 "My best Mac ever" | 2007-10-08 |
| - Reviewed By bebarton |
I just received this iMac last week, and I am in love. I was in love with Mac before, this iMac makes iMac #4 and Mac #7 for me between work, home, and lab. It replaces a PowerBook Titanium G4 that will resume life as a laptop instead of a desktop. I needed to run OS 10.4 plus Windows on the same machine, so a new computer was needed. I had the easiest time migrating from the PB G4 to the new iMac, thanks to having used an external hard drive for years. Everything migrated- passwords, software, appearance, everything. No I did not spend 3 days setting up a new computer. Nor is 10.4 so very different from 10.3 I don't like Mail in Tiger as much as in Panther, I have yet to use widgets or the other things, but 10.4 makes applying for federal grants a snap, something that certain;ly was not true for 10.3 (and that's the feds' fault!). The 24" screen is almost too big (would have gotten the 20" but they were out of stock and I need to see a lot of graphics clearly on 1 screen).
The speed of the coprocessor is amazing. I can't wait to get a FireWire 2 external hard drive for this thing.
If you're in the market for a desktop that's powerful enough for most work activities (I'm a scientist and this is powerful enough for me), look at an iMac. |
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| "Awesome Mac" | 2007-09-27 |
| - Reviewed By geekstuf |
| Great machine. It was a nice upgrade from my G5. I am a complete Mac convert. |
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 "Mixed bag..." | 2007-09-27 |
| - Reviewed By jgself2 |
| If anyone were ever a pusher of most things Apple it would be me. I have spent several thousands of dollars in my life so far on Apple products. This is my second iMac. My first was a G5. Overall it was a good computer. Initially, I had problems with RAM that Apple installed in it that was causing it to crashed. Then a year later the hard drive crashed but that was it. This current iMac however hasn't been right since I purchased it (leased actually). Randomly it crashes. There has been no isolated incident that makes it easy to diagnose. Each time, I have to do a 'hard reboot'. Finally, after several of these crashes and reboots, the computer will refuse to boot up, requiring a 'fresh clean install'. Good thing I back up constantly. I have had good luck with Apple support in the past but I've noticed recently that they are no what they used to be. I'm not sure when Apple started dropping the ball or if perhaps my good luck in the past was just that...luck, but lately they've been pretty bad. After the first time my iMac crashed I spoke with tech support. Essentially, we did a clean install. Since it was the first time, I chalked it up to a corrupt OS. Then a couple weeks later it happened again. I run a really clean computer, with mostly Apple products. I install very few 3rd party software. I took it in to the store. The genius (and I'm using the term both literally in terms of what they are called as well as sarcastically) couldn't get it running and finally opted for another clean install. I explained that I had gone through the same thing, just a few weeks before and that regardless of the outcome that day, I was sure the computer would start misbehaving again. He reinstalled the OS, saw it was working, and quickly sent me on my way, explaining that it wasn't Apple's problem if they could get the computer working. Essentially, he said they weren't going to spend time trying to troubleshoot a problem that wasn't occuring at that particular moment. He said that if it happened again to bring it back. I left feeling annoyed that he had so quickly dismissed me. I am fairly good at troubleshooting my computer issues and am not one of the usual people who call tech support or bring the computer in at the first sign of something. Of course, two weeks later I'm back at Apple again. This time I went to a different store (The Grove in Los Angeles). After they were unable to get the computer to boot, they informed me that they would run more tests and order the appropriate parts. I was told 3-5 days. This was two weeks ago. I have called every day, checking on the progress. They decided to replace both the hard drive and the logic board, and this is where it gets interested (at least to me). I can special order an iPod or some other Apple product that gets assembled on the fly in China and delivered to my door in about 3 days. That's pretty amazing. However, Apple can't seem to run down a logic board in the United States and have it in their store within a day for one of their most popular selling computers. After checking around for a week, they finally found one on the east coast. (I live in Los Angeles, CA). Upon one of my daily calls, I found this out. Not to worry they said...it would be overnighted on Friday (one week + a day after I dropped the computer off) and in either Monday or Tuesday. I would have the computer no later than Wednesday. I've called every day since Monday...no part has arrived. I finally got someone at the Grove to put me through to the head technician who said that if it wasn't done by Friday they'd 'take care of me' and 'perhaps look into getting my a replacement computer'. Today is Thursday. If I didn't really love the way Apple's OS worked, and I didn't really despise Windows so much, I'd sell all my Apple products, based upon this experience. I've had bad service from Dell in the past as well, but this service has really taken me by surprise with Apple. I'm hoping they make good on this week's newest promise and 'take care of me', one way or the other. However, as far as the iMac goes, I can't say I have a lot of good experiene with it in terms of 'reliability'. It is a great-looking computer and I love the software, and it's reasonably powerful, but Apple needs to either make it more reliable or they need to step up to the plate and order more replacement parts for each store or scrap it and put some energy into designing something that is as reliable as it is pretty. |
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| "Get more RAM-2 GB" | 2007-05-22 |
| - Reviewed By mymacman |
| I am STRONGly recommending that you get 2 GB Ram. I had 1 GB RAM, and then upgraded to 2 GB RAM, and you will not believe how fast your Mac can be until you get to 2 GB. I am very serious about this, I had the before/after comparisons, and it is astounding. If you already have 1 GB and think you're happy, get 2 GB anyway. WOWhee, what a difference. |
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 "I'm satisfied..." | 2007-05-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2DXX5DGZQV25Q |
I have been a PC user forever. Vowed to never go Mac because of gaming performance and it's propietary nature-not to mention cost.
After witnessing the imac in a apple store I was impressed...so much so I bought one. Especially (one of the main reasons) since I could run windows.
I gave it only four stars because of the lack of support (in mac mode) for all kinds of things. I really, really hate Itunes and can't believe after you paid money you can only load it onto a freakin' ipod. That just plain sucks! Also the lack of support for most other portable players is just plain wrong. Fortunetly it runs Vista really well. Only took about a hour to set things up so I am perfectly happy being able to use subscription services which I feel are the best bang for the buck. For $12 a Month have all the music on your portable player your heart desires. And, listen to FULL versions of any songs you like, not just only 30 lousy seconds. Songs are 10 cents less. In my view, itunes is a horrible rippoff. Finally, gaming performance is ok for a light gamer like myself.
But truly speaking, I found the MAC OS has some serious limitations despite being a solid OS. As far as the programs that come with the Mac OS for the most part they are great. Unfortunetly, many applications I am fond of came up short on the Mac OS. Thank God it runs windows in bootcamp mode suprisingly really well.
All in all I'm glad I bought it. |
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| "iMac is fantastic" | 2007-05-18 |
| - Reviewed By neighbor@carefree.com |
Easy to set up and use. Worked right out of the box. Runs great. Looks great. Nice not having a tower under foot. No hardware problems to date and no "Blue Screen" type software errors. The video is crystal clear and I love the screen size. Well worth the money.
As a long time Windows user with a bit of Unix experience, the differences between Windows/XP and Mac OS X were easily overcome. In fact, I like most of the Mac differences better. Lots of free software available, too. Package installation is a breeze in most cases.
Some Unix knowledge is definitely helpful in administering Mac OS X to use for cross platform software development. As a web software developer, I have installed Parallels Desktop to load Win/XP on an external drive for testing MSIE access to my websites. Also use it to run Windows apps that don't have Mac OS X equivalents. Getting the Mac to play nicely in a Windows network took a bit of a learning curve but it now behaves better than the Win/XP machines in the network.
So far, have added a 4-port USB 2.0 hub to attach a pair of 320gb external hard drives. The external hard drives had been in use on a Win/XP system and were formatted with NTFS. The data was immediately available upon connection. I went ahead and copied the data from them and then reformatted to OS X format and reloaded the data. Not a requirement, just felt more comfortable with natve format drives.
Also have a scanner, a networked printer, and a camera attachment. Everything came up and worked right away. Only glitch was determining what drivers were needed and how to load them for the Canon Lide30 scanner. Works great now. Plan to add another gb of ram to improve performance when running the Win/XP VM.
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| "The ideal home computer?..." | 2007-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By nicjaytee |
Well let's see... It looks wonderful, so good that it qualifies for some sort of design award with the 24" screen reducing the relative size of the surrounding white bezel that houses the necessary hardware so that everything looks perfectly in proportion. Setting it up for home use is a dream - the box comes with just 4 items: computer/screen, keyboard, mouse and power plug (plus a tiny remote control) - you plug it in and within minutes you're there with very high quality photo, video editing, DVD authoring, address book, calendar and e-mail software pre-installed and, of course, internet access with no virus problems. Plus, with the addition of "Parallels" software, which is equally simple to set up, you can convert everything into a Windows PC running at the highest resolutions and install all your existing Windows applications - Word, Excel etc. etc. - accessed by the touch of a button as the screen flips round to seamlessly switch between Mac & PC.
And then... well, as Mac users know everything just works... no crashes, super quick start up and ridiculously easy installation of third party programs. If you haven't used a Mac before you will (believe me) become a dedicated convert within days. And if you're already a convert, the sheer beauty and stunning resolution of the screen and its extended workspace which makes moving around between program windows an absolute joy will take your breath away.
So, it looks beautiful, it's ridiculously easy to set-up, everything works without a hitch, it switches within seconds between a Mac and a PC and everyone who sees it will want one. But like a beautifully engineered "supercar" this quality has its costs. Firstly, the standard configuration doesn't do the machine full justice... what you really need is the upgraded processor (2.33 GHz), the better graphics card (the standard configuration is fairly puny), a larger disk drive (probably 500GB to handle all your photos, music, video and a reasonable PC partition for your Windows programs) and, of course, more memory to keep all of this running seamlessly (2GB minimum and ideally 3GB). Which bumps up the cost to top-end prices... but when you're buying a Ferrari you don't skimp on the tyres.
And then... well if you're a dedicated PC gamer you'll need to install Apple's Boot Camp software to run anything serious. Which is free but, like Parallels, needs a copy of Windows XP or Vista to work. More outlay and it's all adding up.
The ideal home computer? Well, you get what you pay for and with the 24" iMac you're entering into a different world where everything is quite wonderful but where it comes at a (justifiably) high cost. Better to classify it as the "perfect home computer" which, if you're into perfection, beats everything out there. |
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| "PC user for 20 years. This is my first Mac." | 2007-04-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A27I84GCCHTWAK |
I've worked with PCs since 1988 and cut my teeth on DOS 3.3. I've always looked at the Macintosh as the pretty computer that couldn't do much.
Well, with these last few years of Windows incarnations (beginning with Windows ME), I've been wondering what life is like on the other side of the fence. You see all these hipsters at Starbucks pounding away on their MacBooks, and you wonder if they know something you don't.
So, this year, I really took a good, hard look at the Mac and at my own computer needs. What was it that I did most and what would be the best platform to do it on. I did a lot word processing, some spreadsheet, audio extraction and editing, and, of course, Internet. I didn't do programming any more and I hadn't launched the DOS emulator in Windows in years, something I used to always do in the 90s.
So, I read and read and read, especially stories from people who had always used Windows and switched. Then, I went down to the local Apple store and played and played and played. I was surprised at the differences more than the similarities. It was so ingrained to do things a certain way on Windows, that it was odd having to retrain myself. But, I soon discovered the shortcuts, and the advances on the Mac, like Expose, like the task bar, like Spotlight. And, I knew it was only a matter of time.
So, what clinched the deal for me? Parallels Desktop for Mac (Intel Mac). A friend of mine bought an iMac a month before I did and when I saw how he had Windows XP in it's own "window" on his iMac, and how you could drag and drop between windows, I knew my last barrier was gone. If I truly needed to, I would always launch XP on the iMac. Then, my father got a new computer with Vista, and I was sold. I remember the night he got it, trying to copy and paste a non-system file from one directory to another and I got not one, but two security warnings in which I had to either "cancel or allow." No way was I going to go down that road.
So, in early March, I bought my 24" iMac from Amazon. $[...] with a $[...] rebate. No sales tax. Free shipping. Seemed like a slam dunk.
So, what are my thoughts after two months of using a computer "designed for the rest of us"? There is a learning curve. It can be aggravating trying to figure out the logic of the iMac. But, I realized that I spent two decades learning about PCs. I couldn't expect to have the same level of knowledge in one day. Other than that, it's been a great purchase and I definitely would not go back. Everything you can do on Windows you can do on a Mac, but the opposite is not true. I've found that there is less to "tinker with" on the iMac than Windows. It's not a customizable. But, I've also found that I actually LIKE the way Apple designed the interface, so there's really not anything I want to change. I find myself a lot less time trying to make my computer work and more time actually working on my computer. I also forget what it's like to have applications freeze up on you, and continually having to press control-alt-delete to kill a program. It just doesn't seem to happen on the iMac. I also love how easy it is to set up user accounts on the iMac. My 11-year old son has his own account and it is mindlessly easy to set up the security restrictions, that is, determining which web sites he can visit, and so on.
Oh, and finally, I was simply amazed a week ago. A friend came over with his MacBook and he had Microsoft Office on it. I had been using Open Office (since it's free) but really wasn't happy with it. He suggested he load Office onto my machine to try it out, and if I liked it, I could go out and get it. I said, "Oh, you have the installation CD?" He said no, took out his USB drive, copied the 500 meg Office folder from his laptop and stuck the USB drive in my iMac, and pasted the file onto my machine. And, it worked. You do not need to "install" software on the iMac.
Things just work, indeed. |
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| "One of the best computers out there" | 2007-03-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1G8ZMGKWRQSSV |
I switched to mac 2 years ago, although i still use PC at work. The elegance of the operating system along with the hardware is something that the PC world has yet to rival.
I would highly recommend it - especially now with the intel processors - you get the best of both worlds, you can run windows on it as well.
The screen is simply gorgeous - no dead pixels... bright and accurate! |
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| "An awesome machine" | 2007-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By keithdow |
I have been using computers for over 35 years. This is by far the best one I have owned. This includes a Sun Workstation, Dell computer, several Macs and PCs. The screen is big and beautiful. The wireless keyboard and mouse are a joy. The software and operating are the best.
For some background on me, I worked at Intel from 1998 to 2006. This computer was designed by Apple with the help of some of my buddies. So let me discuss the 3 gigabyte limit. It is not a limit of the chipset. It is probably there to prevent the computer from over heating. Also of note is that the chipset used for the machine is a mobile chipset, not a desktop. So you have a machine that is designed for low power and low noise. What more do you want out of life? |
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