And today, I have a new Mac.
Yes, there is a new Mac on my desk
Yes, I bought a new iMac, the upper end 20″, and it’s a fine machine.
I know I have been complaining about Macs, mine in particular. But I have a feeling that those issues are because it’s a first gen MacBook and it is terribly underpowered for what I’ve been trying to do with it. I also think it might have a few port issues.
I even went so far as to price out a Dell system. Turns out the costs was about the same as this (granted for more machine), but I would have been stuck with Vista until Windows 7 comes out sometime in ’10 (or so I’m hearing). And I have software for the mac that I own. Quite a bit too. I really didn’t feel like going through all of that again on the windows side.
If you haven’t had the chance to see a new iMac up close, it is really nice. The screen is very bright and crisp. While not HD, watching a DVD movie on it is completely acceptable. Even the sound from the built-in speakers isn’t horrible, on par with television speakers, maybe a little better.
I’m almost completely moved in and have already done a few things on it to break it in. So far, I can’t really tell how much faster than the MacBook it is, but I do know it feels faster.
Here are some thoughts.
Pro
- The screen is outstanding
- The config right out of the box is usable (2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive)
- I got an upgrade coupon for iLife ’09 so it will only cost me $10 when it comes out.
- Whisper quiet. No, it’s quieter than that. Makes almost no noise
- New Apple Keyboard in the box
- It has 3 USB ports. Nice to have the extra.
- It drives my 20″ display no sweat
Con
- The screen is very shiny and refects pretty much everything. Worse than the gloss screen on the MacBook. It’s slightly distracting.
- New Mighty Mouse in the Box. I actually tried to use it. What a horrible little device that is.
- It seems to run pretty hot. I’ve read about this and it doesn’t cause any problems that I am aware of
- It only has 3 USB Ports. In the day where PC’s have as many as 10 on board USB ports (plus a card reader), this is really unacceptable.
I probably won’t do a full review, but I will say that even with those minor issues, it’s a great machine and I’m glad I bought it.
4 Responses to “The Sunday Post #66”
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January 18th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I’m jealous over here.
January 18th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
[...] not money like db, but I did buy a new video camera last week – the Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P High Definition [...]
January 19th, 2009 at 8:38 am
i dig my last gen iMac. i got a 24″ one used from my old job for cheap when they went out of business. lost a job, gained an iMac.
it makes photoshopping and lightrooming a joy! i don’t particularly like the lack of USB ports, but usually the keyboard ones work fine. on occasion i’ll get an error when using flash drives saying it needs more power, captain. but the keyboard ports worked fine for the Mint 220 wireless music station i’m reviewing for thetechlounge at the moment.
enjoy!
brad.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
dude, that’s awesome- I’m so jealous! the new imac’s look amazing (this coming from a guy with a g4 imac and mom has a g5). I know you’ve been clamoring for a little more power- I’m sure this computer will give you what you’re looking for. That glossy screen is gorgeous, imo.