Customer Reviews
I love things that do what they're supposed to do.
After 6 years on a G3 iBook this iMac is mind blowing!!
As soon as you open the box you know, you're in for something special. Its packed like jewelry, talk about impeccable industrial design. Like the way the little box is packed in a tray that says its been designed by Apple in California, and the keyboard is positioned like a diamond on a platinum setting. It just feels like some real attention has been paid to the details.
When I opened the little panel to add an extra G of memory, the screws stayed attached to the cover. I was expecting to have to look for them on the floor.Again, attention to detail.
I'm not quite sure how this machine set itself up, I don't have firewire on my iBook, but I have been using mac.com for a few years now. Anyway, I don't know how it or I did it, but this baby is set up like my old machine. I was planning on at least 48 hours straight, no sleep, to get this machine working.
I've tried out Front row already, I guess it didn't work so well on a G5, but on the Intel iMac, well...... just put it this way, my jaw is starting to hurt from smiling so much.
I hope everyone enjoys their new machine as much as I am.
Great first Mac!
This is my first Mac and I very pleased thus far.
Pros: It's true... it just works. Ten minutes after first powering on the iMac, I was already surfing the web and had access to my home network! The iMac immediately recognized my WEP secured wireless network. All I had to do was enter my security code! This is the same thing that took at least one hour (at first) on my Windows systems. The iMac also recognized my home network with no problem at all! I was able to transfer files from my Dell notebook by just dragging them over to the Mac. It took me almost an hour to get my two Windows computers to "see" each other on the home network. I haven't figured out how to make the Mac visible to the Dell just yet.
The iLife software bundle, although not Pro level, is great for basic home use. I just made a DVD using iDVD and iMovie HD. I had a VHS tape that I transferred to a mini DV using a camcorder and my VCR. I then imported the film into iMovie via firewire. After inserting chapters markers, I imported the film into iDVD. It was easy to figure out how to add titles and music to the menus. One cool thing I've already noticed about the Mac OS is that I can drag files into the applications from any window. I don't need to search for the file from within the program I'm using. For example, I wanted to import a photo and a song as the background for the DVD's main menu. I already had a window open that had the files I wanted. I just dragged the files over to the iDVD program and dropped them in. The program did the rest.
If you are worried about MS Office compatibility (my biggest concern), I haven't found any compatibility issues yet. The iMac came with a free 30-day trial of MS Office for Mac. I was able to open and save all my old Office files with no problems. I am going to wait for the new universal version of Office before I spring for it. No news on when it is going to come out. But it will happen.
Cons: The only negative things I've seen thus far are pretty minor. First, the machine is just screaming for more RAM. 512 MB is fine for basic applications. However, in my opinion, you really need to upgrade to at least 1 GB if you plan on working with any digital media at all. The upgrade "door" is located on the bottom of the case. It looks like a easy upgrade. A 1 GB chip will run about $120 from third party vendors.
The only other problems I can see are with the keyboard and mouse. First, the cords are very short. If you plan on placing the keyboard more than 2 feet away from the monitor (on a pull-out keyboard tray under your desk) you'll need a hub and an additional USB cable. I already had these items, so I had no problem. The mouse cable is so short that you have to plug it into one of the USB slots on the keyboard, which only leaves you with one remaining slot. Which leads me to my only other complaint, the USB slots on the keyboard are only 1.1 and not the speedier 2.0. The cord problem can be solved with the wireless option (more $). However, there is no wireless Mighty Mouse (two button mouse) yet, so I'll wait on that one. The Mighty Mouse is nice, but the "buttons" are a bit finicky. You have to really concentrate on pushing the right side of the mouse down since there is really no "button." The mouse has a pressure sensor that can tell that you are pushing on the right side. It doesn't always work on the first try. However, after getting a feel for how far to the right side of the mouse you need to push, it seems to be fine.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this machine and would recommend it to anyone considering a new computer. There are minor issues (minor for me, maybe not for you) of compatibility with my Tivo Series 2, X-Box 360, and old printer. So, until those are completely solved, I will still keep a Windows machine in the house. A desktop Mac and a cheap Windows notebook seem to be a good mix for me.
