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I often forget that this thing can chug along with Photoshop, Powerpoint, iMovie, Safari, Entourage and iChat running simultaneously. This is not doable on any PC. If you want the best, if you want stability, if you want perfect harmony between software and hardware, if you want to live/compute virus and spyware-free--- GET A MAC. Macs also have a little trick up their sleeve that PCs can't perform- it's called Firewire Target Disk Mode. I've been a rabid mac owner since 1984 (still have my original and one of the first sold in US, Mac 128 machines -it still works and has never darkened the door of a service department. At work I'm forced to use a Dell so I'm well acquainted with Windows XP and find it very user unfriendly and prone to virus attacks.
And if you just HAVE to run a Windoz program, no problemo, Macs run Windoz better and faster than PCs do. It's then an easy and very fast process to drag and drop files between machines. I've increased the RAM to 4GB and this makes a huge difference in the work I do, mostly Powerpoint and Photoshop. Macs are a quality, extremely well integrated, stable platform.
Any computer company that can build a machine that can run for 24 years, without breaking down, sitting in a repair shop, or locking up is doing things right. PCs keeps our IT guy very busy. They are not for everybody and we will never see Apple dominate the market (except for mp3 players) for the same reason you don't see BMWs and Mercedes sitting in every driveway. The big 24" display is a joy and quickly spoils you if you have to work on smaller screens.
I have two 500GB external hard drives, one to take care of TimeMachine and the other to archive photos. Macs are a cut above and will always be the driver and innovator in this industry. Say you want to transfer large amounts of data/files from your notebook to your desktop or vice-versa. We have quite a few Macs too, but they almost never need IT support to keep them productive.
I've had my 24" iMac Extreme for a year now and have to say that Apple has outdone themselves. ) How many IBMs are still out there from this era in operating condition. Just connect the two machines with a firewire cable, start up the target machine while holding down the "T" key and on the host machine, the target machine's hard drive pops up on the desktop.
*Has never crashed.*Never a security problem--ever.*First-rate build quality. Between the OS, hardware and Apple's support of same, you'll be congratulating yourself everyday you fire this rascal up. *Blazing friggen fast. *Finally, the screen is bright.
Downshots:*Pricey, at first, even though, over the lifespan of the machine, it will work out to be cheaper due to power useage, build quality and up time. Too bright. Here is what I like:*Can drive a second screen-no probs. A pain to calibrate, expect to spend half a day on this if you're fussy. *Big, beautiful screen. It rivals Mac Pro performance in most tasks and is the finest piece of technology to have graced my desk.
*Has FW800 connectivity for external drives. *A real eye catcher, always draws the techies out of the woodwork. *OSX adores ram. Overall, if you want the best computing experience available to the consumer today, this high-end Mac is very close to fitting the bill. I've had this model iMac for a year. I've 4TB daisy chained and get awesome r/w speeds.
Max it out and lump it.
I got the larger 750GB internal drive and the wireless keyboard & mouse so I'm a very happy guy now. The black band that surrounds the outside the the LCD is a great idea, as it makes the screen seem even larger.
What would I change, I wish Apple would make a slick Aluminum "full" keyboard that is wireless like the small (without the number pad) wireless Aluminum standard keyboard. Plus don't forget to buy the Apple Care warranty which gives you 3 full years of great service and support just in case - After 2 years of perfect service my old iMac 20" started having logic problems and Apple replaced it with this one for free, (they even gave me a prorated rebate off my original Apple Care warranty so I could buy the new one; that is world class service) enough said).
+ Don't forget to sit real close the first time you start this baby up, because when the screen first lights up you will be JAZZED. Buy your max of 4GB of RAM memory at OWC for less than $100 and get a rebate for your "old" Apple RAM memory, installing it takes only about 4 minutes.
After owning a 20" iMac, I thought I knew what it would be like but the larger brighter 24" screen still blows me away. The 24" screen allows me to make all the fonts larger and still get multiple "entire" windows open at the same time, which makes for much less eye strain during extended surfing secessions.
What would make it even better.
You need to try this yourself to get it. Microsoft Security + Repair Software - They have to run Daily, and that means they take your System's resources, as well as Affect your PC's Performance (slows down to a crawl, unexpected Crashes, Freezes, etc)* Regarding Cross-Platform options - The ability of a Mac to run different types of OS (operating systems), like Macintosh Tiger / Leopard + Microsoft XP / Vista Windows + Linux and others, all on one computer is purely Genius in terms of the Evolution in 'Integrating' multi-platform computing. The 24-inch iMac Extreme features a 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM; what it means is that I am now running the Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard operating system + Windows XP + Linux, ALL on ONE PC and that just simply ROCKS.* Tech Support Report - Apple gets an Excellent to Superior Rating (4 to 5 Stars), whereas Microsoft gets a Fair Rating (2-Stars) period. You no longer need two (2) separate PC's anymore. Hello. Try that with any Desktop tower.
For instance, our new iMac's are totally Wireless, so we can simply just pick them up & move to any new location. Have you noticed lately how other PC manufacturers are Emulating Macintosh.Summary - My first Apple was the 1993 PowerBook 180, with OS 7.6.1 and a Motorola 33 MHz CPU, to the present 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (latest Santa Rosa chipset), with a top-of-the-line 800 MHz front-side bus speed and a huge 4 MB L2 cache. See Photos. Here's our Real World opinions and side-by-side comparisons between our iMac's + G4 PowerBook and Window XP boxes. This is where Apple is light-years ahead of the old dinosaurs. * Powered by a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor from the newest "Santa Rosa" chips.
Dumb-Bombay.* Downside for AIO platforms - The only 2 things that can be Upgraded in an iMac from a Consumer standpoint, is the RAM and OS software. You've come a long way Baby. * Our PC experiences over the past 10 years has inadvertently lead us to comparing the Low-maintenance factor of our older Mac's (G4 PowerBook w/Tiger + a 2000 iMac Graphite SE model w/Panther), versus, the extremely High-maintenance demands, by our XP Window boxes (HP desktop + a Dell Inspirion laptop). We bought the 20 & 24" with the new Glossy scratch-resistant screens.* Elegantly brought together in fine Form, Function, and Aesthetics, featuring seamless professional grade aluminum, a high-def wide-screen brilliant scratch-resistant glass screen, built-in iSight camera and microphone, an new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard, and with the compact Integration of Hardware (Hard drive, Chipset, RAM memory modules, USB/FireWire connectors, in a superb AIO (all-in-one) Hardware platform. Attempting to Upgrade your Chipset, Hard drive, DVD/CD burner may not be possible, where it's much easier with Mini-towers, with a few screws to open the sides for any hardware upgrades, however, they are non-mobile & bulky.* Another Mac Upside - This is where the iMac's, appear as an elegant compromise between boxes & laptops.
Sometimes I can adjust the angle of the screen to make the sound go away as well, but after a few minutes, the sound comes back. So be advised of the reality of not purchasing the extended contract, and hope that everything arrives in working order. If I touch my hand to the back panel while it is buzzing, the sound goes away. I asked if a technician could visit my home to correct the issue, and I was told that this was possible only if I had purchased the AppleCare extended agreement.
I called Apple, and they advised me to bring the iMac back to an Apple Store. My computer is all of 2 days old. Knowing that I could install Bootcamp, and run Windows natively, I felt this was the best way to go. While I will likely bring it into the store to have it repaired, I was left wondering how it was that Apple thought it appropriate to ship me a flawed computer, and then put the inconvenience back onto me to have it repaired. Installation was a snap, and everything works as advertised. When researching what was available for all-in-ones, clearly the iMac takes the prize.
Overall, the design is incredible. My only complaint is that my iMac has a strange buzzing sound from the plastic back panel that appears to be a resonation resulting from the speed of the internal fan. Fair enough, as there is a store right in San Francisco, but the prospect of lugging a 25 Lb box around the Embarcadero with "Apple" emblazoned on the side just did not seem fun. A little arrogant if you ask me. I should preface this by stating that this is my first Mac, and I have been using Windows for what seems like forever. Apple products just ooze quality, and this is no exception.
Keep in mind that I purchased this online, so it was delivered to my home.
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