Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple eMac Desktop 17" M8892LL/A (800-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive)

I've used Macs my whole life and the emac is a computer that's worthy of the price tag. It has a Superdrive (CD/DVD Burner) which would cost hundreds of dollars more if you bought one of the PowerMac series. I've burned a few CD's and DVD's so far and the results have been amazing! With iDVD, you can make your own home movies. With a digital camcorder, I was able to film a recent family reunion and added old family photos, taped interviews, etc. to make a cool little gift for extended family members.

The only reasons I don't give the emac 5 stars are it's not upgradeable like the PowerMacs are. With the emac, you're trading processor upgrading for a cheaper cost, but this truly is a great computer, and it runs OSX (Jaguar) just fine. Jaguar is shipped with the emac, so you don't have to buy it seperate. Also, the fan which is used to cool the computer, is quite LOUD. I've heard it from other rooms when it's quiet.

So if you want an affordable all-in-one desktop computer with the ability to burn DVD's, this is your best option. I recommend upgrading the memory to 512 MB if you plan on running many programs. Jaguar takes a minimum of 128 MB.

Here is a computer that truly empowers the user to be part of the digital revolution. The best part? Someone else did all the hard work. Apple, in one fell swoop, gives you the power to create your own CDs, DVDs, manage MP3s, make movies, and more. To be fair, all of these things are possible on a PC as well, but not out of the box and not without some fairly intense software/hardware juggling. There are some trade-offs for this machine. Apple does not supply enough RAM for it. get a minimum of another 128 megs (though 256-512 more would be better) and as of yet, there are no upgrade paths available. Some enterprising company will eventually come up with something (they always do!). If you use this machine online and send email to misguided PC using friends, you may also want to take advantage of the discount available for Microsoft Office for OSX. It too is an amazing product (doubly so for coming from Microsoft ) with many features not available for the PC version. If movies are one of the reasons you buy this machine, another piece of hardware may be needed. If you have a digital camcorder with iLink/firewire, then you're good to go! If you have an older camcorder or lots of footage on VHS, you may need (again depending on your digital camcorder as some allow analog pass though)an analog to digital converter. Sony makes a good one as does Dazzle. I personally use the Dazzle DV bridge and have been very happy with it. Also spend a little more at the altar of Apple and download QuickTime Pro for 29.99. It's a great companion piece to iMovie. For iMovie tricks, get the excellent book by Erica Sadun called iMovie 2 Solutions also available at Amazon.

Hubba Hubba. I got home, took out the Mac, and within an hour, I'd already set it up, connected to the internet, surfed the web, and burned a music CD mix. The ads don't lie.

A year ago, I gave in to pressure from friends/PC owners who told me I could get a faster, cheaper computer which ran all my software from work. It was definitely cheaper, but after a year of poor performance, regular system crashes, and difficulty performing the most basic tasks (like burning a CD or installing software), I moved back to Mac.

I'd never tell anyone not to get a PC, but I would recommend this Mac if it's important to you to own a reasonably-priced, all-in-one setup that burns CDs and DVDs, has tons of style, and works well on a regular basis.

p.s. I'm not really a 1 year old. well, maybe in terms of maturity...

All mac fans know that the iMac was a great success. The new eMac doesn't fall short of the iMac reputation. This computer is perfectly designed for schools, has a lot of power, and is overall a great computer. I would say that even people who don't happen to own a school could use this computer as a great resource. If you are looking for a Mac, I would recommend this one.

To start off: if you are thinking about making "the switch", go for it! The eMac is perfect for people who want the power of the G4 processor for less money than an iMac.

I've always been a supporter of the Mac, but haven't used them most of my life. At my house, my parents use Wintel boxes with Windows XP Pro installed. While this is M$'s best operating system yet, it doesn't come anywhere close to Mac OSX. If you use Windows, you know that it crashes way too often. Mac OSX will never crash on you, mainly because its based on Unix. So all you Unix, Linux and Windows users, your search for rock solid stability is o.v.e.r.

The eMac comes with a treasure trove of software preinstalled on it. Applications like iTunes, iMovie, iDVD (if you get the Superdrive version of eMac) and iPhoto are perfect for managing your digital lifestyle. I use iTunes all the time to easily create and burn CD's for everyone in my family!

But music and movies isn't all the Mac is good for, at my school I am the layout editor for our newspaper. Windows just didn't cut it for creating the paper, but this Mac is godsend. While I am currently looking into buying M$ Office X, I use Appleworks to create everything. Appleworks seemlessly can open Word documents. In fact, Macs coexist and speak to Windows boxes better than most Windows do themselves!

The eMac was originally created for schools and education. In part, the same goes for me. Being a student, I find the eMac can easily do any task. It includes the World Book Encyclopedia (an excellent refernce and info source) installed on it. Running many programs at the same time is a breeze. One thing I would suggest is that you purchase some extra RAM for this computer. 256k is kinda low, I would recommend 512 MB's.

While some people may shun Apple's good looks and slick designs, don't be fooled, they aren't all fluff and no substance. The built in sound system is excellent, light years ahead of Wintel built in "sound systems". The graphics are very sharp, pretty good for games.

Bottom line:

This computer is great for everyone, now stop reading and go buy it!