Customer Reviews

Apple iMac MA456LL/A 24-inch Desktop PC (2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First and foremost, I was a lifetime WINTEL user (engineering industry) and switched to OSX in 2001 while attending graduate professional school. After recognizing a few initial differences, I adjusted (and embraced) them and now work 2 or 3 times faster using my Macs than I ever did using a Windows machine.

Next, in response to JAEWOO's comments: He claims that the OS-X "Crashes" frequently. Is he talking about OS-X crashing frequently OR is he talking about applications crashing? With OS-X, applications can crash... it's ordinary... These things happen. HOWEVER, in sharp contrast to Windows, these crashes are limited to the applications, and the operating system and (most importantly) OTHER applications are not affected. In windows you can get the blue screen of death when an application fails. Under OSX, you can continue using other unaffected programs. This is a BIG distinction. If my MP3 player crashes in Windows XP, I may lose some work that I'm doing in MS Word. however, in OSX, if my MP3 player crashes, I don't lose anything.

It would be impossible for Apple (or any developer) to promise that no application would crash on their OS.

Regarding memory, the iMacs are limited to 3GB because of a limitation of the Intel chipset. Windows machines running the same chipsets are also limited. From what I've heard, you can stick 4 GB in there, but only 3 will be recognized. Again, this is clearly listed in the specifications, so if you need more RAM, get a "professional" machine not a consumer machine. Who needs more than 3GB or RAM for a consumer machine?

Ripping on the apple keyboard because the cord is only 18 inches long is retarded. If you want to sit across the room with the KB on your lap, get an extension cable (or the bluetooth KB and mouse). The Apple keyboards are some of the finest keyboards made. Their tactile response and feel is second to none. Even their Laptop keyboards are fantastic. I'll admit that their mice are strange, but when was the last time you bought a PC and were happy with the mouse? I've always been a big fan of Logitech optical cordless mice anyway

Gaming... if you buy a mac for hard core gaming... you're a fool. If you want to game, buy a console or a windows box.

Drivers for peripherals? The funny thing is, if the peripheral is supported by OSX, the drivers are (95% of the time) included and built in. however, many manufacturers insist on only supporting Windows. That's just the way it is... do some proper shopping and get compatible stuff. Since Macs have long dominated the desktop publishing and graphical industries, there are more than enough printers available. Don't go with a newcomer like samsung. Brother, HP, EPSON, and CANON all make excellent printers that work immediately upon plug-in. For example, my Brother printer (a 5070 with an ethernet connection, i believe) is immediately recognized and no setup was necessary... just plug it in, turn it on, and boom, print away.

Speakers on a all in one computer are weak? Say it ain't so? This one falls under "duh!" Of course they're weak... it's an all in one computer that's only one and a half inches thick. How much bass you think they're going to be able to pump out of a pizza box full of computer equipment? How happy would you be with those small crappy speakers they frequently attach to flat panel LCD screens? Probably not happy at all.

Finally... my favorite... "Apple's are more expensive" More expensive than what, $300 generic boxes with minimal features. Yeah, they're more expensive. however, when you make a legitimate 1 to 1 comparison with all features included, the price gap narrows significantly. Also, you must consider this, Apples retain value and windows boxes do not. I bought a flat-panel i-Mac in 2002 and paid $1900 for it. I sold it two and a half years later for $1375 on eBay. Go buy any XP box out there, use it for two and a half years, and see if you can sell it for 70% of what you paid for it. If you think this is an isolated point, i also just sold a two year old Powermac G5 for $1500 that I only paid $1999 for.

Furthermore, these new macs allow you to run windows natively on them. I just set up a 17" iMac for my wife's new law practice and using a program called Parallels Desktop, she runs the few law-specific Windows programs she needs without any problems. Many programs actually run faster in Parallels on a new iMac than they do on comparable non core duo XP machines. Very nice indeed.

I switched to OSX back in 2001 (version 10.0 beta) and haven't looked back since.

We took delivery of our new iMac (24-inch, 2.16 GHz, 2GB memory, 500 GB disk, GeForce 7600 video) on Monday.

1. Migrating from our "old" iMac (20-inch, 2.0 GHz G5) was trivial thanks to Migration Assistant. I think this feature of Macintoshes is so under appreciated. I have moved from one Windows machine to another on 3 occassions. The pain (re-installing all the applications) and time (8+ hours) involved is not a fond rememberence.

2. The size of screen is awesome. I have a 23-inch ACD connected to my Power Mac. Now, my business partner (and wife) has a bigger, brighter (much brighter) gorgeous screen.

3. It runs 15° C cooler than the older iMac. we have yet to hear the fan. This baby is quiet.

4. We installed Parallels to run SwishMax (for making Flash movies) under Windows 2000 and it works perfectly. The performance is equal to or faster than our 1.8 GHz Athlon machine. We have also installed WebTrends (for creating webserver activity reports) and it is 10+% faster on the iMac.

5. $2500 USD is a bargain for this machine. Big screen and fast processor.

6. Photoshop is slower (1/2 the speed compared with the G5 iMac), but we don't work on really large files so it is not that bothersome.

7. Word is slower, but you can't really tell unless you run an extensive test.

This is a 5-star machine.

,dave

P.S. It prints to our Samsung CLP-500N color laser printer perfectly. All the extra features of the Samsung printer (e.g., duplex) are available.

This is my 12th Mac in 22 years of owning Macintosh computers, and it has to be the most beautiful design so far. This 24" iMac replaced a hot and noisy 2.3Ghz G5 MP Tower and older style ADC 23" monitor. I don't think I will ever go back to a tower model again. The core2duo also runs very cool.

The iMac screen is much brighter, the whites are truely white, and the system runs totally silent. It's also faster in the benchmarks that I have run compared to the 2.3GHz MP G5 tower. 24" is slightly larger than 23", so you get 92 dpi instead of 96 dpi, making text slightly larger and easier to read. Monitor resolution is 1920x1200.

Photoshop CS3 (beta) flys on this system. Load times are 10 seconds compared to 23 seconds on the G5. About 95% of my software is already Universal Binary, so this has been a very move from PPC to Intel software.

This computer is excellent for watching DVD's on, and with M-Audio's USB-Fiber Optic adapter, you can pull Digital Dolby 5.1 sound off the movies to your stereo, or connect a fiber optic cable directly to the iMac.

The new Mighty Mouse took a few days to get used to, but after a while, I found myself looking for the little scroll wheel on my other mouse.

I have 2 Gigs of RAM (recommended for power users) and the faster 7600GT video card (optional).

The 24" model adds pro features like Firewire 800 (super fast), 24W stereo amp with larger speakers, and an external monitor plug (just in case 24" isn't big enough).

Make sure you have a solid desk for this model, as it is fairly heavy, and will bounce around if you put it on a lightweight desk.

I would highly recommend this system to anyone with an older tower model.

I have been a dyed in the wool PC modder/user for years. I have built and maintained my own high-performance PCs since my dad gave me a 486/66 back in the early nineties. My last PC was a tricked out P4 with ALL the best mods. dual SLI, water-cooled, etc..the works.

But it still was: unreliable, noisy, inconsistent, tedious to tweak and repair.

I went to an apple store recently and played with a 24" iMac w/ the dual core 2 duo chip.

I was totally hooked by the elegant styling, amazing OS, and sheer performance of this beast. It's silent, fast, efficient, powerful...

PC go bye bye. This is the computer for computer people. AND non computer people.

Extremely fast, quiet (virtually silent), plenty of connection options (including FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0), elegantly designed. Overall, an absolute pleasure to use, and probably the best execution of the "all-in-one" concept, bar none. It's like a piece of art from starship Enterprise. Couple that with OS X, which does everything Windows does, but with greater ease and elegance. (Need proof of OS X's excellence? Try out Vista. Imitation, after all, is the sincerest form of flattery, right?)

Now, there are some problems.

First, there's a RAM limitation: only two slots. And the motherboard makes it so that the most RAM it will recognize is 3 GB -- even if you install two 2 GB sticks. How big a problem is that? It depends. I've never used a Mac with more than 3 GB of memory. OS X loves memory -- it makes for much peppier performance -- but I'm convinced that, after 2 GB, the returns diminish sharply. However, there are some applications that need lots of RAM -- particularly high end photo processing applications (Photoshop and Aperture, among others). If that's your bread and butter, you may want to think about a MacPro (a much more expensive beast).

Second, while the CPU and hard drive are replaceable, it requires major surgery to do so. The graphics card is apparently replaceable on the 24" iMac only. However, getting a replacement that fits the proprietary MMX slot is expected to be very difficult (as in close to impossible). Apple won't sell them separately.

Finally, this iMac is likely to be replaced fairly soon. The replacement is likely to lift the RAM limitation, and maybe sport a better, standard graphics card. (It'll be a while before a flash-based hard drive and touch screen enter the picture -- maybe 2008!)

One more thing ...

This screen is huge, and simply stunning. It's sharp and bright ... maybe too bright. You should really look at one in person since, for most human beings, the 20" iMac should be plenty big.

This iMac is absolutely beautiful. The large screen is bright and easy to read. The Core 2 Duo processor makes it faster than any computer I've used and I'm able to run Mac OS X AND Windows on it. There are many little details I've come to appreciate about it. The light that shines through the bezel when it sleeps and gently pulsates, the cool place you store the remote among others. Everything is built into it. This machine has made a beautiful addition to my home and it is as nice to look at as it is to use. Highly recommended.

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.

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.

I've been a "Mac Guy" since 1987 and have owned a lot of different Macs over the years...OK, I'll list them to let you know where I'm coming from.
Mac Plus
Performa 575
Umax C600 (clone)
APS MPower 200 (clone)
Powerbook G3 233 (WallStreet)
Powerbook G3 500 (Pismo)
iMac G3 400 (for the kids)
Powermac G3 300 AV (desktop)
QuickSilver 933 G4 Tower
iBook G4 933
iMac 17-inch G5 (for the kids)
and finally, the 24-inch Intel iMac.

To be honest, I didn't really want another all-in-one. I've found that over the years, the need to increase internal storage and performing other minor upgrades outweighed the convienance of these machines. I had been saving my money for the mid-grade MacPro and at least a 20 to 23-inch LCD display. That was until I took my first serious look at this generation of iMacs. Sure you can get the upgradability of a tower, along with lots of internal storage, two dual-core server class processors, and nearly impossible to afford massive amounts of RAM, but once I really looked at what I was using a computer for (Podcasting, light duty audio and video work, email, internet, blah blah), I realized that the Mac Pro was way more computer than I could afford or even use. I was looking at $2600 for the computer and well over $500 for a decent monitor OR I could get a Core 2 Duo with 1 gig of RAM and a beautiful 24-inch display for about 2/3's of what a tower would cost me. I've gathered plenty of FireWire and USB hard drive enclosures over the years so storage is not really an issue.

Look, if you're a graphic designer or hard-core FCP freak, you either have or are getting a Mac Pro. If all you want to do is the typical stuff that most people use computers for, you won't find a better deal on the Mac side than one of the iMac models. If cost is an issue and your graphics needs are light, consider the 17-inch iMac with Intel integrated graphics or a Mac mini. Me? I am very pleased with the 24-inch iMac.

In fact, maybe too bright in a dark room, but the screen is great.

It's whisper quiet even under full CPU and GPU load, and probably the best desktop design ever made. Maximum convenience and simplicity, at the expense of expandability. But lots of ports for external expansion--yet I'm not using a single port, since it comes with speakers, mic and camera built in, and my network and printing can be handles wirelessly.

The little remote is one of my favorite things. That and the dual-processor core speed, and the overall quality and solidity.

Now back to playing with Google Earth in high definition...