Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iMac Desktop with 17" M8812LL/A (800MHz PowerPC G4, 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, DVD-RW/CD-RW drive)

My first computer was a MacPlus back in the 80s...But, like so many, I was converted to the Windows world. However, after seeing this computer and playing with the wonderful Jaguar OS, I was immediately sold.

The operating system is so far superior to Windows XP it is almost comical. Why Apple has been unable to sell this to the masses is difficult for me to understand. The 17" iMac is, of course, gorgeous to behold. The display is phenomenal and the bundled software is terrific. Burning a DVD, which was about as easy as brain surgery on my Windows XP machine, is a piece of cake!

My major concern was the ability to "make the switch." Well, when the iMac arrived, I simply plugged it into my home network router and the iMac immediately recognized my two XP machines and file transfer was done in less than an hour!! It was easier to network my Mac to the XP machine than it was to get the two XP machines to talk to each other!...

This is simply the best home computing experience you can have, particularly in terms of ease of use with digital cameras, music, digital camcorders.

I have yet to experience a system crash.....wow!

This is my 2nd flat panel iMac. I first bought the 15" model when it came out about a year ago. I was so pleased with it and so JEALOUS when I saw the 17" model come out that I sold the 15" and bought the 17". This computer is fantastic for doing just about anything: surfing the net, Photoshop work (the huge screen is GREAT for laying out all of your tools while still leaving plenty of room for your image), burning CDs/DVDs, etc. I couldn't be happier with it. It makes a small footprint on my desk, it is fast, so quiet (you can hardly hear the fan), and as a bonus is so sleek looking.

I've read several negative comments on this computer saying how its bad because its "not expandable," I guess because this computer doesn't have extra drive bays or expansion slots. Who cares?! What else would you possibly want to add to this computer? It comes with a HUGE hard drive, a CD drive that can burn CDs and DVDs, good sound, ethernet (100mbps or the optional Airport card), etc. And even if you did run out of hard drive space or found the need for another type of disk drive, you've got three USB ports and two very fast Firewire ports.

For any potential first-time Mac users that may be reading this, listen up! I used to be strictly a Windows user until I finally wised up and bought a Mac. Don't be deceived by what some people may tell you. A Mac can do everything a Windows computer does, just without all of the operating system crashes. Software installs without a hitch, as does hardware. With Mac OS X, a lot of hardware is plug and play, no extra drivers needed. Believe me, you'll like it! Just buy one!

I loved the look of the new iMac, but the resolution was limiting - it was no better than my two year old Strawberry iMac! But I wanted the DVD drive and faster G4 CPU very badly. But I waited..

Then Apple went and read my mind and launched the 17" iMac. The same cool design, the same Superdrive for making my own DVD movies, but a gorgeous screen. I could only withstand it until I saw it in the store. Then it had to be mine. I can resist everything but temptation.

Although I am a professional Windows user, I love Apple design and OS X. I like the appliance-like convenience of iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. And I can even use a free program from Microsoft called RDC to login to the Windows XP PCs on my home network, and display their desktops on the iMac. I get the best of both worlds - the wonderful Apple design in my living room, connected to a cheap, fast Windows XP box hidden in a cupboard.

In fact as the iMac 17" screen is so wonderful, it has replaced all the other monitors in my house - I control my PCs from the iMac, and use the iMac as my hi-fi, my DVD player and all the other digital hub stuff that Apple have done so well. The networking features in Jaguar (the latest OSX release) make sharing files very easy, and the Apple Airport card works perfectly with my home wireless LAN.

Paying the extra above the top-of-the-range 15" model for the 17" display is money well spent. You'll love this computer. I know I do. Now I'm off to finish making another movie, using Microsoft Office, listen to some tunes, and love every minute of it on the best designed computer available.

Apple gets a bad rap for having "pricey" computers, but I've never found them to be such. Just look at what this baby comes with:

256 MB RAM.
The wonderful G4 processor, at 800 MHz, which is deceptively fast.
80 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
The SuperDrive which lets me burn CDs and DVDs.
A crystal clear 17" flat panel display. Flat panel monitors run into the HUNDREDS of dollars by themselves (...).
10/100 Base-T ethernet port.
TWO FireWire Ports
FIVE USB ports (three on the console, two on the keyboard)
NVIDIA GForce 4 MX Graphics card
Apple Pro Optical Mouse
Apple Pro speakers, and they are outstanding.
Built-in Microphone
Built in Airport antenna, for wireless networking.
Mac OS 9 and the luscious, UNIX-based Jaguar (OS X 10.2)
AppleWorks, a convenient suite of Office-type apps. Their database app is one of the easiest and friendliest around. I store lists of books, CDs and other such things with it.
Explorer
Quicken
The amazing iApps: iChat, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD and iTunes, all of which make computing so easy and fun in the digital age.
And still more apps--too many to list here.

To buy a quality PC with all of these things would cost about the same, if not more. The ports alone make this a good investment. Best of all, I know all the things in this computer will work together. That's what having a Mac is all about.

As always, Apple doesn't do anything on the cheap, not even with their "everyman" computers, like the iMac. Everything here is top of the line, and it all works beautifully. The most taxing thing about setting up the computer was getting it out of the box (the design makes it more fragile than most computers). Once I had that done, I had it up and running in about 15 minutes--and some of that time was spent upgrading to Jaguar. Connecting to my husband's Powerbook through our DSL router was as easy as clicking on Connect to Server, then clicking on his computer in the listbox. Jaguar even recognized my son's PC, and I was yanking mp3s off there, very fast.

The computer itself is very quiet, although the SuperDrive can get rather noisy at times. But the hard drive? Barely a peep out of it. The display is crisp and clean. The screen really does move with the touch of one finger--smoothly, effortlessly. The G4 processor screams through apps. Burning mp3s and CDs has never been easier, thanks to iTunes. Downloading mp3s and audio books to my iPod is a dream--and speedy indeed over the FireWire connection. I made a DVD the other day of just some clips that I'd collected over the years, and it was disgustingly easy with iDVD. I connected my new Olympus digital camera through the USB port; iPhoto popped right up and filled up the screen with thumbnails of my digital images--with only one click asking if I wanted iPhoto to always do that. Everything just WORKS with this computer, seamlessly, flawlessly, which has been the most refreshing thing about switching to Apple.

But let's face it: Besides the fact that it's a Macintosh, which means a user-friendly computer with quality hardware, the real reason anyone buys this new iMac is because its design is flat-out cool. It is so beautiful that, even weeks after receiving it, I'll just sit there staring at it, still amazed that THIS is a computer. Having my computer's circuitry nestled under a dome rather than entombed in yet another rectangular box is a delight. A round computer case! Who but Apple would have thought of it? Everybody will copy this idea (Gateway[snort!] has already tried), but, as usual, no one will come close to matching the sheer ingenuity of what Apple has done. Don't be fooled by wannabes. This is the real thing, and it's worth every penny you'll spend on it--and then some.

If you're shopping for a mid-range computer, go no further. First, though, I recommend seeing the 17-incher in person. The photos are nice, but it's stunning in the flesh ... er... circuitry. The larger screen, in addition for a far greater user experience, makes the machine balanced.

And then you turn it on. This computer now ships with Mac OS X.2 (Jaguar), which is hands-down the best operating system out there now. My girlfriend just became a switcher and is stunned at the improved user experience. The processor and graphics card in this model is designed to make the most out of OS X's architecture, and it shows. Drop in a little extra RAM and you'll find it nearly impossible to make this computer stutter ("Maybe if I opened ALL the programs! Muah hah hah hah!")

It's well worth the price to buy this over the 15-inch models. It doesn't sound like a big difference, but it is. LCD screens are brighter and crisper than CRTs (as well as being cool) and will save you eyestrain, but there's just one problem -- you can't go above factory-standard resolutions. With the 15-inchers, you're stuck at 1024x768, which won't be enough in the long run. This model, however, runs at 1440x900, which has about 65 percent more pixels. Yards of desktop space, and watching a 16x9 DVD on these widescreen monitors is, well, overwhelming.