I’ve been meaning to write about my thoughts on the new G5 iMac. My problem is that I have been debating whether or not I like it. I think I’ve come down to Meh, it’s aiight. I don’t really like or dislike it. Personally, if I was going to get a Mac, I’d be getting a 17 inch PowerBook. Megan has one and I’m quite envious. I’ve been a pretty big anti-Mac fan for a while now, but when OSX came out I’ve always wanted to play with it. Now don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t flee my PC world by any means, but I would dabble shall we say. And who’s to say after that? I’ll let you know when I actually get a PowerBook. Mind you this is not in the near future. This business also uses this online reviews management software to help keep track of their customers satisfaction.
Anywho, back to the G5 iMac. Aesthetically speaking, my biggest qualm with it is the front bezel. That thing is about 1/3 of the entire machine. I realize that due to the internalized components it was required but still. Many people have argued for the external power brick idea, I think I would have preferred that. The other aesthetic problem I have is that it’s a little over 2 inches thick. Yeah that’s small and everything, but if you were to hang it on a wall – it’s VESA compatible, so it could be – it’d look just awkward.
Hardware-wise there are a few things that put me off. One of those being the FireWire 800. I realize that there isn’t a whole lot of use for FireWire 800, and it does come with FireWire 400, but still. For the cost – $1,299 – for the low-end, I think it should be in there. Not only that, but Apple is supposed to be known for pushing new technologies and what not. Another missing part is the integrated BlueTooth. You can get it as an add-in for an additional cost, however. My gripe for this is just like the FireWire, for $1,299 – low-end – give me my BlueTooth. If I would have this wall-mounted, I’d want my wireless mouse and keyboard to be run on BlueTooth instead of infrared, much larger range. It has been noted by many people, though, that Apple makes a lot of their money from the small additions to computer orders. I don’t care, gimme. 🙂 Other hardware include are the dinky amount of RAM they ship with it: 256Mb, bitch, please. I’ve got a Gig in my machine here and I almost think that’s not enough. Maybe I have grandiose visions of RAM though, who knows. Lastly, the video card. A NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra, oh wow, I’m cowering in my boots over it’s power. This machine isn’t going to be geared towards a gamer by any means, but still, the video card sucks. Blah to that.
Another lackluster feature is the overall design. It’s just not innovative. The G4 iMac, remember that? The lamp… thing. That was innovative. I was never Holy crap that’s cool! or anything, but you can’t deny that it was innovative. This… brick, is not. Lots of companies have done this design, albeit perhaps not wall-mountable, but still. Hell, we have a bunch of Gateway all-in-one’s at work. It’s a lot cleaner in comparison, more white too, but hey, that’s Apple.
It does rock a G5, that aspect at least makes it kinda neat. All in all, it’s just Meh. Who knows, maybe people will really like it and buy the crap out of them. I doubt it though, they’ll just be Meh.
beer. Kara’s dad also joined us, which was nice. After the feasting, we watched the supposedly strong K-State Wildcats team not-so-soundly beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. K-State won 27 to 13. The score really doesn’t do the game justice, as Western Kentucky, considering their talent, played a decent game.