-class software and OS X is almost intuitive. Now all of this is important for someone like myself who would be defined as a senior citizen. I have no time, patience or interest with "things that can go wrong". Mercifully, that is something you are unlikely to experience with an iMac, although I would suggest purchasing AppleCare... (AppleCare gives you coverage for a full three years and the right to call Customer Service for help with "how to" things you can't figure out for yourself for the full thre years.) I have made some additions/changes to the iMac with the addition of Apple Pro speakers and iSub woofer (both made by Harman Kardon) and replaced the one-button mouse with a Microsoft optical trackball, along with purchasing a printer and scanner....but these are personal preferences. I also installed an extra 256 megs of RAM myself by easily undoing four small screws on the bottom of the metal base and popped it in. Apple has an undeserved reputation for being much more expensive than a PC. While it is true you can get a cheap PC for a lot less money than an iMac, comparable PCs are priced at about the same price as an iMac. This is a machine you won't get tired of and one you can expect to keep and enjoy for several/many years.
Rating:  Summary: Wowzers Review: When i first bought this beatiful imac, i was in awe. it starts up very fast, some people say 700 mhz is too slow, but thats comparing the same mhz with intel!! Power PC makes this proccesor in a totally diffferent way! everything about it is great: the programs, the hardware & its beautiful!! The only reason i rated this 4 stars, is because i have a stuck pixel on the end of my screen, most of the time its invisible, but when i watch a dvd, i see a little red spot on the black part. But other than that, the new imac is the perfect computer!! Oh and if you get the lower end model without speakers, get the apple speakers! It sounds just like a boze radio/CD Player!!
Rating:  Summary: Get this Machine Review: I'm a university professor and have long been familiar with Macs, which are growing in popularity in my department. Though I was currently using a Dell machine at work, I decided to make this iMac my new home machine. My uses are primarily professional: very heavy office work, making CD's, working with thousands of digital photographs, creating websites, and doing some design work. I can honestly say that in every way that matters, the iMac surpasses (and sometimes greatly surpasses) the other computers I have used. The out-of-the-box experience is wonderful; much care was taken with packing materials (and I later found this to be representative of the overall attention to detail and quality). I immediately installed Microsoft Office. I know Office backwards and forwards and the Mac version has everything (unless you must use Access) and even some minor features the PC version lacks. I have sent hundreds of documents to students and coworkers and no one has had any problem opening them. The formatting is also preserved perfectly when opened with Windows computers - this had been a big concern of mine. This machine is also compatible with everything I've thrown at it. Connecting my Canon camera brought up iPhoto (other options are possible) and my Sony Clie syncs instantly with Palm Desktop 4.0. I've also installed Virtual PC, which very capably runs Windows software in case the need arises. And there are thousands of titles available for the Mac, though you may want to go online to find them all. The Mac, though, really shines because of the countless little things that make it more satisfying to use. Aside from the stunning ergonomic design of the computer itself, the operating system is very pleasurable. If you haven't spent time with a Mac before, you will be amazed at how quickly you can get around in the operating system and how the things you need seem to be where you need them. I was never convinced by the "simplicity" argument before (after all, Windows seemed simple enough), but if you take simplicity to refer to the ease and speed with which you can get real work done, then it starts to really mean something. Do get extra memory. I added 256MB to what was already there and this sped things up considerably. Great computer, highly recommended.
Rating:  Summary: A functional work of Art Review: I've played with computers since the TRS-80 . Since 1984, I've used PCs. I've never been a fan of Apple or it's computers so I never owned one, until the beautiful iMac. So why buy an iMac? First the aesthetics. A beautiful machine no doubt. Unfortunately, although Apple has done an admirable job of reducing the number of cords they didn't complete the journey and make the keyboard, mouse and speakers wireless. The iMac still scores huge points on its form. Next, function follows form! The cooling fan is so quiet you can hear it only in the quietest of rooms. The speakers, although beautiful clear half-globes, sound wonderful with clear high/midranges and warm bass even without the bass module. The keyboard has a wonderful touch and is useful with 2 USB ports. You will never have to worry about the mouse cord getting tangled again. And the fantastic screen is so deliciously clear and readable. It puts no strain on ones eyes and it effortlessly adjusts to any useable position with the touch of a finger. Apple has scored a home run with the functionality. On hardware and software stability/compatibility the iMac stumbles a little. Everyone says Macs don't crash. This is simply not true as I have had numerous crashes out of iMusic, iPhoto, and iMovie. The only way I could get the computer to work again after one crash was to unplug it from the wall. The hardware, however, is all top notch and works perfectly. You can only modify your iMac internally by adding memory or an Airport card but with the USB (unfortunately not 2.0) and amazing Firewire ports (wow they're fast) you can add just about anything you want externally. This is clearly a next generation computer with no throwbacks to obsolete interfaces such as serial and parallel ports and 3.5" floppies. Bravo to Apple for that. So what does this mean? The computer is rock solid, the operating system is not quite there yet. The much touted ease of use and integrated software is also a mixed blessing. In general, all of the iSoftware is very easy to use. iMusic being the best. Pop in a CD and iMusic starts. Connect to the internet and with a click it finds all of the titles and artists for your CD. Way cool and time saving. Click one button and you're ripping songs. It also plays songs from the CD while it rips... very cool and very easy. Hook up an iPod and it automatically updates it for you. It is so simple, easy, and fun you will be making your own portable music library within minutes. iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD still need work. All are pretty easy to use but there is no manual and the help is lacking. When I was trying to import movies and pictures into iPhoto, it would not let me or tell me why. Very frustrating (reason: iMovie will import only DV or a specific movie format. It won't import normal Quicktime movies. Also, the JPEGs were the wrong size so it would not import them.) All of that should be transparent to me. The next thing about these programs is that they are easy to use but you'll outgrow them after the first time you use them. These programs could easily have been made more powerful without making them any more difficult. However, once you start playing with your photos and movies and creating marvelous digital albums of your life, you'll be addicted. I made a movie from pictures of a recent hiking trip. Set it to music and I was amazed. A whole new world has opened. In addition, it was incredibly nice to plug in my Digital Camera, my Digital Camcorder, and my Smart Media reader and have them all work seamlessly. No trying to figure out how to install a driver. No wondering if you loaded the software in the right sequence. It just worked. Very Very nice. To the PC veteran thinking about switching. For the most part things work very similarly so you should have no trouble using the machine. If you stick with the standard mouse, you will miss the right click and scroll wheel. iMac can read PC files so you can copy any info you want to the Mac. Also, the is a Windows emulator so you can even run many of your programs albeit slower. To the computer newbie. Apple really touts the ease of using the iMac. I would say it is easier to use than a PC. But, that doesn't mean it is as easy to use as a common household appliance. The help system is pretty descent but doesn't replace a good manual that all computers so sadly lack. You absolutely must learn file management and common commands. In plain English, don't expect to just plug in the iMac and know how to do anything useful. Take a class, read a book, or have a friend teach you. Apples, to me, have always been overpriced--one of the reasons I never owned one. Although there is no comparable PC, the iMac does cost slightly more than a comparatively equipped PC but the difference is negligible. So what does all this mumbo jumbo boil down to. Very simple. If you like to play games, don't buy one. The video card is obsolete and there are relatively few games available. If this computer speaks to your soul, buy one. If you're in the market for a computer in iMac's price range, buy one. As far as which iMac to get. I recommend the G4 800. You get a faster computer, more memory, a bigger hard drive, and a DVD burner. Quite a good deal. If you don't want or need the DVD burner then get the cheapest one. There is really not enough in the middle one to pay the extra (speakers, more memory, and DVD player).
Rating:  Summary: An Absolute Joy to Set Up!! Review: Just set up 10 of these baby's in a lab for my organization. At first the IT gurus were a bit hesitant, these being Macs and all. HA! I had all ten set up and connected to the network in less than 30 minutes. Took another 10 to load MS Office v.X on them. Presto-Change-o!!! Took a few more minutes to put Virtual PC on them (to run Windows on them - stable Windows, that is). "Look fellas", I say. "No viruses either!" The 15" LCD on these iMacs is crisp as fresh veggies...and much better than any 17" crt I have seen. The space saving base is almost as big a plus as the adjustable monitor. Talk about desk space! Just another absolutely gorgeous machine from Apple. But what else is new?
Rating:  Summary: The best purchase I've ever made! Review: I purchased the 700mhz, combo drive imac a couple of days ago, and I decided to write this review to help people that are not sure if they should buy one. In one word, YES! Features that I did not even know about, I realized the computer had when I brought it home. Like you can control most of your applications by using voice commands via your internal microphone! The computer will even tell you jokes if you want it to! You can't even fully appreciate this machine until you have seen it in person, because it truly is a thing of beauty. It burns CDs really fast, and it is so easy to make playlists through your itunes2. I bought a printer to go with it to, and they work together without a hitch. So if you are not sure about buying this computer, I say yes, because it is the best deal for your money with everything that it comes with, its great looking, and really fast!
Rating:  Summary: APPLE LOVER IN AGONY Review: Stop, don't do it, don't get one. I waited two weeks and now in misery. If you are a manic Apple lover and obsessed with font clarity and spacing you will HATE this machine. The LCD screen makes all fonts under 12 a blur.Ten point is completely unreadable. Appleworks 6 makes each page 92% of its true size. NO MORE WYSIWYG. It's agony. All cute and sleek and fun, yes, it is. Fast too. AND YOU CAN'T USE IT if you do any real graphic design. DON'T GET ONE! And stock up on the old ones instead.
Rating:  Summary: PC user no more... Review: This is the first Mac that I have owned. I grew up using PC's - literally, we have had a PC in the house since I was 7. I had previously only used Macs a few times, while I used Windows extensively. I finally got tired of my computer crashing at least every other day, often more times, so I made the switch. I can say, that I will not be going back to a PC. The new iMac is not only sleek in design, it is so easy to use. I made the transition easily and was burning my first cd in minutes (I have never used nor seen cd burning software previously). If you are a disillusioned Windows user, and you're looking to make the switch - buy this iMac, it is worth every penny!
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