I spent a little bit of last weekend in Santa Rosa , California , at the annualMac Computer Expo . It ’s always a dainty time , with a heavy mathematical group of Mac users . Two years ago , I had the privilege of unveil Mac OS X 10.1 to the radical , excitedly signal out that , finally , Mac OS X was usable ! Those were the 24-hour interval .
This twelvemonth was better , because Macworld ’s Jonathan Seff and I brought along a 20 - in iMac G5 for a picayune show and severalise . I consider ours was the only iMac G5 on display , and people were really hypnotised by it .
A lot has been write about the iMac G5 , and much more will be written in the forthcoming days . But even a first coup d’oeil at the thing occupy you with a million questions . Here are some of the question I catch over the weekend , with some brief answers .
How heavy is it?About 20 pounds . I can insert it under one arm and carry it around , but it ’s not exactly light . The 17 - in manikin is , as you might expect , a little light .
Can you tilt and swivel it?Sure . The hinge the iMac is mounted on is placed justly at the iMac ’s shopping centre of sombreness , and so it tilts up and down with remarkable ease . The root swivels quite easily as well . If you want more move than that , begin in October you’re able to grease one’s palms a $ 29 VESA Mount Adapter Kit from Apple that will allow the iMac G5 to be used with VESA mountain — so you’re able to mount your raw iMac on the wall , or on an articulating arm . Cool !
How cheap is it?I’ve got one sitting aright here , and I ca n’t take heed it . However , I ’ve got a Power Mac G4 in this role — and I can hear it . And my office construction ’s HVAC organization is right outside , and it being a warm mean solar day in San Francisco today , it ’s humming away . Put another way , in a silent room you could probably hear the iMac . But in this room , it ’s quiet as a mouse .
How spicy does it get?It ’s a G5 , so it ’s going to generate some heat . But the iMac G5 has been cautiously engineered to get that heating out . It ’s got three different chill zone with independently see fans . It ’s got exhaust areas at the top and along the back to rent the melody out . Apple has contain a lot of care with this product , it seems , to get both the heating plant issues and the haphazardness issues veracious .
How does it sound?This new iMac does n’t come with external loudspeaker system . alternatively , it ’s got two speakers along its bottom , pointed down at whatever you ’ve set the iMac on so that the sound reflects back up at you . ( Unless you invest in a VESA mount and hang it on a wall or blow it in space on an arm — oops ! ) The speakers in the new iMac are n’t give way to blow anybody away , but for a single user sitting in front of the computer , it puts out seemly sound . And of course , you may habituate the audio - out mini diddlysquat to bond external speakers , a pair of headphones , or even a home theatre organisation via the same mini - to - SP / DIF quid used by the AirPort Express .
Does that big empty white space below the screen look funny?Well , that ’s up to you . But I ’m okay with it , mostly because most displays are too downhearted . I ’ve got one of the new Apple mat - panel monitor in front of me now , and it ’s really a short abject on my desk . In the interests of my health , I should put it on a riser pipeline . In contrast , the iMac ’s display is higher , because it ’s got that full-grown white distance behind which unavowed computer guts are hiding .
Gosh , it ’s awfully wooden-headed , is n’t it?Yes , it ’s maybe twice as thick as my Apple flat - venire video display , and far thicker than the iMac G4 ’s display . But permit ’s keep in mind that there ’s an intact electronic computer tucked in there . I ’ve go through other flat - panel all - in - one computers from PC producer , and they ’re a horror show . Dainty vapid - control panel screen with hideous , Quasimodo - like bump sticking from the back . Not good . This iMac , while a little thick , is still quite elegant .
It ships with 256 MB of RAM . Is that enough?Uh , no elbow room .
Would you urge one to your in - laws?Let ’s just say that their Apple Store order is already being processed as we speak .
