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About Apple's iMac Although Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac, which shipped this month, is primarily aimed at the consumer market, the $1,299 system is a cost-effective choice as a network computer for companies replacing aging Macintoshes. The iMac includes a 15-inch color monitor and CPU in one case. A comparably equipped PC with a monitor costs about the same as the all-in-one iMac. Companies could deploy the systems in call centers or other departments where a low-cost system is a good fit. There's no chance that the iMac will be mistaken for any other computer. The innovative exterior comes across as either a futuristic prop for a "Star Trek" movie or a Fisher-Price catalog item, but either way, it stands out. Appearances aside, companies must be aware of several caveats when considering the iMac. The system's lack of PCI or SCSI expansion ports limits it use to general business applications and, although the iMac ships with a 24x-speed CD-ROM drive, it's lack of a floppy disk drive requires it to live almost exclusively in a connected environment. Not having a floppy drive isn't a problem
for corporations with networks, however, and may even be an advantage by limiting a
network's exposure to viruses. In our tests, the 233 MHz 750 PowerPC-based iMac proved to be a speedy performer. When running Microsoft Corp.'s Excel spreadsheet and Word word processor, the iMac to be the equal of its 266 MHz Power Macintosh G3 desktop sibling, turning in similar times on Excel and Word tests. We were impressed with the iMac's easy network and
internet setup procedures. The system runs Mac OS 8.1, which includes setup wizards,
and is simple to connect to a network via its built in 10/100BaseT ethernet port.
The iMac also comes with an internal 56K-bps V.90 modem for easy dial-up access to the
internet. In addition, a 4M-bps infrared port it easy to transfer files from a g3
PowerBook to the iMac. To limit access to the network and USB connections, especially in public and educational settings where the iMac is most likely to be used, Apple should have provided a lock to secure the door. The color screen is bright an sharp, with resolutions ranging from 640 by 480 pixels to 1,024 by 768 pixels. The default resolution is 800 by 600 pixels. The iMac supports 24-bit color at the default resolution and 16-bit at the 1,024-by-768-pixel resolution. It's 2MB of SGRAM(synchronous graphic RAM) is expandable to 4MB of SGRAM for 24-bit color at the highest resolution. The compact keyword with it's large keys is east to use. On the other hand, the one-button, round, hockey puck-like mouse isn't comfortable to maneuver, and users will probably want to replace it with a more traditional two-button mouse. The iMac shifts with enough productivity software to
get users started quickly. In addition to Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 Web
Browser, the iMac includes Adobe System Inc.'s Acrobat Reader 3.01 for portable documents,
Apple's ClarisWorks Version 5.01 suite of business applications, STFTechnologies Inc.'s
FAXstf 5.0 fax modem software and Intuit Inc.'s Quickens Deluxe 98 suite off accounting
software for small businesses. Apple's $1,299 iMac ia a good fit for
corporate buyers in the process or replacing or adding Macintoshes, and it costs about the
same as a Windows PC. However it has limited expansion options and is best suited to
networked environments. |
