If you want one--and you know you do--go for it!
Written: Sep 19 '02 (Updated Nov 03 '02)
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Pros: Gorgeous monitor, compact design, very easy setup
Cons: Internet Explorer is funky in Jaguar OS, short keyboard cord, no hard-copy manuals.
The Bottom Line: The machine looks fantastic, and when it works, it's a joy. But things don't work well lately, and whether it's OS X "Jaguar" or the machine, it's ANNOYING.
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| meyerkin's Full Review: Apple Flat Panel iMac 700MHz G4 / 15-in. TFT / 40G... |
My 3-year-old IBM ThinkPad started getting persnickity a few months ago, and I knew I'd have to get a new computer sooner rather than later. When the "e" key on the thing snapped off in August, I knew it was the beginning of the end and my computer-shopping stepped into high gear.
I bought my very first computer in 1990 and have always had PCs. I've always liked PCs and have never had any real problems with them at all. I've had 4 computers in the past 12 years, first a desktop, then a laptop, then another desktop, then the ThinkPad laptop. As per the pattern, I was hungry for a desktop after three years without, and since some relatively and friends have had good experiences with Dell desktops, that was where my search began.
But, boy, those new iMacs sure caught my eye. I have a fairly good-sized desk but a pretty small office, and in any case, I wanted my new system to be as compact as possible. Dells, bless them, are space hogs. Even if you splurge on their spiffy flat-panel monitors, you still have to find room for the CPU tower, never mind all the accompanying cordage. It was not appealing in the least. The all-in-one design of the new iMac, complete with that amazing, positions-in-a-flash monitor, was a clear winner. iMac 1, Dell 0.
On the other hand, as I said, I have used PCs for a dozen years, and though I had some familiarity with Macs from when I had an office job where Macs were standard, I was a little nervous about buying a system that would be largely unfamiliar. Of course, Mac has a reputation for being easy to use, but still, I'd never found PCs that difficult, and I knew that even though most of the programs I used had Mac versions, they were different. Change is scary. Dell 1, iMac 1.
So for weeks I went back and forth between www.dell.com and www.apple.com. My needs are fairly simple--I am a writer, so I use my computer a lot, but for basic stuff like wordprocessing, e-mail and Web browsing. I occasionally like to putter in graphics, but my interest in that is so minimal I haven't yet and don't plan to invest in serious graphics software like PhotoShop, so I didn't really need to make sure the computer I bought could kick butt in that area. I'm not into games, and I certainly don't do programming. About the only thing I really wanted to do was burn CDs so I could pare down my sprawling music collection.
Given my needs, either a Dell or a Mac would suffice, so that was no help. I was told that for burning CDs it's easier to have two CD drives, so in that case a Dell would be better because the iMac comes with one and cannot be upgraded to have a second (unless you want an external one). Okay, Dell 2, Mac 1. But since I do spend a LOT of time in front of the computer, a good monitor was a much higher priority for me, and there seemed to be no contest there--the iMac's standard monitor is bright and crisp. A comparable monitor on a Dell would be an expensive upgrade--and even then it wouldn't have the nifty easy positioning of the iMac's monitor, plus I'd have to mess around with cords to connect it to that ghastly tower. iMac 2, Dell 2.
And so there I was, still stuck in limbo. Price, of course, was a factor, but there, too, things seemed fairly even. I didn't need the top-of-the-line $2000 iMac model; for my needs, the $1500 model (the one of this review), which is the second of the four models currently available, was plenty. However, I had to budget another several hundred dollars for Microsoft's Office Suite, which does not come as a relatively inexpensive upgrade with Macs the way it does with a Dell (the software lists for about $450, and while you have to pay full price for it even when you buy a new Mac, you can get it for about $150 with a Dell). So I was looking at about $2000 for a Mac & software.
But that was about what I was looking at for the Dell configuration I wanted, too, after I took advantage of adding the second CD drive and upgraded the monitor. It was actually about $1800, I think, but at the time I needed to buy it there was no free shipping offer, so I had to add $99 for shipping. After that, the prices were pretty much the same.
So in the end, I went with my gut. I really, really wanted that iMac. And when I was looking to buy (the last week of August 2002), several Mac resellers were offering free 256 Mb memory upgrades as well as a free inkjet printer (after rebate). In addition, there was a $100 rebate offer on Microsoft Office X for Mac software (on the irritating condition that you buy both a new Mac and the software on the very same day, go figure), so although the software was still more than twice as expensive for the Mac as for the PC...I really, really wanted that iMac.
So I ordered one. I got mine from www.maczone.com because they were offering the memory upgrade and printer deal, and the shipping was only about $35, which I felt was negligible. Maczone's e-mail and phone customer service were fantastic, and my new computer and printer were sent out within hours of my order.
Finally, the wonderful thing arrived! The iMac box contained the computer, keyboard, mouse, the very cool-looking Apple Pro speakers (though the computer also has a decent built-in speaker) a few thin "get started" pamphlets and a recovery disc (or maybe it's extra software? I haven't needed it so don't really know what's on it).
Setting it up couldn't have been simpler. The mouse plugs into the keyboard, the keyboard plugs into the back of the iMac. The speakers plug into the back of the iMac. The power cord plugs into the back of the iMac, and my DSL modem plugs into the back of the iMac. Everything is clearly marked, so there's no head-scratching about which plug takes what accessory (modern PCs might be more user-friendly on that score, but I know my last PC desktop always gave me headaches when I was trying to figure out which plug was for the speakers, which for the mouse and which for the keyboard). Total setup time: About 2 minutes, and that includes untangling cords and so forth.
One thing that was unpleasantly surprising, however, was the ridiculously short length of the keyboard cord. It's not coiled like a phone cord, so there's no stretch in it. I have a basic computer desk with a pull-out keyboard drawer, and I was unable to use it until I shelled out $20 for an extender cord because the native cord was too short. I don't know what was up with that, but Apple could, I think, give consumers another 2 feet or so (I had to buy a 10-foot extension, which was horrible overkill for the deficit, never mind the expense and the hassle).
That annoyance aside, after everything was connected, I fired the thing up, and within minutes I was up and running. You have to go through some setup screens with the operating software, but as with most software, it guides you through everything very painlessly and fairly quickly. I didn't have to do any fiddling to get my DSL going, the Mac just figured it out, so that was great.
It took me a few days to figure out my way around because there were things I could do with my PC that didn't translate to the Mac.
For example, on my PC I run this nifty little software program called Mail Express that allows your computer to function as a mail server. I have a personal e-mail address, and my ISP, like most nowadays, doesn't allow you to send e-mail using a "from" address that differs from the one they gave you. This program allowed me to avoid having to use my ISP's mail server. I loved it! However, there was no Mac version, and in fact I couldn't find anything comparable at all for Macs. Apparently there is a program called SendMail that comes with the Mac operating system that does what I needed, but it seems you have to have a programmer's level of knowledge to configure it, and I am not in that category. Desperate to be able to use Eudora Pro (vs. the Web) to send my e-mail, I posted a "please help me!" message on Usenet. I was quickly told that there wasn't anything out there that could do what I needed, unfortunately. However, for a small fee, you can use the SMTP server at www.fastmail.fm to send e-mail from personal addresses. So I signed up for service, and it has worked very well for me, thank goodness!
On a related note, in the end, I wasn't able to use Eudora Pro after all because it wouldn't allow me to configure it so that I could use the fastmail SMTP server with my personal address. However, I don't think the PC version of this software would have allowed that, either! "Mail," the e-mail program that comes with the Mac, didn't allow this, either, or at least I couldn't figure out how to do it. However, Microsoft Entourage, which comes with the Office Suite I paid so dearly for, DID provide a way for me to achieve the configuration I needed. It took me something like three days to get this all sorted out, but in the end I am delighted with Entourage and fastmail, so it all worked out very well!
Although Mac's much-touted "Jaguar" operating system debuted the day I ordered my computer, my computer didn't ship with it, and I was forced to pay $20 for an upgrade. I thought that was kind of obnoxious. I installed the new update a few days ago, and so far I'm not at all thrilled with it. None of the fancy new features has proved to be better than what I had before, and in fact Internet Explorer has been throwing hissy fits ever since I installed the upgrade. No matter how often I set my preferences, every time I reboot, it reverts to the defaults, which is extremely annoying! I nosed around on Usenet, and this seems to be a common problem. Hopefully Microsoft will soon offer a patch or something to fix this. Netscape 7 works wonderfully, and so far I haven't noticed any other problems with the new operating system...though as I said, none of the new features have proved very exciting, either.
That said, I have found it was very easy to go from the PC to the Mac. I used Quicken 98 on my PC, but without any trouble I was able to export my files from the PC to Quicken 2002 Deluxe, which came standard with the Mac. The only major software program I needed to bring with me was Final Draft screenwriting software. Luckily, I recently purchased the latest version (version 6), which works on both Macs and PCs. All my files transferred painlessly.
Burning CDs proved to be quite easy and fun on this machine in spite of the lack of a second disc drive. Mac comes with a program called iTunes that does all the work for you in terms of burning discs. I've never had a CD-RW drive before so have no idea if such things are standard, but one thing that was cool with iTunes is that you can put a CD in and then, via a menu option, the program will access an Internet database and get the info on the CD you put in, the names of the songs, their running times, etc. It was really handy! The database is apparently built by the users, so there were some things that were spotty, but it's very easy to correct/add data via iTunes as well, and I was quite impressed with the fact that all but maybe 3 of the several hundred CDs I put in the computer were fully listed in the database. I can't tell you how much typing that saved me, and I am GRATEFUL.
And, wow, the monitor on this thing is phenomenal. So bright and clear it's a real joy to look at, and I look at it a LOT. I'm finding 15" is plenty large for me, though I'm sure I'd like the 17" one, too, if i'd wanted to invest the extra $500 that model costs. But I've got no complaints at all about the quality of the picture, and everything you've read or heard about how easy it is to adjust position-wise is absolutely true. It's just great! It was worth it just for that!
And I really like the mouse that came with the computer as well. It's optical--or in any case, I don't need a mousepad to use it, which is a lot more freeing than you might realize. Without any fuss, I can use the mouse on the keyboard drawer or I can use it on the surface of the desk. I love that. And it feels good in my hand, too. It is modeled for either hand, and there are plugs for it on both sides of the keyboard, so lefties have nothing to worry about (I'm a lefty but was forced to learn right-handed mousing when I had a Toshiba laptop some years ago that had a mouse attachment that could only hook onto the right side of the computer. I've been right-handed with mouses ever since).
A minor gripe, however, is that there are no hard-copy manuals with the iMac. I think this is just the way of the modern world, not a Mac-specific gripe, but it's irritating, especially when the online help is so lame and hard to navigate. When you open a help file, you get this "Ask Jeeves"-like window where you're supposed to type your query, and then a list of responses comes up. I don't know if my questions are too baroque or bizarre or the software is just not ready for primetime, but I have rarely sought assistance from online help on this thing without emitting loud, angry noises. Luckily, for the most part things seem to work well enough, but it'd sure be reassuring if the help files were more...helpful!
However, as I said, that gripe is minor. Very minor. On the whole, I am delighted with this computer and am thrilled I went ahead and bought it. It looks cool, it works well, and did I mention the great monitor?!
I have come off a 3-year-old laptop PC with 64 Mb of RAM, a 2GB hard drive and a 366-Mhz Celeron processor. Compared with that, this baby can FLY. It comes standard with 256 Mb of RAM, but I got a free extra 256 Mb from Maczone. I don't know how it would run with only 256 Mb of RAM but expect it'd be a good idea to get more if you can. I'm quite happy with 512 Mb so think that unless you're going to be doing a lot of graphics and/or movie-making on the iMac, you should be fine with 512 Mb. I believe 1 Gb is the maximum RAM you can get.
So my advice is that if you're itching to own one of these things, go ahead and buy one. Or at least try to find a friend that has one or visit an Apple store so you can play with it and fall in love with the monitor, etc. I'm telling you, a good monitor and a relatively cord-free computer environment are pretty cool things to have!
UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 2, 2002
Although I am still in love with the design of this machine, for the past few days I have been having very annoying problems with it. I do not know whether the problem is with the machine or with the "Jaguar" operating system, which seems to be more than a little buggy, but the bottom line is that the computer now requires several reboots a DAY to work decently, and for someone who uses the computer a lot that is unacceptable.
The major problem is that if the computer goes idle, the sound will stop working completely and will not come back until I reboot. Additionally, if the computer goes idle, the DSL connection gets hung up--so I lose my Instant Messenger connection as well as the ability to automatically check e-mail. I do not need to reboot to resolve these issues, but it is very frustrating to have an "always on" Internet connection that fails if I step away from the computer for more than a few moments. I have not yet consulted tech support, but a search on Usenet indicates these are not uncommon problems, and so far no one has posted any solutions.
Additionally, several days ago Netscape froze up, and closing and reopening--and then, finally, rebooting, did nothing to solve it. I finally had to reinstall it. The reinstalled version worked for about four hours, and then it simply refused to open, giving me "Netscape has unexpectedly quit" errors any time I tried to open it. I finally ended up reinstalling it AGAIN. Now it seems to be working, but who knows how long it will last?
Although these problems are not life-threatening, they have seriously dampened my enthusiasm for this machine and Macs in general. I thought Macs were supposed to be user-friendly and mostly problem-free, but I never had problems like this with any of the PCs I owned, even with machines that were old and out of date. I have therefore reduced my rating from 5 stars to three, and I would no longer recommend this machine--or any Mac--to a friend. If and when I find solutions to these problems I would be happy to reconsider, however.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1494
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 601-700
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
meyerkin
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Location: Los Angeles, CA USA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 0 members
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Writer
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