Radical New iMacs Boast Power,

Wall Street Journal ^ | 1/17/02 | Walter S. Mossberg

[Vermonter]

I AM WRITING these words on the most radical-looking personal computer I've ever seen. It's a white hemisphere that sits on the desk top, sort of like a snow-covered basketball that has been sliced in half. A strong, but flexible, stainless-steel arm projects from the top of this mound. On the end of that arm, perched at almost any viewing angle you like, sits a bright, vivid flat-panel screen.

[Vermonter]

Seems we need a daily thread to bash Macintosh, so here's today's.

[tdadams]

I used to be a total Mac person, then caved and gave in to Mr. Gates. But I saw one of these this weekend and was seriously impressed. The huge flat screen monitor was amazing. But they still cost up to $3500 for the one I want. It's hard to justify spending $3500 on a Mac for the same configuration you can get in a PC for under $1000.

[Petronski]

The flat monitor on a 'floating' arm is very cool. It should be made available for use with standard wintel desktop systems.

[RogueIsland]

"Radical"? People still say that? Wow. Tubular.

[Vermonter]

The top of the line iMac is $1799 (before memory upgrade or Airport card). How did you come up with $3500?

[Dudesdad]

You don't have to "cave" to Mr. Gates. I am currently viewing, and making this reply, on a pc with absolutely no Microsoft software on it at all.

[SolitaryMan]

What gets me it the "Cult" following of Mac users. See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, about Apple that is.

[Kozak]

I also used to be a Mac person (actually owned 2 Amiga's before THAT). I finally gave up the Mac for a number of reasons. Frequently the software I wanted to use only came in a Windows version. Much less choice in hardware to expand and upgrade my system. Problems in communicating with the rest of the largely windows world (moving files between home and work etc.) Finally the OS in windows became pretty much as easy to use and still had more underlying flexibility ( I could tinker more ) then with Macs.

As far as the new Imacs I don't understand who gives a flip about what the box looks like. What matters is how it preforms its ability to resist obsolescence, and its value versus cost. I bet there is no way or very limited ability to expand or modify the Imacs. I also find their lack of a floppy or SOME type of removable media a pain in the ass. My kids school uses Imacs (teachers can't seem to handle anything more demanding) and without a floppy drive the kids can't work on projects at home, or move from computer to computer, so she has to wait till the EXACT machine she uses is available for her. The lab may have 20 unused machines but if the one her stuff is on is being used she's out of luck. An idiotic way to organize computer resources.

I realize when it comes to Macs it's frequently a religious experience so I don't expect to convert anyone. Just my personal experience.

[aruanan]

Also, despite the iMac's power, the playback of music and video came to a halt briefly whenever I inserted, or sometimes even ejected, CDs.

Same thing happens on my home CD player. For some strange reason, when I open the tray to put on another CD the music comes to a halt briefly.

[fourdeuce82d]

Here's a though (little off topic, but i still like cheese)

Now PCs are essentially commodities, at least for middle of the road apps (email, spreadsheet/w-processing) Why not start selling them as decorative items?

How about a inexpensive MoBo, 128 Mb ram, 20Gb hd, etc, packed in a nice cherry or oak case? How about a retro (circa 1920) "streamlined" look? or earlier than that- what about a computer that had that odd, Terry Gilliam "brazil" look, with a keyboard tricked out to look like an old royal typewriter- i.e. black, circular keys, a black, pebbeled faux cast iron surface, etc.

I wouldn't buy one, but I like to play games, so I'm looking for speed- but what about others?

Seems to me there's a (possibly niche) market here for the little guys...

[IncPen]

What gets me it the "Cult" following of Mac users. See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, about Apple that is.

Most minorities come from the state of Paranoia.

: )

[IncPen]

The lab may have 20 unused machines but if the one her stuff is on is being used she's out of luck. An idiotic way to organize computer resources.

Honest to God, it takes less than one minute to connect any two- or more- Macs. You simply designate any folder as 'shared' and poof! it appears on the desktop of any Mac on the network. I've had Windows devotees accuse me of chicanery when demonstrating this...

[Mamzelle]

(( I bet there is no way or very limited ability to expand or modify the Imacs. I also find their lack of a floppy or SOME type of removable media a pain))

In a multi-computer household, it's nice to have one Mac. BUT...The business about the floppy is maddening!! It's not like a floppy drive is a big-ticket item. Also, the CD drive in my older iMac--on which I now type--won't take CDs made on other computers with digital images. It just goes "pooey...tastes bad...spit it out..." So I play musical zip drives...

It's hard for a thumb-sucking Mac lover in this world. It's the operating system we like...I just bought a hot new SONY laptop and still turn on the iMac every morning. The desktop, the program setup, all just feel so much more comfortable than the jazzy SONY.

[ArrogantBustard]

so she has to wait till the EXACT machine she uses is available for her.

Why the heck hasn't the school networked the blasted things? Somebody at that place is sleeping at the wheel.

[modern_orthodox]

You still use floppies? Thanks to some judicious use of networking, the internet, CD-RWs, and ZIP/JAZZ discs, the floppy is finally dead. Its far too slow, too power intensive, and too small (1.44 Meg?) to make it nowadays. I can say I haven't used a floppy in nearly 2 years now. Next you'll hear people complaining there's no ISA bus support or something...

[tdadams]

I think it was the 512Meg memory upgrade and the 21 inch flat panel monitor that came with it.

[Vermonter]

[apologist]

As far as the new Imacs I don't understand who gives a flip about what the box looks like.

Why not? Granted, appearance of a computer should rank below performance, but people factor in appearance for lots of things where it doesn't matter. Who cares what a car looks like, as long as it's performance as transportation is good? Who cares what furniture looks like as long as it's comfortable? Who cares what a home looks like as long as it provides comfortable living quarters?

I bet there is no way or very limited ability to expand or modify the Imacs.

RAM can be upgraded. Almost any kind of expansion could be accomplished via USB or Firewire. Video can't be upgraded, but the iMacs tend to be marketed towards folks who want to keep things simple and probably aren't interested in upgrading video or adding PCI cards. The G4 tower is made for those who are interested in such things.