Apple iMac Desktop Computer Review

I have had this workhorse for a year, and it handles everything. I can have eight or 10 programs opened concurrently and never have anything run sluggishly.the operating system is incredibly stable and the only two software/OS complaints I have are that in the process of integrating Apple Mail, iCal, and Address Book, they significantly weakened the way calendar events are handled.since I was a power user who pushed it to the extreme, I am no longer able to use the calendar application the way I used to. I have also had some minimal problems with the Safari 4 upgrade, but I am quite content with version 3 at this point.

The machine is rugged and durable and handles being carried about quite well. I have taken it in our motorhome for all our road trips in the past year and it has done exceptionally well. It has handled the "trauma" of being carried in an iLugger case when we travel by car as well. I originally got it with the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, but I so dearly missed the number pad and extended format that I purchased a wired keyboard and have no regrets. The feel of the new slim line aluminum keyboards is absolutely incredible! The small keyboard does have its benefits and I do use it at times, but since I do a fair amount of work in Quicken, I use the wired keyboard more often. I had purchased a Logitech de novo Macintosh keyboard, but I like the key feel to the original Apple keyboards much better.

The integrated iLife Suitehandles 99% of all my photographic and movie needs seamlessly. The new faces technology has been an incredible boost to organizing my pictures. The integration with my iPhone has made it easier than ever to sink all the necessary data and allowed me to carry thousands of pictures with me everywhere in an organized fashion.

My hope is that the next generation of iMacs are touchscreen so that I can go back to being a total Mac user. I am grateful that there is now a decent speech recognition available on the Mac, but until it has integrated mouse functions or the iMac comes with a touchscreen, I need to use a PC part time due to repetitive stress.

In closing, my greatest comfort level with the Apple iMac in addition to its ease-of-use is that currently the threat of viruses and other malicious software are so greatly reduced as to be almost nonexistent. It is nice not having to second-guess every link you click and every e-mail in your inbox. The best part is Macs just work. :-)