Oh, also today, Apple unveiled the brand new iMac G5…
Speaking as a long time Apple fan (but not one of those fucking mindless “Apple zombies”, the ones who love Apple way too much, and would never admit that the company has ever done anything wrong) I guess I sorta like it. At first I was a bit underwhelmed; after the iMac G4, I was expecting something much “more”. Then again, the dome model was (and still is) pretty fucking amazing, and is almost impossible to top.
I know many were hoping (or expecting) it to be a touch-screen based/tablet computer, but that’s always been pretty unrealistic. Imagine how much that would have cost? This is Apple after all. Plus OS X is not suitable for such a massive shift it usability, at least not yet.
But it stays close to the Apple Cinema Display line, which is smart, plus when you consider the 20 inch iMac costs $1900 and the same size Cinema Display is $1300, you’re getting a G5 system for just $600 which isn’t that bad. Plus anyone who’s used Apple’s Cinema Displays can attest to how awesome they are (they easily blow away every other LCD monitor on the market and are actually worth the high cost).
Though the meager amount of ram (256MB?!) is pretty inexcusable. Anyone who uses OS X will tell you that you need 512MB at the very least. The last thing you need with a G5 processor is ram related bottlenecking. Also, why no Firewire 800 port? Again, with a G5 on board, why not take advantage of it with the current crop of high-end gear? Plus, it would have been nice if wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse were included. And I really wish the footprint was all white instead of aluminum, to match the whole body, but that’s really nit-picking.
Otherwise, I dig the look of it. Looking straight on, it looks just like an eMac, just with a wider display and no disc-tray. Speaking off, the slot loading drive is back, which looks a lot cooler than a disk tray, but I have to admit, the slot loader of my iMac G3 gave me some problems (and potential hear attacks), and my eMac’s tray hasn’t. Also of note, the speakers are at the very bottom of the unit, with the sound bouncing off the ground. Apple says that there’s no loss or distortion in sound. Weird. Plus it’s nice to see that it’s far easier to upgrade when compared to the dome model. As much as I like the look, upgrading was a real nightmare, but this time it does indeed to be super simply like Apple says.
But once again, I really dig the dome model and wish it stuck around longer (for me to get one of course, hehe). That adjustable arm was indeed a marvel of engineering, which was also super useful. But now we have that aluminum hinge/stand which felt rather flimsy when I handled the new Cinema Display at the Apple Store.
I know some people are complaining about the frontside bus and the ho-hum video card, but it is a consumer level computer after all, so perhaps criticism is a bit unfounded… or maybe not. This is, once again, Apple’s mid range computer for families and the such, but PCs aimed at the same target are faster, more powerful (at least in the eyes of the general public), and most importantly, more affordable. So I suppose it’s no surprise that Apple is reminding folks that it’s from “the creators of iPod”, which is actually mentioned in the new ad campaign (which is a bit sad if you ask me). Maybe they’re thinking people will buy a new iMac simply to compliment their iPod? I wouldn’t be surprised if folks actually did this, at least die-hard Apple fans. After all, these same people were stupid enough to buy the iPod Mini. I just wish Apple would stop appealing to such an annoying, narcissistic audience assholes, though they do have money…
Then again, I just wish Apple would just fucking fix my eMac, an “entry” level computer that I spend close to $1500 on, and which I actually sprung for the $300 AppleCare, assuming it would guarantee repairs no matter what, instead of being told that my computer’s problem is “not bad enough”. But that’s for another time…
