“Not only is the new iMac a spectacular example of computer jewelry — but you can now run Windows XP in addition to OS X on it. I have to admit, it will be very difficult sending this computer back at the end of the test period,” Gary Krakow writes for MSNBC. “Apple was kind enough to send me one of their new iMacs with a 20-inch wide-screen to play with. It just might be the best personal computer on the market today… Using the new iMac is a breeze. Everything you need to use a computer is presented right there in front of you. With all of the built-in software that comes with the latest version of the Mac OS (version 10.4.x) you are ready to do just about all the tasks most people need to do on their computer.”
“As for speed, OS X flies on the 2.0 GHz Intel T500 processor. It’s one of the fastest computers I’ve played with in a long time. For those keeping count, my test computer came with 1 GB (out of a maximum of 2 GB) of memory and a 240 GB hard drive. There’s an available 500 GB hard drive as well. As configured, the test computer would retail for $1,999. Did I mention that the 20-inch, high-definition color screen is amazing? Actually, what’s really amazing is that the entire computer is right behind that beautiful screen — and the enclosure is only and inch and a half deep,” Krakow writes. “As much as I like the latest version of OS X, like many people I need to use Microsoft’s Windows XP for work. The site’s publishing system, built in-house, is only available in Windows. (MSNBC.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC.) So, before Apple’s release of Boot Camp, I was stuck using any number of PCs — some very good, others less so.”
“The result is the fastest version of Windows I’ve ever used. Please believe me, I’m not exaggerating. Windows XP flies on this machine. To be safe, Apple warns that not all Windows stuff might work as you expect under Boot Camp. Baloney! For me, everything works as well — or better — than on my very up-to-date, super-duper Windows laptop,” Krakow writes. “Deserving of special mention is the iMac’s standard, wired mouse. When you use it in OS X it’s a terrific one-button mouse. And when you navigate with it in Windows it performs as a two-button mouse.”
MacDailyNews Note: Wha? Mac OS X also uses the second and third-buttons (side squeeze) on the included Mighty Mouse. Extensively. More about Apple’s Mighty Mouse and how it interacts with Mac OS X here.
Krakow continues, “What you really need to know is if you’re in the market for a new Apple computer you should put the new iMac on your short list. Same if you’re looking for a new PC. With the advent of Boot Camp — which is also set to be included as part of the next OS X upgrade — Apple is marketing one of the best computers available today. Period.”
Full article with much more here.
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Related article:
Mossberg: ‘Every mainstream consumer doing typical tasks should consider Apple Mac’ – April 13, 2006
Yowzer!
First.
Holy cow! Except for the minor miss about the Mighty Mouse under OS X a damn good review!
THIS is the kind of thing that we need to HEAR (MDN Magic Word) more about!
i find it ironic and amusing that praise for an apple product would come from an MSNBC article – i mean, what does that “MS” stand for again..?
Refreshing to see a PC/Microsoft-affiliated writer reviewing apple in a
positive light for a change… Others have reeked of an anti-apple
agenda– With complimentary ‘good cop’ lines followed by some slanted
damaging irrelevant/or misleading untruth… Would like to blame it on
ignorance but it’s probably a concerted propaganda campaign with an
under -the-table reward system…
Boy, has Bush and Cheney shattered the illusion of fairness and justice
in this world… You can’t tell me Gates and Ballmer aren’t made of the
same moral fiber…
PC people… let me correct some misrepresented facts…
I love my cube… great piece of engineering not dud… still use it
my 1st gen iPod wasn’t overpriced… still works tho i use a newer model
don’t need a radio/WMA support/Plays for Sure/recording/stopwatch
powerbook not too hot to use/screen brightness/pixels fine… speed still respectable after 2yrs… never missed any games…
integrated fine with windows networks…
never used floppy disk since 1997… OS X is lightyears ahead of XP…never had a virus… never crashed… rock solid performance…
had airport/usb/firewire/dvd writer/wireless mouse/blue tooth
technology “years” before PC users– of course the anti-apple coalition attacked/questioned the need for them and then shamelessly adopted the technology later… follow-the-leader writers playing the chimpanzee,
it will be a pleasure to watch the Vista nightmare unfurl and unravel…
when you try to cover the apparent failings and act like the emperor
is clothed…
Surprised Cynic,
Keep the political jabs and anti-Bush rhetoric to yourself. I love Apple computers just like most everyone else who frequents this site, and coincidentally, I also usually vote Republican. Trust me, there are other Apple users who also happen to God-fearing people that work for a living (i.e. Republicans). I know this as I’ve converted a ton of my friends and colleagues over to the Apple system over the past few years, and guess what……. most of my friends and colleagues are Republican (what can I say, we live in the South). Even Rush Limbaugh uses and sings the praises of the Apple system. So, your apparently “forgone conclusion” that only Democrats use Macs is erroneous and not all of the MDN audience wants to hear your crap.
Incidentally, in between eating granola bars and contemplating which protests to attend, does reality ever rear it’s ugly head for you? Do you ever stop to think what kind of pickle our country would be in if Kerry, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the Democratic leadership were actually running things? Trust me, if those weenies have several years in charge, you’ll come home to find your boyfriend wearing a burka.
Mac Zealot
Correction to MDN:
MacOS X defaults the Mighty Mouse’s right button to be a left-click, thus appearing to all accounts to be be a single button mouse. You need to change the system preferences to set the right button to act as a right-click. I assume this is what the writer was ignorant of on the Mac side.
Let me guess, Mac Zealot…you get most of your information, attitudes and views on the world from Fox News. How did I know?
Do you ever get tired of defending the administration that just bankrupted our country, that murdered 3,000 people on september 11, 2001 and blamed it on “terrorists”, and that is systematically doing everything it can to turn our country into a military dictatorship?
Oh wait, you don’t know about any of that…you only watch Fox News. You want them to “protect you” from “terrorists” and “gays” and “muslims”.
Sick. And sad.
Kermit,
Actually, I get my news from a variety of sources (the NYTimes, the LATimes, and CNN are just some of the websites I peruse using tabbed browsing with Safari and they’re definitely not biased toward the conservative end). I do generally vote Republican, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with everything the Republican Party or George Bush expouses, nor does it mean that I only ingest right wing diatribe (i.e. Fox).
As far as 9/11 and your assertion that somehow the USA was to blame, let me just say that you’ve betrayed your true political persuasion more than I, and you have the more radical views. You obviously feed at the same trough as the left-wing, conspiracy-minded nuts. It would appear that you (not me) are the more flakey individual. Black helicopters everywhere you look? Incidentally, your comments about 9/11 and our government are deeply offensive to a lot of Americans.
Regarding my “burka” comment and your insinuation that I disdain all muslims, let me just say that my comments were a little over the top, and meant to inflame the previous poster. I believe in religious tolerance and generally ascribe to the “live and let live” philosophy when it comes to religions. However, make no mistake, we are in a religious war (not of our choosing) that was started and is being propagated by muslims. And for the record, it was muslim men who flew those planes in to the WTC towers and the Pentagon. To state something factual (that some muslims despise us, would like to kill us, and dream of one day taking over our “decadent” country) doesn’t make me a bigot or religiously intolerant; it’s simply stating the truth. I don’t want to kill muslims, I just want them to stop killing us. I also don’t think all muslims want war, but I would like to see Islam’s leaders start demonstrating that they practice a religion of “peace”. I would much prefer that we all live in harmony.
Mac Zealot
Alright, enough with the political crap! Keep things on topic. Surprised Cynic is right about one thing, the Cube does still rock.
Hence my name. 5+ years and going strong despite its aged 450 MHz. processor. Although, a lot of the credit has to go to Apple for making it “run faster” with each major OS release. I can’t wait to see how Leopard will run!
I hate the political nonsense here also (save it for other sites), but…
Mac Zealot, to make statenments that Democrats are not as religious as Republicans is nonsense. Spitting back reactionary pablum reveals a lot about your thought processes.
I also live in the South, most of my Mac using friends are Democrats so we can can the political nonsense.
Decent article. It is nice to see things changing a little. When the reaction from MDN is just a correction about the Mighty Mouse I think we are in for more in the future.
Last weekend there was an anti-war demonstration in the city where I work. One of the signs a protester was holding said Support the Iraqi Insurgency. How sick and sad is that? About as bad as claiming that a US president purposely killed 3,000 US citizens. I’m one of the people who is deeply offended by Kermit’s remarks.
BTW, nice piece on the iMac from MSNBC. I was an early adopter of this model and it truly is one of the finest compters that Apple has ever designed. I haven’t taken the plunge to run Windows– not sure why anyone would do that.
Mac Zealot:
To be fair (and factual), the US has killed more innocent Iraqi civilians (ca 160,000 at last official count) as part of Bushes so called “war on terror” than died on 9/11
Also, last time I checked, half of the US voting population believe that the US would indeed be better off if Kerry or another Democrat were running the country. It would not be much worse than the “leadership” we have now, despite what you believe.
Of course Democrats aren’t religious… they’re prochoice. No matter how YOU want to spin it, prochoice views do not jive with religious teachings.
And gzero.. how many innocent civilians did Saddam kill? Oh wait, HE’S the good guy to you people….
And if you don’t see the threat of Islam, well, you’re in some lala land. Just look at what that kook from Iran said yesterday about Israel. These people don’t have “peace” in their vocabulary.
Good review though….
Microsoft no longer controls MSNBC, I wish they would go back to being NBC.
The problem with the Middle East is religious bigotry and the support structure that keeps people that way.
Sort of like watching Pat Robertson 24/7.
Free your mind and the rest will follow.
“Trust me, there are other Apple users who also happen to God-fearing people that work for a living (i.e. Republicans).”
unlike the rest of you africans, moviestars and yankee/commies
“Do you ever stop to think what kind of pickle our country would be in if Kerry, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the Democratic leadership were actually running things?
uh… wait a sec while I stick bananas in my ears and hum. what’s that you say? “prosperous, w/o deficit, not losing an oil war, w/o 3000 dead troops, 160k dead arabs, generally not fanning the flames of Armageddon” can’t hear you…
Trust me, if those weenies have several years in charge, you’ll come home to find your boyfriend wearing a burka.”
this is my best line, in case you missed it, I slandered: muslims, gays, and liberals.
“As far as 9/11 and your assertion that somehow the USA was to blame…”
rule #1, conservatives are not to blame. rule #2, If you question rule number one, you are a terrorist.
“However, make no mistake, we are in a religious war (not of our choosing) that was started and is being propagated by muslims.”
repeat after me: christians good, towelheads bad
“And for the record, it was muslim men who flew those planes in to the WTC towers and the Pentagon.”
Saudis rather than Iraqis, but f’it, Osama has no oil.
I don’t want to kill muslims, I just want them to stop killing us.
which I achieve by killing them
Great article.
And Bob.
No…
I’m not religious. I think religion is bad for people. It controls their minds and they lose their ability to take responsiblity for themselves because – one day a saviour will come and make things all better, so thay don’t have to take care of things today. Cut the trees, pollute the water, melt the ice caps. It’s ok because the saviour is coming and he’ll clean it all up or take you to a mythical heaven.
Killing for your religious bigoty is wrong – Christian, Muslim or Dionetics.
America is based on secularism and not founded in the belief the we should run to the church for guidance in government. That’s what the founding fathers were getting away from (Kings and the Chruch). Don’t think so? If it were not so they would have clearly and specifically named a religion that we were to follow and would have put an adendum such as… “well if you’re having trouble figureing something out – go to the preist – he’ll tell you what to do”. It isn’t in there for a good reason.
Any religion that governs the way people live is bad. If you need it to justify why you are here that is fine, just don’t let your religion justify why I’m here.
Turn OFF the TV, stop going to church – and start thinking.
Oh, And I vote (not that it matters any more- thank you Diebold).
Don’t blame lefties for Saddam, he’s a product of the CIA. In fact he was a business partner of POUS #41. GWB and his cronies only care about, at best, the top 20% of the economic latter. When figuring out the perps in a crime, the first thing to ask is “Who benefitted and who has the motivation?” Obvious answer, GWB’s Military Industrial Complex. On Sept. 12, 2001, like magic we suddenly had a “legitimate president”, a reason to attack Afganistan, who were playing hardball with our desire to build a Unical gas pipe line thru it, and the quickening of the end of our constitional rights. Like Charlie Sheen, of late, has been publicly asking “why did WTC 7 fall so perfectly when it was even touched by debris? Why were there multiple explosions heard that morning? How come the Pentagon did not appear to be hit by a larger airliner?” etc. check out “loose change”, its on google video, use that title to find it, give yourself an hour with an open mind.
Please America, the world, for my child’s sake, and all of life’s sake, wake up to the coming Police State.
Let’s take a look at the initial postings…
“surprised cynic” started it off with a SINGLE SHORT, albeit biased, statement used as a comparison to Bill Gates.
“Mac Zealot” then wrote the uberhypocritical statement “Keep the political jabs and anti-Bush rhetoric to yourself” as he continues with a 194 word reply brimming with narrow mindedness and concluding with a statement of never-seen-before levels of stupidity and bigotry by lumping his paranoia of Muslims and his homophobia into a single phrase. I was actually impressed by such creativity.
How can any one person (not to mention whole religious and political groups) be be in such fear and hatred for people that have done NOTHING to warrant such reactions?
Mac Zealot, you and others of your ilk are the true evil ones roaming this Earth. You are the ones we need to fear; the ones that explode in anger over myths and falsehoods; lashing out from your depths of paranoia; the ones that are unpredictable and warmongering. As you try to cloak yourself in the American flag and self-righteously call it patriotism, it is in reality a superficial guise to attempt the opposite; to REMOVE the rights and freedoms of EVERYONE, forcing others to march-step and pray to YOUR demented idea of God and your own shallow morals.
If your morality does not include ALL of God’s creations, however far they may differ from yourself, then you have no morality.
The entire Iraq war is a complete scam. We burned down the house, killing many of the people inside and some of the people outside, just to get rid of the mice… and FAILED!!
Don’t even get me started on Bush’s focus on getting Mideast land over their inability to find a six-foot Arab in a small desert country, the one REALLY responsible for 9-11, the son of Bush’s oil buddy.
I’m not on any political side, but I know stupidity when I see it.
“Do you ever stop to think what kind of pickle our country would be in if Kerry, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the Democratic leadership were actually running things?”
We wouldn’t have been attacked.
We wouldn’t have been attacked a second time. Remember the anthrax attack that killed about a half dozen people. They never found the people involved.
We wouldn’t have a crippling national dept.
We wouldn’t have $3.00 a gallon gas and we are not even in summer. Can you say $4.00
We wouldn’t be having to cut social programs because of the tax breaks to the rich. Now there is little if any money for anything.
Being able to speak freely without be labeled anit-god, American or country.
Not blaming the media for your own actions.
Not having a gay whore running a gay porn site be part of the press core that gets called frequently by the president and then asks soft questions.
We wouldn’t have inexpereinced cronnies running critical depts such as FEMA.
To all left-wing Americans:
“You are are our favorite group of Americans! If we had to design a plan to destroy America from the inside out, we couldn’t have done a better job than what you have done in America. You are so helpful!
Elimination of Christianity, prayer, faith in God – fantastic! This is what our great leader Osama has always hoped for.
“Peace”-minded politicians who are ready to say anything to the people, just to be elected. Great! We love the Kerry types. Pull out of Iraq and watch what happens then.
Shut down FOX, introduce Al-Jazeera! This will totally complete the fill cycle of brainwashing you receive from your “mainstream” secularist media.
Amnesty for all illegal immigrants – of course! Then watch the next wave of millions of inspired “seasonal workers” come and flood your country.
Then it will be only a matter of igniting ONE spark and your country will go up in smoke.”
Your friends,
All true anti-American muslim radicals
Mike Buonarroti, you are a truly sick human being because you are defending this:
Silence Through Torture
Under Saddam Hussein’s orders, the security apparatus in Iraq routinely and systematically tortures its citizens. Beatings, rape, breaking of limbs, and denial of food and water are commonplace in Iraqi detention centers. Saddam Hussein’s regime has also invented unique and horrific methods of torture including electric shocks to a male’s genitals, pulling out fingernails, suspending individuals from rotating ceiling fans, dripping acid on a victim’s skin, gouging out eyes, and burning victims with a hot iron or blowtorch.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/silenced/torture.htm
I suppose World War II was a scam too? Even Hitler’s millions of victims died fairly quickly in the gas chambers and were spared this inhumanity. But you are ignoring the fact that our brave President helped end the regime in one of the world’s very most brutal police states.
“We wouldn’t have $3.00 a gallon gas and we are not even in summer. Can you say $4.00”
No matter who is leading our country, jerk, the fact is that WORLDWIDE demand for oil in increasing at 2 MILLION barrels PER DAY and the OPEC infrasructures can’t keep up, mostly in refining. It’s simply supply and demand, not because of the war or the stupid Democrat Congressman. Ass.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/04/03/ap2642963.html
So what’s happening with Boot Camp? I’ll never use it but I hope lots of people pick up Macs and use it for running an occasional Windoze app.
as a true American Liberal, I don’t want to eliminate Religions, even though it would serve people if they Evolved in their thinking. As this country was designed to seperate Church from State, let’s please keep it that way.. as G. Washington said..”this is NOT a Christian nation”,and I say “thank God”. Kerry, a fellow Skulls and Bonesman, like the Bush’s, was a hawk not a dove. Dennis Kucinich, my choice, was a dove. Sorry, liberals, root word being liberty, don’t want to shut down the opposition, its the right wingers who’ve warned “watch what you say”. And if you think the Main Stream Media is liberal, I’ve got some swamp land in Fl. for sale. Wake up dude, they are at best moderate on non-economic issues, i.e., abortion and gay rights. Otherwise they tow the line of their masters, the corporate owners. It’s GWB and his corporate cronies who want all the cheap labor here, we just want them treated fairly. Do you think that the recent immigrant protests were grass roots? Look at a little deeper, and you’ll discover you funded them. This country is being destroyed by the top down, and there ain’t no liberals up there.
MacZealot,
Sorry, but it was Rome And Greece (Europe and America by extension) that started the war a long time ago before muslims even existed. 9/11 was just a small skirmish in a war that has been going on for 4,000 years or more. I really not a religious war its a race war! Whites (the leaders not all white people) against others!