Apple Power Macintosh G4 (M8787LL/A) Mac Desktop

I love Macs. I always did. From cute and innovative to all shinny and raw power, they've always been easy to use, cool to show off and expensive to buy. This one is no different, and if that were all there was to it, I'd probably not be writing this.

But it isn't all there is too it. Firstly I think this 'mirrored door' design is possibly the most aesthetically challenged design in Apple's history. Instead of the clean and rather sophisticated lines of the 'Quicksilver' range that came before, this G4 looks like the drive bays were a hurried afterthought, shoved in by a worker who'd be more at home reading braille. I guess it's a matter of taste!

Then there's the noise. Unlike every Mac I've encountered previously, this one isn't shy about telling you it's on. In fact it barely needs a power light to advertise the fact because the internal cooling fan is very far from quiet. It runs up to speed when powered on like a Learjet and audibly reminds you all the time the machine is on. You do get used to it, but you shouldn't have to.

But that's all the bad things I can think of. The rest is pure Mac, and engagingly so.

For those of us who use Windows and PCs, our computing experiences abound with disappointments. Not just the crashes, the security holes, the poor integration of software and operating systems, the grainy mouse movements and the overall sense of not being entirely in control. It's also in the bloated nature of the software and the disjointed gaps between applications. It's thus both soothing and reassuring to sit in front of this G4 and experience.... well I don't quite know how to describe it. It's the LACK of something intangible obstructing you from using the machine they way you want to. It's the very tangible sense that everything is seamlessly integrated so the parts become a whole. A lot of this is MacOS 10.2, which comes pre-installed and but for a few simple questions to answer at first switch on, is ready for use. Partly it's in the neatest package of free software you'll find anywhere. In iTunes, iMovies, iChat, Mail and with the addition of a free download of Safari, you have elegantly simple applications that play and manage tunes, allow you to make extraordinary and complex movies from digital video, stills, music tracks and audio overdubs without needing to know any but a small handful of software tricks, send and receive email without the myriad of menu options, features and settings that most other applications require and browse the internet with a piece of software that actually does it quickly while blocking popups and providing what you need and none of what you don't.

These are the sort of things at which Apple used to excel, and the only thing missing in the package is a decent word processor. MacOS 10.2 brings Apple back to an operating system that is fast and free from random crashes. It might take a moment to get used to for those who used prior versions of MacOS, but it's neat and well organized. Furthermore, now that Windows XP gives PC users an almost Mac-like look, it moves Mac users a step further on. And it truly is stable.

The hardware is excellent. The dual 867MHz processors might not sound fast in comparison to today's multi-GHz Pentiums, but this machine holds it's own - indeed regularly outperforms - my 2GHz P4 powered office PC. Given that the older and discontinued single processor G4 systems also have viable uses in typically processor-intensive applications such as digital video and photo editing, graphics, desk-top-publishing etc, it suggests even the lowest dual processor G4 will have sufficient power for applications into the future.

My system came configured with 512Mb memory which seems more than adequate for most things the G4 is likely to encounter, and I suspect that if more memory is needed for viable use, faster processor speed might be necessary too. The 60Gb hard drive is more than enough for almost any use, and sufficient for DV editing needs too, though these files eat up space at an alarming rate. Sadly, this base model does not have a DVD-RW drive, instead being fitted with a 'combo' DVD playback/CD-RW unit. At this price that's rather penny-pinching, though an internal or external drive can be added. It has two USB ports, two firewire, audio in and out and an Apple 'minijack' with 20watt per channel amplifier for connection of Apple Pro speakers. The nvidia Gforce 4 AGP graphics card has 32Mb RAM and support dual monitors. The system is, as all G4s since the 'sawtooth' model have been, ready for an airport card for wireless networking, and gigabit ethernet built in.

Gaining access to the inside is as simple as pulling on a tab at the top of the right-hand side and the entire side of the case hinges down. Additional drives, PCI cards, memory etc are easy to add.

This is a fine computer which behaves itself well. It runs most pre-MacOS X applications in 'Classic Mode' which invokes MacOS 9 and gives the user a 'traditional' Mac look and feel, but most users will want to upgrade their applications to MacOS X native versions because they run more reliably and generally faster. The aesthetics of design and noise are a disappointment, but in reality don't prevent this system being highly recommended. It's a professional system capable of meeting professional demands, and my only alternative recommendations would be one of the faster G$ DP systems.

Don't trust the raw specifications. This G4 is a great deal faster than the numbers might suggest to you - and more powerful than you are likely to expect! If you fancy yourself making movies, playing with sophisticated graphics or digital picture editing, or anything of the sort, this is so much worth considering that it should be the top of your list of possibilities. If you want fast internet browsing, neat and seamlessly integrated software, and a pleasant computing experience - try one. If you want to bash out Word documents and talk DLLs with your pals, maybe you want my old 2GHz PC?!