Customer Reviews

Apple iMac Desktop with 17" M9168LL/A (1.25-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been told by my irritated PC using friends that I'm a walking switch ad, but you know what? I don't care. I'd had computers going waaaay back to 1981 with a TRS-80 model 3 with cassette tape drive. I knew about computers, but they never seemed to deliver on their promise of improving our lives. I lived with PC's up 'til last year and finally threw in the towel.

Last year, I realized that I'd spent more time trying to get the various hardware and software to "play nice" with one another than actually doing anything useful.

Fast forward to the recent past. I pay the rather hefty sum (yikes!) and I take my sexy new iMac home. I uncrate this thing and within ten minutes of power up I'm already burning a CD to iTunes. Cool! I didn't like the mouse that was supplied, so I plugged in my Microsoft (gasp!) optical mouse and away I went. Now, you need to realize that I plugged the mouse in while the computer was running and it just worked! If I tried that with one of my PC's, best case it'd just crash. Often as not, it'd necessitate a trip to the grocery store for Doritos, etc.

One thing that my PC buddies like to remind me about (other than cost) is that my iMac isn't the last word in gaming performance. To that I say... so? If you're a hardcore gamer, the Mac platform isn't for you. For EVERY OTHER application, my little iMac can go toe to toe with a PC and usually come out on top.

I use it for photoshop, I've used it to master my LP records and language tapes to CD and MP3. These are things that I dreamed of doing with my PC's but was never able to. I now have an iPod and I absolutely love it. I use my computer every day and don't regret the investment even the slightest bit. I play games (Warcraft III, Diablo II and Everquest) once in a while. I watch movies on the widescreen monitor, and on and on...

Yes it's expensive, it's not for members of the upgrade of the month club, but if you want a computer that behaves like a reliable appliance and allows you to do the things you want to do without an IT certification,

BUY A FREAKIN' MAC!

Oh, and another thing. In several months, the computer has not crashed. Not once. Ever.

I've been using my new iMac with the 17" screen and 1.25 ghz G4 processor for digital photography, video and music. I am extremely pleased with it! Much of the credit goes to the software included with the computer (iPhoto, iMovie, and iTunes, respectively), which makes it easy to get started in digital photograpy, video and music. The hardware doesn't hurt either - it has a large and vivid flat-panel screen, and a built-in DVD burner for creating DVDs of your favorite digital videos. The small but unique speakers sound great, too. The iMac has been "plug-and-play" with my Kodak digital camera, Sony camcorder, and HP printer - no drivers or software installation required! One tip: choose an iMac with the larger 17" screen over the 15" model - it makes a big difference when working with digital photos and videos. Are there any weaknesses? Not really - some may say it's more expensive than computers running Windows, but I think the iMac delivers great value considering the excellent software included with it.

I've been using IBM-compatible systems since committing to the platform in the Apple II days. After one too many (pick one: crashes / blue screens / errors), I decided to take the plunge on my latest replacement. I have never been as pleased with a new computer purchase. At first I was apprehensive, thinking that you could never get anything done with a 1GHz processor. Well, things are a little different in the Mac world. This is as fast (or at least I can't tell a difference) as my 2.4GHz Dell. I did get 1 gig of RAM. One of the reasons I needed a new computer was that my PC did not have a DVD burner. Within hours I was editing movies and burning DVDs. The interface is great (I'm also using Windows XP on another computer, and it is LAME compared to Panther). I love the Expose feature. Windows users will think it is the coolest thing. Switching users is effortless. I have since added an external LaCie 200GB HD, effortlessly, and and am using the iSight. The iSight works fantastic with other Mac users, but is very sluggish with PC users so far (that's with Yahoo! Instant Messenger, AOL has a beta coming out that may fix it, but I haven't tried it yet). iTunes is awesome, you can listen to radio, download, organize, and burn without even thinking about it.
All in all, I am very pleased. I actually enjoy using my cumputer again, and am eyeing the G5 as a replacement for my last PC (you know, "more power").

The latest upgrade for the iMac is great. More speed, with the 1.25gHz G4 processor. More space, with the 80gB hard drive. And more functionality than ever.

Mail- Apple's POP3 mail client still has a few bugs to work out, but it's pretty much the only game in town for OS X. You could still run Outlook Express under Classic.

Safari- Apple's browser software also needs to get upgraded a bit. But, it's fast and with a keystroke or click you can block pop-up ads.

iLife- The iLife suite (iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto and iDVD) is the real treasure here. Editing your video and burning a DVD for friends and family is a cakewalk. The iTunes library function is great, but being able to listen to any number of radio or internet stations froma around the world is a kick. iPhoto make simple photo editing a breeze.

Add to that a cool design, a crystal clear flat screen, and the click and find-it ease of Sherlock 3... the iMac is indeed the hub of your digital lifestyle.

I'm retired and I while I wanted to get email I did not want to learn about computers. I bought an i-Mac because I heard they were good for novices and they were right! My grandson hates it because he can't play his games... one more reason I love it! :^)

So I think this is perfect for retired people who don't need all the latest gizmos but just want to write letters and send email. Of courrse all the ladies in my golf circle think it's darling and I think it's just really cute. In fact I am trying to get my husband to paint it pink!

I did subtract one star because the first one I took home broke down in the first week. But I took it back and got another one and it's working just fine.

I admit to being a little skeptical . . .the reviews have been almost too enthusiastic. Is there anything this machine doesn't do?

Well, after using it for a weekend, I can say it's a great purchase (thought I take issue w/ another reviewer below who calls this machine "inexpensive"). It's an outstanding value for all that you get - great large screen, fast, super easy to use (not vastly different from Windows, if you're switching and you're concerned about such things), and world class software included (IPhoto, Itunes, IDVD, Garageband, etc). Garageband was the coolest surprise - it's a blast if you're into music. The only additional things you need to buy are Applecare extended warranty (you're crazy not to buy this on a $1800 machine) and the only things you'll want to buy are .Mac (webhosting and virus protection, among other things, on special now for $69 if you buy at Apple.com or store), and Microsoft Office (for better or worse, it's what the world runs on). MAC MS Office is fully interchangable w/ the Windows version, so bringing homes applications from my Windows PC at work to work on at home is not a problem.

My only small complaint is that Itunes doesn't work easily w/ my Rio MP3. After several hours I made it work, but ITunes doesn't want to know you if you're not using an IPod. IPods are great, but don't lend themselves to distance running due to skipping.

Get this machine and a fast internet connection, you won't be disappointed. Unless you have applications you must run that are PC based only, I don't know why anyone would buy a PC over this beauty.

Two Notes:
1) If you have a student or teacher in the family, Apple.com and retail stores offer great educator discounts.

2) The website and Amazon customer service says the computer is shipping w/ the older "Jaguar" operating system. Mine however came w/ the reportedly superior "Panther" OS. A relief b/c the

I finally bit the bullet and decided to try Mac because I got married and couldn't get my wife to do anything on my windows machine. Like many people she had tried to do things on a computer before and just ended up frustrated and confused. The most she would even try to do was surf the net and a bit of email. People were always saying things were easy on the Mac so I decided to try it out.

Enter the Mac, now I can't get her off it. This machine really is the answer to a digital hub for the home. She manages our music with iTunes and buys new music off the iTunes Music Store. She burns special mix collection CDs for our friends now.

We got a digital camera and she was worried that it would be complicated to use it with the computer. Well, all you do is connect the camera to the computer and the Mac automatically senses a camera is attached, starts up iPhoto and then asks if you want to download. Thats right ONE BUTTON to push to download pics from your camera.

Things went so well with that we got a digital movie cam and now can edit our home movies in iMovie and burn them to DVDs with iDVD. My wife would never have imagined herself doing these things a year ago.

Plus no worries about viruses or spyware or adware and no popups with the Safari browser. There are currenty Zero viruses in the world for Mac OS X. There are over 70,000 windows viruses.

I always thought Macs were too expensive but when you figure that all of these programs come free with the machine and look at how much it would cost to buy software to do all this on a windows machine, the Mac turns out to be a better deal.

I now understand why my Mac using friends were always raving about how they loved their computers. It is so refreshing to have one that is so easy to use and just works right and doesn't break down and have all those problems.

I own this computer... and take it from me. Whenever you here about Dell being the best PC in the market place, Mac's arent included in that search. Why? Because Macs are different from PC's. Another thing to look out for is comparing processor speed between Macs and PCs. A 1GHz Mac is equal to about a 2.3 GHz PC. Not only is Mac the easiest computer to use, but its software is outstanding as well. Forget those 25 icons on your desktop, use the Mac dock, a small, spacesaving way to hold important documents. Guess how many icons are on a Mac origionally... 1... the Mac HD. I highly recommend ordering more memory than the 256 included... believe me, you're going to need it! Macintosh... they think different.

I've had my iMac now for nearly a month & I absolutely LOVE it! I had initially purchased a Dell Insperion 8600 laptop and it was faulty. I was upset & their customer service line was a complete joke. After waiting nearly a month for a full refund, for a machine that only last 2 days, my friend recommended I purchase an imac. I still thank her to this day. The main gripe about the Mac and any Apple products is the price, but seriosuly I saved $200, so it all depends on what you want. If you want cheap, then by all means buy a PC...just expect to have cheap service and periodic maintenance. If you want excellent performance, then Mac is the way to go. You get more bang for your buck!

I'm fast closing in on two full decades of being a Mac user. And, for once, I've finally broken my purchasing pattern of "one new Mac every five years" (more or less). Purchase of this 17" flat-screen iMac comes barely two years after I acquired my Titanium G4 PowerBook.

But "breaking the pattern" was done in a good cause. A very good cause, in fact. For all the years we've had two Macs in our household, the older one always seemed to end up as the "hand-me-down" that my wife used. Needless to say, this didn't exactly endear my S.O. (a Windoze user when at work) to the Mac OS. (Most recently, the hand-me-down had been a seven-year-old Power PC desktop running OS 7.6; not exactly state-of-the-art, despite my installing a neat utility called Action GoMac that emulated the Windoze "Start" button and Task Bar.)

Well, now she's got herself a state-of-the-art Mac, and one that in my opinion represents the best value of the entire product line. There is hardly a feature that this 17" flat-screen iMac doesn't have, including a number of small but significant upgrades over the iMac it replaces: Processor speed is bumped up to 1.25 GHz (with a matching increase in bus speed), USB ports (3 of them) are now configured to run the much-faster USB 2.0 protocol (nearly as fast as FireWire, for which there are 2 such ports), the standard hard drive is now a huge 80 Mb, and this iMac also comes with its own built-in CD/DVD burner. I just can't wait to give iTunes (Apple's proprietary and totally legal, moral and ethical approach to on-line music file acquisition) a try, with this capability as part of both the hardware and the OS X.2 software. (For the record, the only iMac having more than this model is the 20" flat-screen model, which, at about 400 smackeroos more, means that you're paying quite a bit for that extra display real estate; all other features and specifications are identical.)

Once again, Apple has outdone itself in terms of industrial design. This is really a work of art for which other computer manufacturers can only look on with envy. The footprint is minimal, with everything built into the hemispherical base (no need to reach under the desk to find the CD drawer, or the power switch, for that matter). There is virtually no limit to the range of placement for the screen, which glides to one's desired position with just a finger touch. And the materials, and the "fit and finish," are top-grade throughout. Even the packaging is its own work of art!

Set-up couldn't be any easier. Prior to its initial boot-up, I had already installed a Linksys BESFR41 cable-modem router so that "we could surf together." With the OS X.2 system software version installed on this iMac, "plug and play" reaches a new high in simplicity. Nothing needed to be configured in order to get on the Internet; everything was done automatically, as I found out when I launched the two browsers provided (Internet Explorer and Apple's own Safari): Simply launch, and "there you are."

This is my first experience with Apple's OS X (my PowerBook is still running OS 9.2.2), and I wasn't sure whether I'd like it. Well, I LOVE it: Every bit as intuitive as the earlier "Classic" OS's yet refreshingly different. More to the point, OS X seems perfect for the Windoze user migrating to a Mac for the very first time: My wife took to it like a duck to water. I guess it's accurate and fair to say that the OS X dock provides the best features of the Windoze Start button and Task Bar combined into one useful palette.

All of this would have gone for naught, had it not been for one simple feature nicely incorporated into OS X.2. (Like previous versions of OS X, this version will run "Classic"-mode programs, automatically booting up OS 9.2 as needed, but then automatically returning to OS X.2 mode when the Classic application is quit.) Nearly 20 years ago, I purchased (for, I think, five bucks or less) a single-sided (400 Kb) floppy disk containing a bunch of games that would run on the original (1984) Macintosh OS. One of those games was Klondike solitaire, a game which had become a near-addiction for my wife over that period of time. Had this game NOT run on her new iMac, I'm pretty sure that she'd have said "Take it back!"

Well, this iMac's a keeper. Klondike booted right up (after a second or two required in order to run OS 9.2 on top of OS X.2). There, in its own window, in stunning 1984 black and white, was her beloved Klondike, running just like it always did. For nearly twenty years. I'm her hero now, Iyam.

I don't have iMac envy. Well, at least that's what I keep telling myself. But I'll get my chance at iTunes. If and when she'll let me. :-)

Bob Zeidler