939 In a report benchmarking the new iMac G5 against a selection of other Macs, BareFeats Rob Art Morgan notes that:

"The iMac G5 is not just faster and slimmer than its predecessor. It's a very good value. The 17" G5/1.8GHz iMac costs $1096 less* than the 17" PowerBook G4/1.5GHz. The 20" G5/1.8GHz iMac costs $1499 less* than the G5/1.8GHz dual processor Power Mac with a 20" Cinema display.....

"If you are considering a PowerBook or iBook but don't really need portability more than mobility, the iMac G5 might be a better choice. I observed one customer who entered the Apple Retail Store to buy an iBook or Powerbook. He left with an iMac G5. You see, he works in two offices in two different towns. He decided when it was time to transfer to the other office, he would just put the iMac in its original box and treat it as carry-on luggage."

Other reports have noted that iMacs are taking some of the wind out of Apple laptop sales' sails.

Well, yes, the G5 iMac is uber-cool and a great value for the money if you're looking for a desktop computer. However, it's still a desktop computer, which means that if mobile computing is a significant priority for you, then the iMac is not an adequate substitute for an iBook or PowerBook. For example, two of my three Mac laptops spent a high-nineties percent of the time in desktop substitute mode, sitting in stands hooked up to externa keyboards and pointing devices, but as I type this comment on my iBook, I'm sitting in a supermarket parking lot waiting for my wife to return from grocery shopping. You just can't do that with an iMac.

The best workaround for some might be to have an iMac for their main desktop workhorse, and an older, "beater" laptop for occasional mobile computing. I have one of those too � my 6 1/2 year old 233 MHz WallStreet PowerBook which I use for mobile computing around the house, but for day's like this, when I'm going to be away from my workstation but still need to get my work done, you just can't beat the convenience of being able to take your primary computer with you.

And no desktop machine can match the convenience of being able to be 50 or 500 or 5000 miles away from home base and pick up where you left off withoug any discontinuity of work flow or having to transfer files, or even to restart the computer.

Three and a half years ago I talked myself into the idea that a G4 Cube, being a small desktop computer, was "almost a laptop," at least for someone like me who uses computers mostly in a desktop environment. I liked the Cube a lot, but it just wasn't the same as a 'Book. The G5 iMac is a lot more laptop-like than the Cube was, but the same dynamic would obtain. Once you're really bitten by the mobile computer bug, nothing else will ever really do it for you.

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