Home > Consumer Reviews > iMac 20" Desktop 2.66GHz/2GB/320GB/SD

I am visually impaired and have used Windows via the Windoweyes creen reader for many years. I needed to replace my 5 year old Windows machine and after a lot of research decided on the IMAC. the key motivator is that MAC OSX includes the Voice Over screen reader as an integral part of the OS which means that a blind person can (with some difficulty) set up the IMAC with no need for sighted help. This is not possible on a Windows machine. I then installed VMWare fusion without sighted help and that let me install Windows XP Home without sighted help. Windows started fine and I then installed the Windoweyes screen reader. I can share documents and music between MAC and Windows and as VMWare fusion stores all of Windows and its applications and data as a single file then Windows backup and recovery is easy. This combination gives me the best of MAC and Windows and hopefully I will never need sighted help again!
The IMAC is an elegant and very complete machine. My only dislike is the laptop style MAC keyboard, but my old Windows keyboard works fine on the IMAC.

as i am writing this review i am using by brand new imac. i am so pleased with it, i dont think i would ever move back to windows again, why, when you have parallels or boot camp. everything is easier and more fun. little things make life so much easier with everything been designed specifically for mac. and my god is it fast, although this is from my old windows laptop...oh and no viruses.

Having been a PC owner for a long time, and being fed up with MS Windows on numerous occasions, it was time for a change! This machine simply does not compare.....it's utterly outstanding, superior and completely more user friendly than any Windows based PC. I completely recommend it to anyone, and if you cant bare to leave Windows behind, with an application called Boot Camp on the iMac you can install Windows and have two computers in one!

If you are considering a new computer, i definitely would consider an iMac.

I've had this product for a month now. It is my first mac after countless desktop and laptop pcs. I've had lots of friends who drone on endlessly about how great macs are...but sadly they may well be right. It took me less than 20 mins to get the whole system up and running. It just works. The screen is big and very clear. It's a joy to use. I like my old mouse; no problem, just plug it in; it just works straight away.

This is not a cheap machine, but if your worried about the cost, I would say that the build quality is brilliant and I have experienced no blue-screens, weird errors, lost connections, conflicts or virus issues.

My kids like playing PC games. Quite a few popular titles are available for this machine and they play well. We have Spore and World of Warcraft working with no issues, and using the old PC discs. Nb Most games don't include the Mac version on the PC disc.

This computer is very versatile and great home machine. Highly recommended.

I've used Macs for many years: the first desktops I ever used were Macs. I bought this computer to replace an 8 year old iMac which was still working fine, but just getting a bit tired. At work I use Windows so I'm familiar with both systems. When the new computer arrived I planned to spend a whole evening setting it up, ready to use.

But even I, a seasoned Mac user, was amazed at the ease with which the computer was set up. In literally 5 minutes I had internet, e mail, my accounts, etc. and was ready to work. Everything just works perfectly, and the screen is an absolute joy: it generates a real 'wow factor' when you see it.

The computer is incredibly stable. Despite installing loads of stuff I've not had a single crash, freeze or other issue. The icons for applications take a little getting used to, (the icons for mail and the browser are not intuitive to me!) but that's a small gripe. The Dock and Spaces are really extremely useful features, helping you to work more efficiently.

So this is just a great product. No worries about security with a Mac, no patches to download and install every month. It's almost completely silent, and looks and works just great.

Update after 1 month: I'm still extremely happy with my Mac. My children complained that their favourite games wouldn't run on it. Mac has a thing called Boot Camp, which comes free with your Mac. I got a (legal) copy of Windows XP and using Boot Camp I can now choose whether I start up using Mac OS X or Windows XP. The memory, video card, web cam, etc. all work under Windows just as well as Mac. So if you really can't let go of Windows, here's a solution for you: install Windows on your Mac and you have two computers for the price of one.