Customer Reviews

Apple iMac MC413LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop (OLD VERSION)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have had this computer for a week now and absolutely love it. The Magic Mouse took a little time to adjust to, but now it is a favorite. The iMac screen is large (I upgraded from the 17" early 2006 intel iMac), but not so big as to be distracting. Apple, of course, made the experience of setting it up and getting online a breeze, even to the point of having the batteries already installed in the keyboard and mouse, and having the two linked to the computer. The pros include the beauty of the LED screen, the speed of the processor, the fact that it shipped with 4GB of ram, well...that it is every bit the consumer friendly machine I have come to expect from Apple. The upgraded graphics card really is noticeable. It is like a vase of flowers...I love to look at it even when it is off. The SD card slot is most handy. It is every bit as quiet as my previous computer.

The cons include the fact that my 3.5 year old iMac had a matte screen, and the glass front of this 21.5 " iMac does pick up reflections easily. But since I tend to keep my place dark and being a morning person don't have a lot of sunshine to contend with...for me it is actually a better screen than my old iMac's matte screen. It shipped with Apple's shortened keyboard (no number pad) and that took a bit of acclimation. Technology advances so my old firewire devices now need an adapter to work, firewire 400 to 800, but that is a tiny problem. Wish Apple would build in a fold down port for iPods to recharge. And all that glass on the front makes it a little heavy to haul around.

All in all, I love this computer and can heartily recommend it, and that comes from a relatively low income person who watches his money closely.
Hugh

I have been buying PCs for over 15 years and this is my first Mac. I had been considering a Mac over more recent years and decided to take the plunge after hearing other rave reviews of existing users and seeing how superior an IPOD is over a standard MP3 player. I can say that I was not disappointed.

First, there's no learning curve at all, and you can easily make the transition from PC to Mac. I could not say the same about going from windows XP to Vista, which was incredibly frustrating and I consider myself somewhat tech savvy. The operating system is intuitive and very simple to use. I did not really have to search for much of anything or how to do anything. It's that straight forward.

The most obvious thing that you see immediately is it's simplicity. A monitor with all the typical tower stuff integrated (as well as the speakers), a wireless keyboard and mouse. You literally have one wire running from the monitor to the wall if you have wireless networking. That in itself is a reason to consider as not many PCs offer that option.

You also don't have a million external buttons to press to operate this device, everything is selected from the desktop, including the volume. I was quite impressed with the sound quality. It rocks.

The display is crystal clear and you don't get any shake. The OS is lightning fast and browsing the web is faster than anything I ever experienced with a PC. Performing backups is as simple as attaching your backup drive with the Time Warp feature.

While the price is considerable higher than a PC, the ease of use along with the security features make it a great purchase I wasn't completely sure about this purchase beforehand, but glad I took a leap of faith based on the feedback that I got from the loyal Mac owners I know.

I will probably never go back and I am pretty confident that my husband will be getting a Mac notebook next time around.....

If you are considering making the change, I highly recommend it.

You can read elsewhere for tech specs or geek rantings, but here's my "I've got it set up as my family computer" five point review:

FAST: this computer screams, doing about anything you need it to without annoying pauses.

STYLE: yes, it does look like a fashion statement. And lest you say, "I just care about how it performs"-- you probably have other possessions that you admire their beauty--- some of your clothes, furniture, perhaps your car--- why shouldn't you be able to admire your computer as well? Apple says "YES YOU CAN!"

SILENT: its internal fans and hard drive are so well designed that it's very hard to hear any noise. I didn't expect that to be a big deal but I can really notice the difference between my old computer's noise level and my new iMac.

THE SCREEN: yes, it's a thing of beauty, bright, crisp, big, in full HD resolution that you can use to do any type of computing or watch a movie in complete comfort.

THE OS: Snow Leopard rocks. It's the best personal computer operating system on the planet, period.

All the tech magazines have raved about this computer, and sitting in front of it on my desk I now know why. If you need a new computer I guarantee you will fall in love with it.

I thought about getting the monstrous 27in., but looking at it in the store I decided that it was way too big to put on my desk and use daily. This machine is just amazing, it does anything I throw at it and it does it with ease and elegance. If you want a computer that both looks and functions beautifully, this is the one.

This is my second Mac (I also own a MacBook) and I don't think I could ever go back to a windows pc.

I have been following Apple waiting for the right time to buy and if you haven't bought one by now, you need to go get one! I should have bought one long ago! I've been impressed with every aspect of the Mac and though I was a PC user forever, I have had no difficulty transitioning. I'm continually finding myself saying, "Wow, I can do that??" My family runs over to see what new and exciting features I've discovered on my Mac.

Specific to this generation of iMac, the wireless freedom is invaluable! Since the iMac has only one cord, the power cord, I can move it around the house with ease and jump right on the internet or watch some movies. This computer is:

FAST - I am running several programs on different spaces with no lag, at optimal settings.
STYLISH - The screen is crisp and the whole setup is just gorgeous.
DEPENDABLE - I have had no system errors, no defragging, no crashes, no forcing applications to quit, no restarting, no need for CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
FEATURE-RICH - Snow Leopard has it all and I'm still discovering new things and downloading new widgets daily.
POWERFUL - I can run Final Cut Express and surf the web at the same time. On my PC I have to close all other programs to run Vegas or Pinnacle.
SLEEK - This is a streamlined machine and the wireless peripherals are the icing on the cake.

The magic mouse: It feels so natural and smooth. The finger gestures are awesome when surfing the web or looking at photos. However, I have had a few problems with it while running videos editors since every time you touch the mouse it does something and will move me from my exact spot on the video clip. Other than that, its superb.

My dad is now going to buy an Apple after seeing mine in action.

I was a 25 year PC user who has switched to MAC for the first time. I am in ecstasy over this thing. Switching has been totally pain free. Do you want to load songs without worrying about conflicts with your anti-spyware, popup blockers? Would you like to download a song or software without having to figure out how to reconfigure the latest version of IE? Are you burned out on glitches with something not working with something else? Are you tired of trojans in spite of having 5 anti-virus programs on your PC? Are you tired of not having enough ram to work on your computer because your anti-spyware eats it up? Do you hate Norton? Is configuring your USB modem a pain? Are you tired of working on your computer rather than working with it? If yes, to the above, get an IMAC. I just burned out on PCS and making the switch was far better than I had hoped.

Setup is a breeze. The hardest thing for me, the former PC user, to get used to was the keyboard commands. I thought I would never figure out how to pop the DVD out of the player. I kept looking for the button on the player itself. It is on the keyboard. (Top right hand funky arrow key on keyboard, LOL). Everything that is normally hard about computers was effortless.

I love it! I loaded Open Office on it and it works like a charm. I don't need MS Office. I got Rapidweaver for web design and adore that as well. I was able to do in 2 hours in Rapid Weaver what it took me 4 weeks to do in MS Expression Web. Without all the MS quirks to boot.

Itunes on my IMAC runs like a dream. What I can't get over are the built-in speakers that come with the IMAC. They are quite impressive for built-in speakers. The DVD player burns better sounding CDs than the one I had before and the one I have at work. (I haven't tried it on my new portable one for my Windows 7 laptop). The CDS sound better on my truck stereo system than the other 2 drives I have used before. Yes, I download music without dealing with a single problem to solve involving computer security. I am in awe over this. I spent 2 hours downloading music and ALL of that time was spent picking out songs rather than downloading the same tune over and over and figuring out why it didn't load and where the heck did it go after I loaded it.

Another thing I can't get over is the quality of programs in iLife. Iphoto is a dang good program. The quality of these programs really make this computer a bargain. You get quality software that work seamlessly together. Stickies is the greatest thing EVER put on a computer.

As for Snow Leopard. Thus far, I have played a few simple puzzle games, created Open Office documents, downloaded music, played DVDs, surfed the web, designed a website, edited photos and have yet had to be formally introduced to Snow Leopard. This is the kind of operating system I like. I don't have to know anything to get it to work. It is entirely possible that we will be strangers for a long, long time and that is just fine with me. I knew more about XP and Windows Vista and 7 than I ever wanted to know.

I love the touch of the keyboard. It is superior to every other computer keyboard I have used. I love the Magic Mouse. I don't miss cords. With this computer, you don't get the numeric keypad and if that is a problem for you, you need to order the Apple keyboard with it.

My mediocre internet connection runs significantly faster with this machine. I no longer have to read my gmail in classic mode for slow connections. Loading my Verizon software which can be a pain was a breeze. It works a thousand times better than it does on my laptop and netbook.

Watching movies is a dream because the monitor is excellent HD and the 21.5 inch is more than enough for me. Perfect for watching movies.

All my photos that were saved onto a flashdrive from my PC loaded without a glitch onto the IMac. I was stunned at that.

The quality of the software that came with it makes the thing a bargain. If I gotten comparable software elsewhere, it would have jacked up the price of a pc by several hundreds of dollars and it still would not have worked as fluidly. Editing photos is an unbelievable experience and playing DVDs makes Media Player look like such an amateur.

This, folks, is love. Next to my Kindle, may be the second greatest material possession I have ever owned. The Kindle is still first place.

But, the single, very best thing about this computer is that you don't turn it off unless you are going to move it. It goes into sleep mode. Not the HP type sleep mode where it never wakes up again but a sleep mode that it comes out of very fast. So, when you want to use your computer, you don't have to turn it on and wait, and wait and wait. You don't have to turn it off. It just goes to sleep. That fast. That simple.

Amazon, as always was flawless. Ordered, it was shipped, it arrived, no problem.

Why didn't I do this before?

Update: After months of owning the machine, I like it even more than when I first got it One great feature that I did not mention before and some people on the web have criticized for some unknown reason is the shape of the monitor. The rectangular shape of this monitor makes this a dream to work with multiple programs simultaneously. If you are building a website and have to edit pictures and text to get them to work on your site, this monitor is the best I have ever used. I have plenty of room to cut, paste, edit photos and documents. It has become my favorite feature of this computer.

I have done a lot of work on this computer in the last few months. What I love the most is that I do spend all my time on the project itself and not on getting the computer to cooperate.

I decided to make the switch from PC to Mac after owning an iPhone for a little over a year. I love my iphone and the iMac does not disappoint. From box to computer desk, it took about 10 minutes to set up and within 45 seconds of the initial boot I was up and running with configuring the system. This is a far cry from starting up windows which takes three times as long not to mention all the programs that start up which made my previous system sluggish for about the first five minutes after booting. The screen is absolutely beautiful and the system is so quiet and does not get nearly as hot as you would expect from a full cpu being packed into such a small space. The 21" screen looks bigger at home than in the store and makes me glad I didn't throw down the extra cash for the 27". The keyboard is much more intuitive and ergonomic than I thought it would be when I first took it out of the box. I don't really miss the numeric keypad, though those who use their computers for work might. This leads me to the mouse, which is everything that other mice should strive to be. The touch scrolling and page turning is much better when experienced than when read. It would have been nice to be able to "pinch" to zoom as on the iphone, but perhaps that will come on a future model. As far as software goes it comes with ilife and includes imovie, which I intend to put to good use. The intel Core 2 Duo processor is more than capable of any multitasking I throw at it, although I may have gone with something a little more powerful if offered. I certainly recommend getting the 1TB HDD for anyone planning on doing a lot of video work and the upgrade to ATI graphics is a must. After much research on all-in-one computers the majority of reviews pointed towards the iMac, and I now see why. In short, I can honestly say I do not see myself ever buying another windows based product, and I know I will convert a few friends after they spend some time with my new iMac. As for what you should buy, do some research and I guarantee you will end up with the same conclusion that I did, and the iMac will prove a great decision.

This is my first Mac, I actually talked my sister into buying one and i loved hers, the her son bought one the day after and when i got on one it was over ,i took the plunge and I can tell you now, I will never go back to a pc. I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to computing, have had them since the black and white days of old and (before the internet was invented by Al Gore) sorry, had to throw that in. This Imac is the most incredible computer i have ever experienced, I am continously more impressed each day that i have owned it. It is the fastest ,most powerful, and user friendly i have ever used. The learning curve was nothing, you will find that everything you were used to on a pc, is and i would guess,always has been right there,. The screen will draw you in first, the 3d effect of it ,the resolution ,the graphics are absolutely incredible. I looked at this screen and the 20" flat screen for my pc , and it looked like a cheap toy. If i sound like i am excited , its because I am, this has been one of the best purchases I have ever made, and am blown away with what this thing can do with what it comes from the factory with. I recommend loading I works, it is the Office product for Macs, it does all the same things except you can also read and save as word or excel.
If you are on the fence thinking about crossing over to a Mac, it is a no brainer, you will never look back!!!! If you install a wireless printer and have a router, the only cord coming out of this computer will be the power cord. Keyboard and mouse are wireless. So picture your computer area without those miles of wires going everywhere, that alone makes such a difference. See for yourself, Awesome computer!!!

For a couple years I've always wondered about making the leap to the other side and purchasing a Mac. Like many, I bought an iPhone and have loved the simplicity and ingenuity of the iPhone. Well, that was the proverbial "foot in the door" I needed to make the switch to the Mac.

I won't talk about all the technical aspects. You can read the specs and see about all the hard drive space and ram. What I'm going to focus on in my review are all the things that I've wanted to do on a PC but never were successful with.

1, I've never been able to get an "auto backup" software to run and archive my computer onto an external hard drive. However, doing this on a Mac has been simple. I plugged in my external HD I owned, and after getting off all the files I wanted to save from that HD, I went into the "Time Machine" application and easily went through the set up. Within minutes my computer was automatically archiving and setting up a back up. It does this on its own daily. With my PC, I bought an external HD, and the software that came with it bogged down my computer so much I could never do anything with the computer while it was trying to do a back up. With Time Machine on my iMac I don't have a clue that the back up is going on, but sure enough, the hourly backup files keep showing up on my external HD.

2. Video Editing. On my PC, I've tried windows movie maker, corel etc. The programs always were glitchy. File formats had to be changed, and the entire process of editing videos sucked. On my new Mac, I was up and running editing a video the night I took it out of the box. I was able to put together a video announcing that my wife is expecting within 30 minutes or so. The results were fantastic. Not to mention very intuitive.

3. iTunes sucked on my PC. Trying to get my iPhone and my PC to were together was a challenge. iTunes never ran all that well on my PC. With the iMac, its flawless. Syncing happens with ease and it works great.

4. Video Chatting. I tried a couple programs on my PC to do video chatting and was always left disappointed. Audio quality lacked, video quality was so so. With iChat, video chatting is amazing right out of the box. So much so that I'm considering purchasing an iMac for my in-laws so they can do daily "check ins" with my wife and soon to be born baby. It doesn't replace a hug, but a smiling face here on the other end will help ease the grandparents sadness that they aren't next door.

So, That's just a bit of my review. Yes, there are some things to get used to. However any differences between the Mac and the PC are only that, differences. It takes a while to get used to some of the new commands and key placements, but nothing that is bad. Its just different. However I can't be more pleased with my choice to get the iMac!

I know saying this is sort of getting old, but I've been a Windows/PC guy for many years. Early last year I purchased a MacBook Pro 13" with the backlit keyboard. I could tell from my using it all these months that Apple really pays attention to details. About 6 months after that I ended up buying a Mac Mini, once again a great little machine, which I bought the low-end model and upgraded the memory and ram. Recently made it a media machine, so now I was in the market for a replacement.

I started reading about and watching videos of various people buying the iMac. I checked out the specs and opted for the model with 3.06gb processor, ati radeon hd with 256gb ddr3 dedicated, 4gb memory and 1 terabyte hard drive. Though I knew these things came with a 21.5" LED backlit display I was simply not prepared for what I saw when I turned it on.

MY GOODNESS this setup is a thing of beauty. It is quiet, fast, video looks beautiful, text is great. I read in one review maybe on another site where folks were saying these type LED wide monitors were just not good for text. I have to say that is simply not true. I read a lot and I write a lot, this thing is fantastic for both.

I highly recommend this model. Yes I could have got a lot of Windows/PC for the $1,449.99 I spent on this iMac, but none of them would have had the same user experience or beautiful attention to details. The wireless keyboard and magic mouse are a total joy to use. Setup took less than 5 minutes, turn on the mouse and keyboard, hit the power on the iMac, your done. By the way if the extra $300 is a bit hard on your budget, the nVidia integrated graphic model with the 500gb hard drive would also be a thing of beauty for you. I went low-end on my mac mini, decided to go middle of the road this time around.

If you need a computer system, I'd say look no further than this. If in the last year I could make the switch over to Mac and now with 3 Mac computers, I'd say anything is possible. If you give these things a fair trial and get beyond the initial light learning curve, you'll enjoy them as much as I do.

A buddy of mine said something to me the other day after I took overnight delivery of my iMac for $3.99, (GREAT JOB AMAZON as always) He said.. Once you go MAC you never go BACK. I believe that! hehehe!