Customer Reviews

Apple iMac Desktop with 17" M8812LL/A (800MHz PowerPC G4, 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, DVD-RW/CD-RW drive)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first computer was a MacPlus back in the 80s...But, like so many, I was converted to the Windows world. However, after seeing this computer and playing with the wonderful Jaguar OS, I was immediately sold.

The operating system is so far superior to Windows XP it is almost comical. Why Apple has been unable to sell this to the masses is difficult for me to understand. The 17" iMac is, of course, gorgeous to behold. The display is phenomenal and the bundled software is terrific. Burning a DVD, which was about as easy as brain surgery on my Windows XP machine, is a piece of cake!

My major concern was the ability to "make the switch." Well, when the iMac arrived, I simply plugged it into my home network router and the iMac immediately recognized my two XP machines and file transfer was done in less than an hour!! It was easier to network my Mac to the XP machine than it was to get the two XP machines to talk to each other!...

This is simply the best home computing experience you can have, particularly in terms of ease of use with digital cameras, music, digital camcorders.

I have yet to experience a system crash.....wow!

This is my 2nd flat panel iMac. I first bought the 15" model when it came out about a year ago. I was so pleased with it and so JEALOUS when I saw the 17" model come out that I sold the 15" and bought the 17". This computer is fantastic for doing just about anything: surfing the net, Photoshop work (the huge screen is GREAT for laying out all of your tools while still leaving plenty of room for your image), burning CDs/DVDs, etc. I couldn't be happier with it. It makes a small footprint on my desk, it is fast, so quiet (you can hardly hear the fan), and as a bonus is so sleek looking.

I've read several negative comments on this computer saying how its bad because its "not expandable," I guess because this computer doesn't have extra drive bays or expansion slots. Who cares?! What else would you possibly want to add to this computer? It comes with a HUGE hard drive, a CD drive that can burn CDs and DVDs, good sound, ethernet (100mbps or the optional Airport card), etc. And even if you did run out of hard drive space or found the need for another type of disk drive, you've got three USB ports and two very fast Firewire ports.

For any potential first-time Mac users that may be reading this, listen up! I used to be strictly a Windows user until I finally wised up and bought a Mac. Don't be deceived by what some people may tell you. A Mac can do everything a Windows computer does, just without all of the operating system crashes. Software installs without a hitch, as does hardware. With Mac OS X, a lot of hardware is plug and play, no extra drivers needed. Believe me, you'll like it! Just buy one!

I loved the look of the new iMac, but the resolution was limiting - it was no better than my two year old Strawberry iMac! But I wanted the DVD drive and faster G4 CPU very badly. But I waited..

Then Apple went and read my mind and launched the 17" iMac. The same cool design, the same Superdrive for making my own DVD movies, but a gorgeous screen. I could only withstand it until I saw it in the store. Then it had to be mine. I can resist everything but temptation.

Although I am a professional Windows user, I love Apple design and OS X. I like the appliance-like convenience of iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. And I can even use a free program from Microsoft called RDC to login to the Windows XP PCs on my home network, and display their desktops on the iMac. I get the best of both worlds - the wonderful Apple design in my living room, connected to a cheap, fast Windows XP box hidden in a cupboard.

In fact as the iMac 17" screen is so wonderful, it has replaced all the other monitors in my house - I control my PCs from the iMac, and use the iMac as my hi-fi, my DVD player and all the other digital hub stuff that Apple have done so well. The networking features in Jaguar (the latest OSX release) make sharing files very easy, and the Apple Airport card works perfectly with my home wireless LAN.

Paying the extra above the top-of-the-range 15" model for the 17" display is money well spent. You'll love this computer. I know I do. Now I'm off to finish making another movie, using Microsoft Office, listen to some tunes, and love every minute of it on the best designed computer available.

Apple gets a bad rap for having "pricey" computers, but I've never found them to be such. Just look at what this baby comes with:

256 MB RAM.
The wonderful G4 processor, at 800 MHz, which is deceptively fast.
80 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
The SuperDrive which lets me burn CDs and DVDs.
A crystal clear 17" flat panel display. Flat panel monitors run into the HUNDREDS of dollars by themselves (...).
10/100 Base-T ethernet port.
TWO FireWire Ports
FIVE USB ports (three on the console, two on the keyboard)
NVIDIA GForce 4 MX Graphics card
Apple Pro Optical Mouse
Apple Pro speakers, and they are outstanding.
Built-in Microphone
Built in Airport antenna, for wireless networking.
Mac OS 9 and the luscious, UNIX-based Jaguar (OS X 10.2)
AppleWorks, a convenient suite of Office-type apps. Their database app is one of the easiest and friendliest around. I store lists of books, CDs and other such things with it.
Explorer
Quicken
The amazing iApps: iChat, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD and iTunes, all of which make computing so easy and fun in the digital age.
And still more apps--too many to list here.

To buy a quality PC with all of these things would cost about the same, if not more. The ports alone make this a good investment. Best of all, I know all the things in this computer will work together. That's what having a Mac is all about.

As always, Apple doesn't do anything on the cheap, not even with their "everyman" computers, like the iMac. Everything here is top of the line, and it all works beautifully. The most taxing thing about setting up the computer was getting it out of the box (the design makes it more fragile than most computers). Once I had that done, I had it up and running in about 15 minutes--and some of that time was spent upgrading to Jaguar. Connecting to my husband's Powerbook through our DSL router was as easy as clicking on Connect to Server, then clicking on his computer in the listbox. Jaguar even recognized my son's PC, and I was yanking mp3s off there, very fast.

The computer itself is very quiet, although the SuperDrive can get rather noisy at times. But the hard drive? Barely a peep out of it. The display is crisp and clean. The screen really does move with the touch of one finger--smoothly, effortlessly. The G4 processor screams through apps. Burning mp3s and CDs has never been easier, thanks to iTunes. Downloading mp3s and audio books to my iPod is a dream--and speedy indeed over the FireWire connection. I made a DVD the other day of just some clips that I'd collected over the years, and it was disgustingly easy with iDVD. I connected my new Olympus digital camera through the USB port; iPhoto popped right up and filled up the screen with thumbnails of my digital images--with only one click asking if I wanted iPhoto to always do that. Everything just WORKS with this computer, seamlessly, flawlessly, which has been the most refreshing thing about switching to Apple.

But let's face it: Besides the fact that it's a Macintosh, which means a user-friendly computer with quality hardware, the real reason anyone buys this new iMac is because its design is flat-out cool. It is so beautiful that, even weeks after receiving it, I'll just sit there staring at it, still amazed that THIS is a computer. Having my computer's circuitry nestled under a dome rather than entombed in yet another rectangular box is a delight. A round computer case! Who but Apple would have thought of it? Everybody will copy this idea (Gateway[snort!] has already tried), but, as usual, no one will come close to matching the sheer ingenuity of what Apple has done. Don't be fooled by wannabes. This is the real thing, and it's worth every penny you'll spend on it--and then some.

If you're shopping for a mid-range computer, go no further. First, though, I recommend seeing the 17-incher in person. The photos are nice, but it's stunning in the flesh ... er... circuitry. The larger screen, in addition for a far greater user experience, makes the machine balanced.

And then you turn it on. This computer now ships with Mac OS X.2 (Jaguar), which is hands-down the best operating system out there now. My girlfriend just became a switcher and is stunned at the improved user experience. The processor and graphics card in this model is designed to make the most out of OS X's architecture, and it shows. Drop in a little extra RAM and you'll find it nearly impossible to make this computer stutter ("Maybe if I opened ALL the programs! Muah hah hah hah!")

It's well worth the price to buy this over the 15-inch models. It doesn't sound like a big difference, but it is. LCD screens are brighter and crisper than CRTs (as well as being cool) and will save you eyestrain, but there's just one problem -- you can't go above factory-standard resolutions. With the 15-inchers, you're stuck at 1024x768, which won't be enough in the long run. This model, however, runs at 1440x900, which has about 65 percent more pixels. Yards of desktop space, and watching a 16x9 DVD on these widescreen monitors is, well, overwhelming.

I was a Windows platform guy for a million years (or so it seemed), using a Gateway since their cow was a calf. After my final battle with the arrogant service rep in Cow Country, I decided I would retaliate by going Mac. After nearly 2G, I was staring into the glow of a flat screen marvel...and I'll never look back. This computer is the best THING I have ever purchased. Every dream of building a digital hub in my livingroom have been realized - internet (without the crashes, no less), digital photography, video editing (no one wanted to watch a 3.4 hour raw version of our trip West, so six 5-minute vignettes were crafted), music, basic home office...what I don't understand is why Apple is #2?

I cannot change the world with this honest review...but if you're on the fence I'm hoping I can push a little. This computer is a standard for the present, and a blueprint for the future. I see the past when I look out my Window...

I'm mainly a PC guy but I've owned Apples too over the years, and despite the fact that Apple took a lot of flack with this machine about producing a computer that was more revolutionary as a piece of furniture design than as a computer, this is still a good computer. I played with one recently at CompUSA for about an hour and I was impressed with how much faster it was than previous Apples, since the last time I worked with one was a several years ago, and there has also been a major release and update to the OS since then, which seems to have improved reliablity and performance also.

My main problem with this system is that for almost half the price, you can get a PC with 50% more hard disk space and four times as much RAM, so the Apple still can't compete with the PC in terms of price-to-performance ratio, but don't get me wrong, I still liked this system. For most people, this would still be a good computer.

One other thing, and I'm not sure what recent service is like, but hopefully things have improved in this area. In the past, parts and service for Apples was expensive compared to the PC and more than a little high-brow. In other words, if you had to ask, you probably couldn't afford it, was their attitude, sort of like Volvo car service.

My last question about this system would be flexibility in terms of upgrades. Since everything has to fit into the designer base you probably can't just upgrade this yourself, if you wanted to get a more powerful video card, for example. This has always been one of the main advantages of PCs--you could easily open up the case and there were lots of options in terms of upgrades--the only problem was in getting the new hardware to work. :-) Also, according to another review I just read here, the onboard video card is not an nVidia GeForce4 MX4 but a GeForce2 that has been "rebranded." So you're not even getting a GF3. I can't vouch for this personally as I haven't checked into it, but if you play a lot of high-end games you might want to make sure this video card will work for you.

Overall, however, this is a fine system and will probably fill the needs of the vast majority of computer users. I don't think there's going to be a mass exodus from the PC world to Apple because of this, but as a PC guy I still wanted to say I liked the computer, and it might even merit 4.5 stars if I could give it that.

I got my 17" flat panel iMac for christmas. It works great! I have had no compatability problems what-so-ever and it has never crashed! Even under the intense rendering I put it through for digital filmaking it still holds up great with memory and hard-drive to spare! The guys at Apple Care have been great and have helped me with every question I have had!!! Apple has defenetaly lived up to its name!

I have a love hate thing going with Apple. I love their desktops and hate their notebooks (flimsy, slow, overpriced, grrr). My only complaint is that the support could be better. I've have been adding components (scanner, digital camera, plotter) onto my iMac and have had a lot of trouble getting the right drivers, compatible software etc... Apple Tech support has *not* been very supportive. Once I've dug up the right driver (be sure what you buy will work with a Mac!) things have gone okay, but Apple could be more help here. They keep refering me to the manufacturer of the part, and taking no blame. Considering their adds claim "ease of use" I would like to see some of that ease. But once it's up and running it's really sweet!

Before purchasing my iMac, I was a PC user, but I always thought that it would be great to own a Mac. Since I got my iMac, I have never looked back. I can honestly say that this is the best computer I've ever owned.

The operating system, Mac OS X, is extremely stable and almost flawless. And the applications that come built into OS X (iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie to name a few) are wonderful. I have over 1100 songs on iTunes which automatically syncs with my iPod when I plug it in.

Of course, I also love how beautiful the iMac is. The screen looks as if it just floats in mid-air.

I am so glad that I "switched" to a Mac. I absolutley love this computer, and I know the next time I buy a computer, it will be a Mac.