Apple iMac Z0FF 24 in. (Z0FF;KTA-MB800K2/4G;INSTALL) Mac Desktop - with Front Row

This review is based on the 24" iMac desktop with:-3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor-500GB Hard Drive-4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM-8x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
In July of 2008 I bought my first Mac desktop.  I needed/wanted something fast for my graphic design work.  Let me preface this review by saying I was perfectly satisfied using traditional PCs for the past 18 years.  That is until I bought this iMac.  I had no point of reference using PCs in the past, but now I do and I realize how much better Macs are.

STYLEWhen it comes to style, a PC is a PC is a PC.  They are nothing terribly exciting to look at.  However, the 24" iMac is a work of art!  The entire computer is built into the 24" flat panel LCD monitor.  It's pretty amazing, beside very cool.  When I first showed the computer to my friends and family, they individually inquired where the CPU box was.  After laughing, I informed them that the monitor IS the computer!  How cool is that?  The silver finish is clean and modern looking and really sets it apart from the humdrum PC crowd.  It gives it a higher quality look than the traditional cream or black colors you find most computers wearing.

PERFORMANCE This iMac by far blows away any computer I've ever used in terms of performance.  For the past year, I got accustomed to using the new Mac Pro desktops we have at school.  I thought those were pretty quick, but I must say they don't hold a candle to my iMac.  I don't really understand this.  It is undeniably faster though.  What literally takes me about 3 minutes to save on my iMac takes as long as 20 minutes to save on my school's Mac Pros.  The Mac Pros seem a second or two faster opening programs I commonly use such as Photoshop and Illustrator, but big whoop!  When I first got my iMac, startup only took about 10 seconds, if that long.  It was very very quick to reach the desktop.  Now after having added about 100GB of programs and files, I find it takes about 20 seconds to pull up the desktop and stop "cranking".  That's still much quicker than any PC I've used, even my Dad's brand new Dell, which seems to take about 2 minutes to reach the desktop and finish "cranking up".  It's a very fast computer and I'm extremely satisfied with it's speed.  It's processing speed using programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator seems to be as good as the Mac Pros we use at school.  I'm extremely glad I didn't spend the extra dough to get one of those bulky beats.The 24" LCD display produces a bright, crisp image.  The default gamma setting is 1.8, but I find that 2.2 has better contrast and more vivid color.  This is where I keep my monitor set and have been extremely pleased with the picture quality for basic computing, DVD watching, and graphic design work.The 8x DVD drive is adequate, but could definitely stand to be faster.  It is fairly quiet though, which is a plus.  It just seems that an 8x DVD drive, especially in a computer of this price, is very antiquated.  Why an 8x drive, Apple?At first it didn't even cross my mind that the computer had any speakers.  They are hidden on the thin bottom side of the monitor.  The speakers must be about the diameter of a quarter from what I can guess.  Amazingly though, the sound quality is pretty decent.  Better than I'd expect from such tiny speakers.This computer is very quiet.  Whisper quiet.  I have the computer in my bedroom and it's not at all been a problem.  The cooling fan is extremely quiet.  The processor makes it's little grinding noise like any processor, but it's very quiet as well.  The DVD drive is probably the noisiest operating part of the whole computer, but even it is pretty quiet. 

FUNCTIONALITYThe biggest difference I've noticed between using PCs and my iMac is how much easier it is to use.  Once you become acquainted with the operation of a Mac, since it's a bit different than a PC, you realize that operating a Mac is a much more intuitive experience.  I'm by no means a computer geek, but I adapted to using my iMac very quickly.  Before I knew it, I was operating my computer with keyboard shortcut commands, even voice commands!  The new Dock feature at the bottom of the desktop is invaluable to me.  I have icons placed there for my most used programs, such as Safari, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dictionary, DVD Player, Downloads and Documents folders for quick and easy access.  This really beats Window's Start>Programs>and then selecting your program.  Sure, you can place commonly used programs right on your desktop, but then before you know it your desktop is cluttered with icons which takes a toll on the speed of the PC, beside having to look at all that clutter on your desktop.  You can still place icons on the desktop of the iMac, but I prefer to keep it clutter free and just use the hidden Dock at the bottom of the screen.  Someone at Apple had a genius idea.  You can also place folders on the Dock.  In my case I have the Downloads folder and Documents folder in the Dock.  That way anytime I download something from the internet, I can simply click the folder in the Dock and what I need is readily available.  Any commonly used documents I need in my Document folder are just as readily available in the Dock.  A very useful feature!

PROBLEMS/CONCERNSThankfully, problems have been small and infrequent.  My biggest problem is what appears to be "burn-in" on my monitor.  As far as I've been told, LCD monitors are not supposed to have burn in problems.  But there is definitely a burn-in issue with my iMac.  I had Safari open on my my screen and left the house one day, expecting the computer to go to sleep as it always does.  For whatever reason, it never went to sleep and the monitor was still on 5 hours later.  Beside the fact I was annoyed it was on all that time, I discovered the top gray area of the browser window had actually burned into my monitor!  Needless to say I was very upset.  The computer is only a few months old after all.  I still don't understand how this all happened.  Why did it not go to sleep?  Why did it burn into my LCD monitor when burn-in is not supposed to happen?  To make this all even stranger, the burned-in image comes and goes.  Some days it's there the whole time I'm using the computer.  Other days it's not there at all.  I'm hoping this is a common glitch covered under the extended warranty I bought.  Another problem I've had is that one of my games, The Need for Speed Carbon, freezes the computer upon exiting the game.  It started doing this all of a sudden when it never used to have any problems.  I hate having to force my computer to shut off and restart.  It's a pain, beside the fact that tells me something is wrong.  My last complain concerns the wireless mouse and keyboard.  I'm SO glad I opted for the wireless mouse and keyboard because I use my iMac in bed, however the batteries don't last long.  My first set of batteries only lasted 2 months in the mouse and 3 months in the keyboard.  I figured it would be cheaper to buy a set of rechargeable batteries than by new ones every month.  The rechargeable batteries only last about 2 weeks in both mouse and keyboard.  This is a bit annoying having to change them out so often.  Granted, my computer gets heavy use, but who is Apple trying to fool saying the batteries last 9 months!  I can't understand why Apple didn't make the iMac detachable from its base stand.  It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to design a detachable base, rather than the fixed one it comes with.  I would love to be able to mount my iMac onto the wall.  I do use my iMac to watch DVDs a lot, so that could have been nice.  I'm even thinking about buying the adapter that will allow me to hook up cable TV to my iMac.  It would have been nice to be given the option of hanging it on the wall.My last gripe is about the connections for USB, printer, etc.  They are all mounted in a group together on the backside of the monitor.  This makes sense for internet and printer connections, but find it an absolutely foolish place for all of the USB connections.  It's a pain in the butt, to be quite frank.  Anytime I want to hook up my digital camera or connect my USB memory stick, it have to feel for the ports like braille and then fumble around trying to connect them.  If you have the wired keyboard, Apple provides you with a USB port (2 ports if I'm remembering correctly) on the keyboard, which is very convenient.  However, if you pay extra to get the wireless keyboard like I did, then you have to fumble and grope the back of your monitor to hook up commonly connected/disconnected items.  Very very stupid, Appleheads.