iMac, uMac, we all Mac for iMac

by Pete Rhinehardt

What's all the rage these days at Apple? You would have to be living under a very large rock to have missed the announcement of the new iMac series computers, due out in August. The iMac is touted as being the revolutionary machine designed under Steve Jobs' return tenure. It is an all-in-one unit,like the original 128k Mac, but souped up for the 90s and then some. It's being pushed as the family internet machine that's simple to use. Let's take a look at what this brainchild machine has got.

When you open the box, you'll see it's got a handle. At 40 pounds, it's not exactly what you call portable, but it sure beats trying to lift and maneuver a comparable monitor without one. Then you'll notice it's, well, green. OK, bondi blue, but definitely a blue-green color. And not just colored, but translucent, too - even the keyboard and mouse. These are big changes to the Mac platinum we've grown up with. Quite novel, but not what you'd call earthshaking changes. Personally, I think a couple of flashing lights inside would have been perfect. Now that would have been Thinking Different.

So what else is there in the iMac to cause such a buzz? Under the hood, this Mac sports some really cool stuff. A 233MHz G3 processor for starters, with a 512k backside cache. It starts with 32MB of RAM, upgradeable to 96MB. For those of you who don't mind fiddling with your new toy a bit, you could bring that up to 128MB of RAM.

This beauty also has a 4GB hard drive, enough for your family needs. You've got 2MB of VRAM giving you some decent, but not the best, gaming delight. The new iMac comes with surround sound stereo, it's speakers mounted in front with your 15 inch color monitor. Two phone jacks in the front, too. This baby also has a 24x CD-ROM player - tunes while you work!

The iMac has a built-in 33.6kbps modem for reasonably fast internet connection. There's some disappointment that Apple didn't put in a faster modem, but let's face it, given old phone lines and internet jams, you are not likely to get higher speeds on a consistent basis anyway. You want faster speeds, get an ISDN connection.

Finally, the things I like best are the side door panel for all your connections. I haven't wrecked a cable or a port connection yet, but I count myself lucky. And , the new key board (black scissor reflex keys) and the round mouse. Kind of reminds me of my old TRS-80 Model III. Is that a tear of nostalgia creeping out of my eye? No, just allergies. Anyway, the iMac comes running Mac OS 8.1 and has a few other welcome gimmicks. All this is just perfect for the family to get started, especially at $1299. I'd say Apple might be attracting both old Mac users who left back into the fold as well as some new users. That feels good.

The iMac would be a great replacement computer for Buzz, my vibrating 6115, for my needs at home. I have no real need of any extra PCI slots, which is good since the iMac has none. No chance for expansion with this baby. No disk drive either. I hardly use the one I have now, except for loading software.That might pose a problem for some. Apple says it will make it's external floppy available for the iMac.

This leads to the next missing item on the iMac: no serial port. I've got a Duo 230 I use for school and have never really needed a floppy drive. I use my LocalTalk connectors to keep my files updated and for backups. This could be problem for me. Apple is hoping to move to the industry standard of a faster and more connectable USB or universal serial bus. You can connect over 120 peripherals with a USB slot and all you need is a hub. A looky there - there's a hub in the keyboard just waiting for you! You won't find any serial ports, any ADB or SCSI ports. The iMac has two USB ports for the keyboard and other peripherals; finding those USB ready peripherals with Mac drivers is your problem. Apple is betting that it won't be much of one as suppliers move toward the USB connections, or third party adapter cables become available.

The iMac is definitely a move in a positive direction for Apple. My gut feeling is that Apple is selling a bit of the nostalgia factor in Mac lovers. Let's face it, the image of the a 128k Mac with "hello" on the screen, next to the iMac with "hello" againā leaves little room for doubt . It sounds like it will be a great family machine. But I think that's where the iMac stops. Bottom line: Your children will grow up with the iMac as a strong multimedia tool for their education and enjoyment. Just be prepared to purchase another machine for them to tinker with or expand to accommodate their programming needs when they get a bit older.

Pete Rhinehardt resides in rural Maine with his wife, son and brand new daughter. She may not know it yet, but another Mac lover has been born!

Mac Mania originallly posted a news item on May 7, 1998 with the headline, "iMac,u-Mac, We all Mac! -- Apple's New Consumer Computer." Pete Rhinehardt's editorial, "iMac, uMac, we all Mac for iMac," is in no way related to Mac Mania's news item.

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February 09, 2010