Net Results: It isn't often that you get a special kind of buzz - beyond the "new toy" variety - when unpacking a new computer, setting it up, then playing with it. I don't mean after you spend 45 minutes reading the manual (or more typically, NOT reading the manual), and crawling around on the floor behind the box trying to figure out where the peripherals and cords go.
I mean fun as you pull it from the box. And fun to put together because it is so ridiculously easy, and the whole process takes approximately three minutes (well, you would take longer if you stopped for the moment of aesthetic pleasure you get when you have the thing sitting on a table, and can wonder at its incredible design).
You might have figured out that I am talking about Apple's new G5 iMac - the one that is little more than a large screen. Apple loaned me the 20-inch- screen model for a week and boy did I enjoy it, from the moment it came out of the box to the moment I put it back in (again, a three-minute dismantling).
Apple is one of those companies that has consistently made me do doubletakes at their new models - since about the point that co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the company and got the incredible British designer, Jonathan Ive, to start thinking about - actually, rethinking - computer form factors. You can see lots of his work here: www.designmuseum.org/designerex/jonathan-ive.
htm. The new iMac is such a rethink. The entire central processing unit (CPU) - the bit that is the big ugly putty-coloured box on the floor on most PCs - is in the space behind the flat screen, so the entire computer is about 2 inches thick. Add the power cord, a keyboard and mouse - in a jiffy, they plug in at the back of the screen - and you are ready to go. It's the fastest I have ever set up a desktop system.
This revolutionary design, which takes up only a 2-inch deep slice of screen space on the desktop, is quite a simple extension of the laptop idea. Take a laptop, turn it on its edge, but put the screen on the lid rather than under it, and you have the basic idea of the iMac.
Apple had to do some pretty amazing engineering though to get the thin seam of a CD/DVD drive (no unsightly drawers to pop out - the drive just sucks in your disk) to work when vertical and sideways, though.
Once you finish admiring its looks, then you can really begin to enjoy yourself. The sound is excellent on the inbuilt speakers, but you can add on others to take advantage of what this iMac really is - a home entertainment centre. At 11.4 kg for the 20" model - which is widescreen, with a 1680-by-1050 pixel resolution, in format - it is portable enough to be carried down to the sitting room to watch films.
The latest version of Apple's iLife software suite lets you manage all your music (the computer serves as a de facto sound system - one you want to look at, not hide) plus video and photographs - and make your own music with GarageBand. I've written about this software before and it just keeps on improving - for example, it is incredibly easy to make very professional-looking films using a camcorder and Apple's editing software, and with GarageBand you could add your own music or nab something off your iTunes collection.
The screen quality alone makes this a worthwhile purchase for anyone wanting to really make their computer multi-task. A lot of the flatscreens on offer in PC packages are pretty poor quality - a good traditional monitor will be easier on the eye. But this is very high quality, great for working at the PC or watching DVDs.
In general, this is an excellent computer for anyone considering a purchase for the family for Christmas, or for anyone interested in making more use of a computer's power to manage media (otherwise - to allow you to have real fun).
For those with reservations about moving away from a Windows-based PC, Microsoft has recently released its latest version of the very good Virtual PC program, which allows you to run Windows applications within its own Windows "engine" installed onto your Mac.
My one quibble is that Microsoft has upped the basic specs needed to run this application, most notably requiring 512MB of RAM instead of 256MB.
Given that the basic spec of Mac laptops and the iMac is 256MB of RAM, this is a real issue. These new requirements are not flagged clearly on the VirtualPC box. Really, purchasers of Macs now need 512MB RAM as standard.
That said, I have not yet needed to run my older version of VirtualPC on my Mac laptop - the Mac converts most PC document formats and I've not needed any Windows-only applications for the laptop in 18 months of owning it.
It would also be nice if the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) could resolve its differences with Apple so Irish computer users could start using the iTunes music download service. It would seem to serve neither Irish artists nor the promotion of Irish music to continue to impede an Irish iTunes site when the UK music industry has managed to reach agreements with Apple.
klillington_at_irish-times.ie weblog: http://weblog.techno-culture.com
