by Scott Tilley

A week ago today I bought a new Apple iMac. For those that know me well, this is a major event. I've been a PC user for many years, and have generally avoided the Mac. However, this changed with Apple's recent introduction of the new iMac, a machine that I consider to be a technical and design marvel. It may be disparagingly known as "The iLamp" by some, due to its unique design, but I think its form factor is excellent. But there is significant room for improvement with Apple's "digital hub". It may be some time before I replace My Computer with My iMac.

Apple unveiled its new line of Macintosh computers, the second-generation iMac, at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco on January 7, 2002. In mid-March, the first of three models began shipping (albeit in limited availability) to retailers. The first model available is the high-end version, with an 800 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256MB of memory, a 60GB hard drive, a beautiful 15" LCD screen that sits on a swiveling handle, and a combination DVD-R/CD-RW drive. This is the model that I've been using for a week now, and I like it. But I'm not sure if I want to make it my primary computer just yet.

For those who know me, using a Macintosh is a major change. After all, the first name of SIGPC referred to "personal computing", which most people assumed implicitly meant IBM compatibles. Really, it meant all computers, hence the new name "pervasive computing".  In buying an iMac, I'm going the opposite way of most computer users: from Windows to Apple.

Furthermore, I'm a notebook computer person. I've been using a notebook exclusively since 1996. The only time I use a desktop machine is when I'm away from my office, or when I want to try out some new software that I'm not sure how it will affect (read, pollute) my notebook. So using the iMac is quite a departure for me. But as the saying goes, travel broadens the mind. I began my Apple journey by unbundling the iMac from the box.

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The Hardware

Below are some of the many photos I took while unpacking and installing the iMac. Click on the thumbnail image to see the full-size version.

	The box just after I've opened the lid. Apple has paid close attention to what the user sees when the box is first opened. Such attention to detail is a hallmark of Apple -- and one that I think many other computer companies would do well to follow. (72KB)
	Inside the box, just under the first layer of Styrofoam, sits the main unit. It looks a little like a robotic head, with the Apple Pro speakers for eyes. Lifting the display out of the box was a little tricky, since the wrapper kept sticking to the Styrofoam. (74KB)
	The iMac installed on my very crowded and messy desk. The whole installation process took less than thirty minutes, and that included opening the base unit to install extra memory and the Airport card. Interestingly, the installation instructions consisted of a simple booklet with pictures only, no words. (104KB)

From a hardware point of view, the 800 MHz iMac is a technical marvel. For about $1,800 you get the following:

• 15" LCD display, capable of 1024 x 768 resolution
• DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive optical drive
• 256MB SDRAM
• 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive
• NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics with 32MB of DDR memory
• Apple Pro speakers
• Apple Pro keyboard
• Apple Pro optical mouse
• 2 FireWire and 5 USB ports
• Built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and 56K V.90 modem

I upgraded my iMac to 768MB by adding a single 512MB memory stick. If you order the iMac built-to-order from Apple, you can get it loaded with a maximum of 1GB of RAM, but I didn't feel like sitting through the 3-5 week waiting period to get one. I also had an AirPort card installed. The card goes in the base of the unit (along with the memory expansion) and provides Wi-Fi network access. Other than these two additions, my iMac has no changes from the retail version.

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Keyboard Woes

Well, almost no changes. There is one thing (a combination of things really) that I just had to change: the keyboard and the one-button mouse. To put it bluntly, the Apple Pro keyboard is TERRIBLE! I don't know how long-time Apple users have suffered through years of typing on such squishy, uncomfortable keyboards. The keys are even slightly concave, which made my fingers slip all over the keyboard.

I also prefer a TrackPoint-like pointing device, or failing that, a finger pad. I really dislike using a separate mouse; I find having to move my hand off the keyboard and over to the mouse very distracting. It also requires more room on the desk. And more wires. I guess this comes from 6+ years of using only a notebook computer every day.

I solved this problem by attaching a recently purchased IBM USB TrackPoint keyboard. It works flawlessly. And I get a two-button mouse like I'm used to. I really don't understand why Apple doesn't move from a single-button mouse to a two-button mouse. I know that they have had a single-button mouse since the first Macintosh was introduced in 1984, but that's not a good reason to stick to it forever. In my opinion, if Apple really wants to provide a first-class product, I suggest they outsource their keyboard and mouse operations to IBM. For me, it means the difference between a computer that is unusable, and one that is a pleasure to use. It's that important.

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The Digital Hub

Apple touts the new iMac as a "digital hub", and I have to agree. In the first edition of SIGPC for 2002, I said

The recent announcement from Apple about their new flat-panel iMac is a good example of modern, PC-based digital convergence. In fact, Apple describes the new iMac as a "digital hub" to which users can connect cameras, scanners, music players, storage systems, and other peripheral devices.

Now that I've had the opportunity to use the iMac first-hand, I think Apple has done an excellent job of creating a digital hub. All the network and peripheral connectors are accessible from the back of the iMac's base. The only button that I wish they didn't put there is the power button; it is a little difficult to reach -- and the power button has been removed from the keyboard.

I plugged in a FireWire drive, a USB drive, and a new keyboard and everything worked perfectly the first time. The wires for the Apple Pro speakers are rather short, so if you're planning on mounting the speakers away from the base, you'll have to get an extension cable. The speakers themselves sound excellent. I actually haven't tried the Ethernet connection yet (nor the modem), because I'm relying on the very functional and extremely convenient Airport card for wireless network access.

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The Display

There's little doubt that one of the most striking aspects of the new iMac is its gorgeous LCD display. The fact that it's mounted on a unique swiveling arm to the base unit just adds to the novelty. The arm also doubles as the computer's handle. Apple very wisely realized that people would try to use it as the handle, so they engineered it for that purpose.

To adjust the display, a slight touch anywhere on the face will move it up, down, and side to side. Once moved, the display stays in place. It really is a wonderful marriage of engineering and design.

The display's clarity is stunning. Pictures and movies show with incredible sharpness and resolution. Alas, the same can't be said for text. It seems a terrible pity that such wonderful hardware is not used to its fullest. If you've ever used Windows XP on a notebook computer with ClearType enabled, it's hard go back to jagged fonts. Cleartype does sub-pixel optimization and improves the resolution of an LCD monitor by 300%. It makes a marked difference in text readability.

As an example, consider two images of the last issue of SIGPC, both viewed with Internet Explorer (albeit on different platforms and slightly different versions). This one taken from a PC running Windows XP with ClearType enabled:

Then compare it to this image taken from the iMac, where font edges are rough and aliasing is readily apparent:

A far more revealing -- and more disheartening -- example can be found using Microsoft word. Here is an image of a Word document as viewed on a Windows XP PC, and here is an image of the same document using Word on the iMac. Since Word is a program that many people use a lot, the lower quality of displayed text on the iMac is very disappointing. In my opinion, the Apple user experience really suffers from the lack of ClearType-like functionality quite a bit. Sans-serif fonts look better than Serif fonts on the iMac, but since I prefer Serif fonts like Times New Roman, this deficiency is always apparent. In fact, I'd say the fuzzy text (when compared to ClearType text) is the second-most important negative factor about the iMac, after the keyboard. I hope Apple gets the message and addresses this in an upgrade to the OS X operating system.

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The Software

When the first version of the iMac made its introduction, one of its selling points was the operating system. No longer did Apple users have to put up with a crash-prone OS 9. Instead, Apple finally delivered on one of its most important promises they made when Steve Jobs returned as CEO: a new, modern, robust operating system. And with Mac OS X, they delivered. Mostly.

The latest version of the operating system is OS X 10.1.3. It really is a BSD-derivative Unix, with a beautiful user interface called Aqua. It's a little difficult to compare using OS X with Windows XP, since so many things are fundamentally different in the two operating systems, both underneath the hood and for the user. For example, there is no obvious way to uninstall applications under OS X; in Windows XP there is a dedicated install/uninstall feature. For now, I'll defer this discussion to a future issue of SIGPC.

OS X ships with a very generous compliment of software that enhances the iMac's role as a digital hub. The SuperDrive can handle CD-ROMs, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, and it can even burn DVD-R discs. To make use of this feature, users can rely on applications like iMovie 2 for editing videos and iDVD 2 for creating DVDs. I haven't had a chance to use either one yet.

I have used iTunes 2, the application for music. It provides a very capable player, library manager, and CD ripper/burner. It also synchronizes nicely with the iPod portable MP3 music player. Apple has done a very good job of making a potentially complicated experience easy for most users. It just works, which is more than can be said for a lot of Windows software.

One of the reasons I eschewed Apple computers for so long was the lack of compatible applications with the PC. For example, Microsoft Office is a program that I use all the time, but until recently the Mac version was older and less capable than the PC version. There was also the problem of file transfers between platforms: it was not always straightforward to copy or email a Mac file, even a Word document, to a PC user and expect to be able to open it without special processing. I'm happy to say that this is no longer the case. Files seem to be compatible between the two platforms without any special intervention on the part of the user. This is a very welcome change, and for me it alleviates one of the main stumbling blocks to wider iMac adoption.

There are still several programs that I miss on the iMac. For example, Real's RealPlayer program is only available as a "Classic" application, which works under OS X but it's a bit clumsy and crash-prone. I also find myself missing the Google toolbar as an addition to Internet Explorer; so far I've only been able to install it under Windows XP, not OS X. It's amazing how reliant one becomes on such a seemingly simple utility.

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The iMac Experience

Apple enthusiasts have long espoused the Mac as more of an experience than a computer. I've never really understood this mentality. But I can comment on my experience and feelings after a week of using the new iMac. Some of the things I like and dislike about the iMac I mentioned above, such as the keyboard (dislike) and the operating system (like). Here's a summary of my feelings so far:

Overall, I'd say the iMac is an excellent machine, with some clear room for improvement. I don't think you'd go wrong purchasing one for use at home or for your business. The old arguments of a lack of software or system incompatibilities really don't apply as much any more. But here's a telling point: I used my PC to write this article because FrontPage is not available on the Mac.