ckoo79's Full Review: Apple iMac 15 in. (Z03D00YG4) Mac Desktop
After my ancient Windows '98-based-PC died (I had it since junior high, and I'm a college senior now) I was faced with a mini-crises. I'm poor, with little desk space, and promised my mom I would teach her how to use the Internet. What to do, what to do...
The 700Mhz, CD-RW 15" flat-screen iMac came to the rescue. I bought it at MacMall.com, and got a great deal: free Epson C42UX printer after rebate, free floppy disk drive after rebate, a discount on the price if I bought an extra 512MB of RAM (they would install), Microsoft Office v.X for $199, a Jaguar OS 10.2 upgrade for approximately $20 (on the apple.com website), and free shipping. I’m not sure if these deals will be around much long; I am also unsure if this specific iMac model (which is called “the entry-level” iMac) will be around longer. Someone at MacMall.com told me that they are not receiving new shipments of this model, probably because Apple makes less of a profit selling this entry-level model.
I'm not a computer novice, but I'm not a computer programmer, either. I need my computer for word processing, Internet, Instant Messenger, e-mail, some layout and design, music, pictures, and movies. Because of the great price, I decided to sacrifice getting a combo or SuperDrive iMac for just the CD-RW (anyways, I plan to leave this computer with my mom, who is a complete novice). Oh, and I’m also a former Windows-user, never used an Apple computer before.
Note that you don't get the Apple Pro Speakers. The iMac hub has built in speakers, but the sound is muffled.
This computer is gorgeous. When you get the computer, you just lift out the whole thing (which doesn't weight much at all) out of the box, attach the keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals, and you're good to go. Earthlink and AOL programs are already in the computer, but you can also use cable or DSL; I have a cable modem attached right now. However, a technician installed it, so I don't know if it is a confusing process to do by oneself.
I did have to buy another mouse. The Apple mouse sucks; it doesn't have a left or right click, nor a scroll. I bought an HP mouse, and it was completely compatible with my iMac as soon as I put it in the USB port.
I plugged the mouse into one of the two USB ports on the keyboard. There are 3 USB ports at the back of the hub (all the other ports and power button are also in the back), but they are slightly inaccessible. This may be the most annoying design-feature of the iMac; my iMac is positioned sideways, so that the CD drive opens to the side because I need to have easy access to those ports, darn it!
For some peripherals, such as floppy disk drives, you have to use the hubs in the back because the keyboard USB doesn't provide enough juice, but when I import my picture from my digital camera, I just use my keyboard USB and everything works very well.
This iMac has a flat screen that shows the graphics beautifully. My desktop picture is a very intricate anime picture, and all the colors are vivid and crisp. My boyfriend was shocked by how crisp the colors are lines looked (he is used to traditional monitors).
THE SOFTWARE
- Mac OS X – English version (version 10.1, NOT 10.2 “Jaguar”) and Mac OS 9 (note: Apple will not have Mac OS 9 installed into new iMacs from 2003. However, OS 9 is very handy to have, as I will explain later)
- QuickTime
- iChat (only after upgrading to Jaguar)
- iMovie
- iPhoto
- iTunes
- AppleWorks,
- Mac OS X Mail
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- EarthLink, AOL
- Quicken 2002 Deluxe
- World Book Mac OS X Edition
- Mac OS X Chess,
- Otto Matic, Deimos Rising (games, nothing too spectacular, though)
- Acrobat Reader
- FAXstf (to send and receive faxes)
- 90days of free telephone support and one-year limited warranty
- 30 days of free Internet service through EarthLink
Making the switch from Windows to OS X was a little painful at first. There were no manuals on how to use OS X; I first just played around with all the features, but eventually bought "Missing Manual OS X: Second Edition" by David Pogue. Am I glad I bought that book, because now I truly appreciate the simplicity and power of this OS. If you plan on buying a Mac with OS 10 or above, especially if you're a former Windows user, I highly recommend buying a book explaining the Mac OS system. Turns out, Mac OS X and above are a completely different system than the previous OS 9 and under; therefore, many of the existing software for Macs run only in OS 9 (called Classic Mode). I know there are some scanners that have not upgraded drivers to OS X, so if you don’t have OS 9, you’re out of luck. It may take about 5 years for all the existing software and peripherals to catch up to the new OS X.
As a former Windows user, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to figure out the OS. However, it really is as intuitive as Apple claims it to be, and now I am a bona fide Mac Freak. When I go through the chapters in “Missing Manual” it is really easy, compared to the extremely complicated troubleshooting and “tricks” in Windows. The only thing that sucks is that those into games (such as Counterstrike: Half-life) are totally out of luck; the Mac OS does not run as many games as Windows. This is the only thing keeping my boyfriend from buying a Mac.
I really recommend upgrading to OS 10.2 from the 10.1 that the iMac comes with. You get iChat, which is a superior program to AOL instant Messenger, but totally compatible with AIM and ICQ. Also, Sherlock in the Jaguar OS plays movie trailers, has a business Yellow Pages, and other goodies.
The free software in this Mac is incredible. I am in love with iTunes; I can import my entire CD collection into my computer, burn CD's, etc. iTunes on the Jaguar OS has a Smart Playlist feature that makes it so easy to organize your music collection.
iPhoto is also awesome. I just received a digital camera, and was worried about how to import the pictures I took. It's really easy; just use the provided USB cable, and iPhoto automatically opens and imports the pictures in for you. No need to install any other program. However, iPhoto is not a program like Adobe Photoshop; try downloading the free demo of Adobe Elements on the Adobe website to try out the program.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, if you have extra money, buy the iMac’s with the combo or SuperDrive. The CD-RW on my iMac is not enough, considering all the cool things you can do with a Mac, especially when it comes to digital movies and digital t.v.. However, I will leave this computer for my mom, and it's plenty for her. She already learned how to sign in, check email, and work a mouse. Hey, not bad for a woman who never touched a computer until 2 weeks ago. Plus, it looks so cool that it encourages anyone to keep playing on this computer.
This iMac really gives you a thirst for all things multimedia. I never hankered after a digital camera until I bought this computer, and now I want an iPod and digital camcorder.
Last, but not least, buy a long-term AppleCare package. The support is excellent; I've already the support 3 times (I've had the computer for about 2 months now). I called for frivolous stuff (I couldn't get something off my desktop, I couldn't do something with my iTunes, stuff like that.) Well, not only did I have very little waiting time, but also, the reps didn't rush at all and one rep spent a good 5 minutes looking up something really minor. Good to know that no matter what, your iMac is safe from yourself!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1000 Operating System: Macintosh Processor speed: 601-700 RAM: More than 256 Internal Storage: CD-RW Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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