“Perhaps the ultimate computer for the home office is Apple’s latest iMac, the G5. The company has acquired a reputation for clever designs with its iMac line, and the latest model is no exception. Hardly bigger than a flat-panel display, the machine manages to pack in wireless networking, a fast processor, a DVD writer and up to 160GB of hard disk space,” Stephen Pritchard writes for The Independent. “The machine comes in two models, 17 and 20 inches. At £1,349 including VAT, the 20-inch version is particularly good value, as LCD screens that size do not come cheap even without a computer built in.”
“Apple also offers probably the best suite of home media applications on the market, and these, along with AppleWorks office software, are included free. The iLife bundle — DVD editing, video editing, photo managing and editing, music making and Apple’s iTunes jukebox – comes with the iMac. And there is even an optical digital output to connect to a home cinema amplifier, so the machine should earn its keep after office hours too,” Pritchard writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Know a Windows user teetering on the edge? Send them the link to this MacDailyNews article so they can read this and the related articles below. No personal computer on the market today, or perhaps ever, has received reviews like Apple’s iMac G5.
[UPDATE: Removed Euro and replaced with Pound sterling – 6:15pm ET]
Related MacDailyNews articles:
The Age: ‘Apple’s Mac OS X at least a generation ahead of Windows XP, iMac G5 clearly the best’ – December 15, 2004
Fortune names Apple iMac G5 ‘favorite new tech product of the year’ – December 14, 2004
Wendland: Your next PC should be Apple’s iMac G5 – ‘the finest personal computer I’ve ever used’ – December 11, 2004
Fortune: Apple’s iMac G5 ‘Best Product of the Year: Electronics – an engineering marvel’ – December 10, 2004
Washington Times: Apple iMac G5 ‘Computer of the Year’ – November 30, 2004
USA Today’s Baig’s Best: Apple’s ‘exquisite’ iMac G5 and ‘best-of-breed’ iPod photo make the list – November 22, 2004
A Windows PC user switches to Apple’s iMac G5 with Mac OS X – November 10, 2004
Apple iMac G5: beautiful, quiet, innovative – ‘they’ve really outdone themselves this time’ – November 08, 2004
Boston Globe: Apple’s iMac G5 includes ‘the kind of thoughtfulness sadly absent in much of the PC world – November 08, 2004
Fortune: New Apple iMac G5 a ‘triumph in both technology and design’ – October 07, 2004
ComputerWorld: Apple iMac G5 combines ease-of-use, power and elegance – this machine rocks – October 05, 2004
Apple Computer’s iMac G5 ‘stylish-looking yet powerful machine’ that works ‘efficiently and well’ – October 03, 2004
Mossberg: Apple iMac G5 ‘powerful, affordable, virus-free with better, more modern OS than Windows XP – September 23, 2004
PC Magazine reviews Apple iMac G5: ‘5 out of 5 stars, unparalleled execution should attract would-be PC buyers – September 21, 2004
The Age: Apple iMac G5 ‘a masterpiece, a triumph, sleek, elegant and very much 21st century’ – September 08, 2004
Time: Apple’s new iMac G5 ‘quite possibly the coolest personal computer yet created’ – September 07, 2004
Apple’s new ‘Chiclet’ iMac G5 a design triumph meant to tempt Windows iPod users – August 31, 2004
Apple unveils new iMac G5, the world’s thinnest desktop computer – August 31, 2004
most Windoze lemmings will probably see this as all hype…..
I showed a few hard core Billy Gates followers articles here… and they just replied…
“Well, what would expect a website called (MDN) feature??… articles extolling the virtues of Windows ??”
To which I reply with my standard…
“…. uhhhh are they any ??… “
mac dood,
Sounds like you need to send them this link instead:
“Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness”
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments_opinion/490/
I’d be interested to read what they had to say.
My little sister the technophobe finally got her iBook. I talked her through setting it up on the phone (she said her hands were shaking) and had her download some pics from her digital camera that she got for christmas two years ago and had never used. She then set up a slide show and showed her husband when he got home and he was totally floored that she was able to do so much so quickly. Now she is determined to learn how to do one new thing everyday and is having a blast. We set her up for an iChat AV video conference today and so I should be able to lead her through some things more economically now (no int’l phone charges).
The thing is that in-between her setting up and our vid chat she had been busy and had figured out the address book and iCal and had set up iCal schedules for her whole family (color coded of course). I had told her to just use the help menu and she should be able to figure it out and she took that and ran with it so I don’t know how much she is really going to need me. That’s the beauty of the Mac – intuitive and simple. Here is a user who did not even know click and drag now going full boat into what would be power user applications on windows. She is no longer scared and I can tell she is going to be a major Mac Advocate.
And THIS kind of experience is why I recommend the Mac. It really makes you feel good to have turned someone on the best computing experience available and to have them get so excited about it.
dudette….
Thanx for the link…. I must say, tho…. this is a perfect example of the type of WinDoze people I’ve run across…
We hear, in these forums, about Mac Heads being successful in “switching” some PeeCeers over to the Mac…. While, I applaud their efforts, and their successes… I fear their numbers are just a drop in the bucket when compared to the vast majority illustrated in the article you refer to…
<*sigh*> “…. A long, long way to go before we sleep…”
Jack A: You could have done the same thing on a Windows PC – checked photos from digital camera, etc. Sounds like your sister just needed someone to show her how to do it – no matter what the computer.
I showed my father how to get his digital photos on both mac and pc (he has both/me too)and work with them. He had just as many problems getting it done on both platforms.
His biggest problem with both was locating the photos he wanted to work with. (He could not wrap his head around the concept that of files and folders.)
Once in the program (Adobe Photoshop Album) the program worked both the same on either Mac or PC.
I wonder where Adobe got the idea for Photoshop Album.
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“…the program worked both the same on either Mac or PC.”
Sure, individual programs work on the PC. But they work *better* on the Mac (e.g. even PC mags admitted that the Mac version of Office was better than the PC version). Moreover, the entire environment (i.e. the OS) is cleaner, easier to organize, and far less of a hassle. Add to that an absence of the usual crashes, retries, cryptic problems, and malware, and the superiority of the Mac becomes clear. Perhaps you should actually read some of the articles posted above. Remember, this was the same press that 5 years ago called Apple “beleaguered” if they acknowledged them at all…
I believe Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Album, Elements, etc have been around before Apple�s versions…
Ashami says: “…crashes, retries, cryptic problems, and malware”
I (my business and family) own both Macs (3) and PCs (5 of them). We have no crashes, retries, cryptic problems, and malware with either Macs or PCs.
I don�t need to read articles about how computers work, I work with Macs and PCs everyday.
While the PC may be a bit awkward in the way it is organized compared to the Mac, once it is understood it is not anything I notice. (But then PC users think the Mac is a bit awkward at first.)
When I am in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator or Flash in either PC or Mac and I click “Open” both find files exactly the same way and open them both the same.
Once I am in the program I want to work with the OS makes no difference to me.
I wrote my first message (above) on a Mac. This one on a PC. Notice any difference?
My sis and her family love their new iMac 20″. After a basic overview over the phone, all I could here them say was, “Oh, cool. You’re kidding. This is so easy!” They absoutley love it. Now I’m jealous. I want to upgrade!
Own Mac and PC –
Just curious: how are you avoiding the problems with malware on the PC?
What malware?
We have firewalls, get updates, spyware and virus detection software and use Firefox and Thunderbird instead of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.
Joel: How do you avoid Malware on your PC?
By the way, my next computer buy will be a Mac —-still waiting for Apple to bring out those 3Ghz Powermacs Steve promised over a year ago. How long will I have to wait???
In article above �1,349 for Mac in England = $2,619.37.
The same iMac in the U.S. = $1,899.00. (Yikes!)
And buy it in Oregon and no sales tax!
Own Mac and PC: OK. The usual stuff.
I don’t run a PC anymore. A little piece of software called “Xupiter” pushed me over the edge when it hijacked IE about 16 months ago. I had switched to a PC, mainly because I wanted to build my own box. My experience with Macs was from Plus through G4 450s.
I enjoyed using Windows initially: the stability certainly was a marked improvement from OS 9. But little UI things kept hacking me off by breaking my concentration on work. Then Xupiter came along and it was kind of a bear to remove. I researched the problems and found many users were having malware/spyware issues. I said this is nuts and got a G5 in October 2003 and a PowerBook a month ago. I know mine is an extreme example, but I really was POd about the whole concept that something could execute without explicitly granting permission to it (hey, I was reared on the “Classic OS”)
I have friends who run Windows with varying degrees of success regarding malware. They’ve got the usual stuff: hard and soft firewalls, NATs, FF/Moz, Norton A/V, Spybot S&D, Ad-aware. Some boxes are clean, while others get 0wned on a monthly basis.
It just seems that there is an awful lot of extra work to do to protect a Windows system than, say, my Mandrake/Apache server and certainly the Macs in my office and labs.
Own Mac and PC….
“….What malware?
We have firewalls, get updates, spyware and virus detection software….”
But dont you find the fact that you are forced to use spyware and virus detection software on your PeeCee.. just a tad tedious ??
Ya kno… sometimes I wonder if Billy Gates is in cahoots with the creators of all the spyware, adware, pop-ups, keystroke loggers, etc that we read about…. just so he has the opportunity to “sell” PeeCeers yet another half-baked “remedy” for such things..
And I bet you dont have any spyware detection, pop-up blockers, etc on your Mac(s)…. ??
Have you ever wondered.. why not ?
______
“…still waiting for Apple to bring out those 3Ghz Powermacs Steve promised over a year ago. How long will I have to wait???….”
My, my…. a little impatient.. arent we ?? …
If you had been a regular reader of these pages, you would have known that the 3 ghz / G5s arent ready yet…. This is IBMs fault… not Apples ..
When His Steveness promised them, Im sure it was on .. what he believed at the time .. “good authority” … word from IBM…
But have faith…. they will get here in due time… (at MWSF maybe ?)
“I believe Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Album, Elements, etc have been around before Apple�s versions…”
While photo editing and manipulation programs Photoshop and its kid brother Elements have been around for quite a while, Apple’s photo organization and sharing tool, iPhoto, arrived before Adobe’s organization and sharing tool, Photoshop Album, came out.
iPhoto and Photoshop Album serve a different function than Photoshop and Elements.
“My, my…. a little impatient.. arent we ?? …”
3-6months is impatient…A Year and half+ NOT impatient.
Regarding who was first with photo organization and sharing tool – who cares? There are lots out there – shutterfly,picassa,hello that are web based and work on any platform.
“…..3-6months is impatient…A Year and half+ NOT impatient….”
Just remember….
“Good things come to those who wait”
With all the rumors we’ve heard concerning what will or will not be announced at MWSF… I still have a gut feeling.. we will all be amazed by what His Steveness pulls out of his hat … when he utters those famous words …
“…. uhhhh … just one more thing ..”
Speculations … anyone ?
“Speculations … anyone ?”
Lots of great Mac-related stuff as well as some spiffy iPod stuff too.
I hope we see the 3 GHz Power Mac as well as the PowerBook G5.
Anything after that would be icing on the cake.
Expected Icing= iLife ’05, Keynote 2, Appleworks 7 and/or Apple Office,
? Final Cut Express 3? – Unsure because FCP was only updated to 4.5.
Maybe we’ll also see an eMac G5.
There are still millions of PC users who don’t know there are alternatives.
There are still millions who don’t know about firewalls and software needed for spyware and viruses. They don’t know about Firefox or Thunderbird or Ad-Aware or Zone Alarm.
But everybody knows Microsoft, because they have always presented themselves as the only player and the only solution. Most people are scared to use or try anything different – I constantly tell coworkers and friends about Mozilla or Apple, and some will listen, but alot don’t. (I had a coworker tell me that Macs can’t handle digital photograhy, and she is married to an IT guy.)
And all Windows PC’s should be sold with hard and soft firewalls.
Spend your money on a PC and spend your time maintaining a computer.
Spend your money on a Mac and spend your time using a computer for the things you bought it to do.
There is no free lunch- you get what you pay for.
mac dood
Perhaps you could just send the iMac G5 articles from the major media (Fortune, PC Magazine, USA Today, etc…) and forego the MDN link for the time being… (sorry MDN)
Jack A</a>
I use Apple Remote Desktop to assist my family with their Mac-related learning. I used to use Timbuktu, which is x-plat and still excellent. Just a thought…
<b>Adobe Owner
Photoshop was available for the Mac long before any Windows version was available. I know because I beta tested the version 1 beta. But then again, Excel, Word and PowerPoint were Mac products long before Windows became available, let alone popular.