Since it was requested by more than one person, I figure I'd review the
iMac G5. Well, at least attempt to review it.
First impressions are normally key to most new relationships, and as much as we hate to admit, we always judge a book by it's cover. In this case it was the initial simplicity of the
box that got me. A simple, elegant design, with the simple tag of "iMac G5 20" Widescreen Computer" as the Ronseal advert would say "It does exactly what it says on the tin." Well the iMac does a whole lot more than a tin of creosote, yet the principle of "You know it's good, we'll just tell you the size of the screen so you can drool a bit more".
Anyway, once the box is opened and the computer inside is removed, well before it is removed you suddenly realise that it is somewhat bigger than it looks in the website. However you soon realise that while it may be big for a monitor, it is certainly a lot smaller than a tower PC plus monitor, and you relax again.
Still, the first sign of how stress-free this computer is going to be comes when you set it up on your desk. You take one power cable, you plug it in the wall and into the back of the iMac. You then take the USB keyboard and plug the USB mouse into it, before plugging the keyboard into the iMac. That's it. No more than three wires. Plus, if you are like me and decided to get the
bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse,
one wire! Effortless.
So it's plugged in, you press the button on the back of the thing and 'Ta-da' it's booting up. Though, by the time you realise it's booting up, it's already finished and presenting you with a configuration wizard. A few clicks later and there I am, sitting in front of the most
ingenious, polished and beautiful computer I've ever seen. Sure I'm used to OS X now that I've had the
Powerbook for a year, but wow, it looks so different on the new upscaled screen. So much desktop space that my neck started to hurt just moving from one side of an application to another.
So I've been using the Powerbook for a year now, and have fine-tuned my list of must-have apps to install on the iMac. That is, I chose the six apps I use most, and added them to my Dock, seeing as the Mac comes with most them already. How nice of it.*
That's more or less it. What, you were expecting more? Well that's the point. The iMac is a fast, stable and feature-rich machine. Yet the whole experience is so effortless and simple that I barely notice most it. It just works, unlike PCs and other computers, you turn on the Mac, you do your work, you chat to your friends, you check your email and turn it off. No fatal errors, no driver problems, no blue screens (except for the default desktop background) and no re-installs. You can just get on with your online, offline and outdoor life and everything else just adds to the fantastic and stress-free experience that you can only get from a Macintosh.
But forget all that, did I mention it
looks amazing? There it is, Macs are computers for shallow people.
* Speaking of which, I may soon have to update my 'Must have Mac Apps' list.
