Apple iMac DV Indigo 15 in. (M7639LL/A) Mac Desktop

Apple introduced it's iMac in August of 1998 and this computer has probably caused more through the computer industry than any single piece of computer hardware or software in the latter half of the century, although Windows95 is debatedly more influential. Nonetheless, Apple has changed the way that the average consumer thinks about computer design and, more importantly, what computer manufacturers pay attention to with computer design. One only needs to look at what Compaq(iPaq), Dell(WebPC), and Gateway(Astro) have done in response to the iMac to see what effect it has had.

Who is the iMac for? I guess I'll first talk about who it is not for. It isn't for hard-core gamers. If you play a lot of games, buy a PowerMacintosh G4 or try getting a Playstation. It isn't for people who are going to be running a server and need highest performance and top expandability. It isn't for somebody who has a lot of old peripherals and doesn't want to invest money in getting them to work, or buying new peripherals.

Taking out the above people, I recommend the iMac DV to everybody else on the planet. If you are looking for tech specs, the Apple propaganda is here . Overall, the specs are pretty solid. The graphics are a big improvement over the last iMac, and make the latest games fairly playable. If you are planning on playing Quake III Arena all day on the Internet, get a G4 and add a Voodoo card for best performance. RAM installation has become a lot easier, and the fan has been taken out. Cooling is now done by convection, so you don't want to leave papers or teddy bears or anything else that would obstruct the airflow inside. The new speakers are a lot better than the old, but if you are an audiophile, you will invest in good headphones or external speakers. A modem is included as well as 10/100 Ethernet, which allows you to connect to superfast cable modems and DSL modems. It has a DVD-ROM drive and comes with a Bug's Life, which should keep your kids entertained no matter how many time they watch - the outtakes could keep me occupied most of the day

I'd like to center my discussion the things that make the iMac unique from other consumer computers. The first feature is the new iMovie software that comes with all iMac DVs. The iMac DV comes with Firewire, a high speed peripheral connection protocol. Known by the Sony name, iLink, and the industry name, IEEE1394, Firewire is currently on almost every DV camera that has been sold. Since iMovie uses the DV format natively, you can create fairly high quality video on your computer. Although it is basically a way of organizing video clips and adding transitions and other effects, iMovie has an interface that makes it easy for older children through adults to make movies. You can add music, titles, sound effects, video effects and after you are finished, you write the information back to your DV camera. The camera I was trying had RCA connections and converted the DV to analog so I was able to record a friend's finished movie back to his VCR when he was done. Not too shabby for what you pay.

The other feature that I would like to mention, but haven't been able to try, is the wireless networking feature. With a $99 card and a $299 base, you can have speed equal to 10 base T Ethernet as long as you stay within 150 feet, go outside that range and you will lose some speed. Better yet, the Apple wireless networking is compatible with a lot of stuff from Lucent and other manufacturers, so you can use your iMac wirelessly within standard environments without a lot of hassle. You can share a modem connection, but sharing a cable modem would be better.

Although I recommend the iMac DV to most of the people who ask me what kind of computer to buy, I can't say that it is perfect. Apple needs to come up with a better keyboard and mouse, because I also tell people who buy an iMac to replace those once they get a new computer. Also, if you have a 5 year old scanner and 3 year old printer and 4 year old joystick, you will need to break down and buy new peripherals. In my experience, trying to get non-USB peripherals to work with USB is more of a pain in the ass than the monetary savings. The move to USB will make you happy. You can use many more peripherals and a greater number of peripherals, most with plug and play ease. The last thing I recommend is adding another 64MB of RAM. The base 64MB is a little limp by today's standards.

The best thing I can say about the iMac is that every other computer maker is trying to copy it. It's the easiest to setup, the easiest to use and even gives your room a little style. I'm a computer geek, and the small annoyances to me keep me from rating it 5 stars, but to the average consumer there isn't too much to make a fuss about.