Apple iMac Desktop with 20" Display MA589LL/A (2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Driv

Apple MA589LL/A 20 Inch iMac - Featuring the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, this iMac gives you the power and speed that you need to fly through business and creative applications, like iLife, the suite of Apple apps that comes included. iLife has everything for, well, your life - your digital life that is. Seamlessly integrated with the Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger operating system, it lets you easily edit, share, and store your digital photos; play, edit, and create both audio and video, including your own DVD movies. This iMac also comes with an iSight camera built-in, which is perfect for video chats. Give your fingers a rest and :) for real with friends and family around the world. 250GB SATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive Slot-Loading SuperDrive - (write speeds) up to 2.4x DL DVD+R, 8x DVD-R, 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+RW, 24x CD-R, & 16x CD-RW Slot-Loading SuperDrive - (read speeds) up to 8x DVD-ROM & 24x CD-ROM 20 Widescreen LCD Native Resolution - 1680 x 1050 Built-in iSight Built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi Wireless Network Adapter Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB of GDDR3 of SDRAM Port - 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 3 USB 2.0, 2 USB 1.1 (on keyboard), 2 FireWire 400, Optical Digital Audio/Headphone Out, Optical Digital Audio In/Audio Line-In, Mini-DVI Out with support for DVI, VGA, S-Video, & Composite Video via optional adapter Built-in Stereo Speakers Built-in Microphone Built-in IR Receiver Unit Weight - 22 lbs.

Customer Reviews:

Updrade from IBM Netvista X40
I have generally been a PC user but didn't like the hardware offerings that are available. Previously, I owned a IBM Netwista X40 which is now an old computer but analagous to the iMac on the PC side. As the only current options were a very overpriced Sony or Gateway, I decided to give an iMac a try.

The iMac is a very elegent machine. I would recommend it strongly. Learning OS-X and other application was not that big a deal although it is helpful to know someone that answer questions as necessary.

My only complaint, which can be a deal breaker, is that Macs don't have the univeral compatibilty to accessories that PCs have. In my case, the two items that jump out are Garmin GPS' and PDAs. Garmin does not support Mac's and only Palm's are compatible with Macs. At that, iSync is a lousy synchronization application which is long due for an upgrade. There is nothing comparable to basic synchrnization of PDAs with Outlook on the PC.

Actually, I have one other complaint. The 1GB or RAM consists of two 512KB cards and there are only two memory slots. So to upgrade memory, you need to replace existing memory which makes upgrading expensive.

All that said, I am happy with my purchase and you do get a lot for your money.
--2006-12-20

Superb
In a word, superb. I was waffling between the 20" and the 24" iMac, and decided on the 20 because of the price differential, and for less than that difference, I could buy another 20" LCD to connect to this to get all the screen real estate I would ever need.
The screen colors are extremely accurate (I do some amateur photography, so this is important to me), and it is very bright. The C2D processor speeds through anything I throw at it, even with just the 1GB memory it shipped with (I may upgrade it in the future, but see no reason to do it now). Even MS Office for Mac (2004), running under the Rosetta emulation, does not seem sluggish in the least... it feels as snappy as any of the Universal programs (iLife, Safari, etc.) the computer ships with.
The OS and the included iLife programs are a pleasure to use... with about 1 hour worth of work, I created a 385 photo DVD slideshow with transitions and music of a recent vacation... it really could not have been easier. The end product has surprised a few friends of mine that own Windows PC's--they can't believe what I can do with this.
I do have the need to run a few Windows programs not available for the Mac, so I did partition 25GB off the hard drive with Apple's Boot Camp utility (available at Apple's website) and can start up into Windows XP whenever I want, and it runs much, much faster than the fastest P4 (I think it's a 3GHz with 1GB RAM) that I have at my office. Truly the best of both worlds.
I can't recommend this enough.
--2006-12-07

a work of art
I grew up on Macs, I scribbled on an SE in MacPaint. For years I think we stuck by Apple not because Macs were in every way superior to the competition, but because we all felt that they had the potential to one day become the way technology was truly meant to be. Now, thanks to the design genius of Jonathan Ives, we have computing that is not only functional but beautiful. In the last two years Apple's design has reached a kind of apotheosis - they have mastered their art. This is true craftsmanship in a way that has been unusual to us for decades. For so long we have been used to products, architecture, even food, that was merely functional. Our houses and our cars became boxes, whatever was edible was served in cans. Mass production tended to ignore the fact that the aesthetic quality of an object can enhance its functionality on a deeper, emotional level.

The iMac is truly a work to behold. It adds beauty to its surroundings by its slim, graceful, harmonic design. If it sounds like I'm overstating it, it's only because I cannot express how much I love this computer.

To the underage slaves who built and packaged this computer in the Far East: I thank you.
--2006-11-25

Mr. iMac
Ahh, the iMac. As I sit in front of it's enormous screen and write this review, I can say I'm pretty satisfied, as a first time Mac user.

I have run into a couple of issues - mainly importing videos from my digital camera (the Canon SD400), but, other than that, I haven't really had any other major problems.

I just received the $100 mail in rebate check yesterday (I purchased it back in September when the rebate was $100, versus the $75 today).

The overall feel of Mac OS X is superior to that of Windows XP, which ran on my last computer. Everything is pretty simple. There are no drivers to install, which is nice. Just plug in a printer, and print away! It's also nice to not have to worry about many viruses. That being said, it did take me a couple of weeks to get used to the huge screen (and a whole new operating system). Web pages (such as Amazon) look completely different versus how they did on my old 15" flat panel PC I was used to using (much better, in fact).

The remote it comes with works nicely as long as your pointing it in the vicinity of the iMac. I got it to work all the way across the room (about 25 feet). On the right side of the computer there is a magnet you can attach the remote to, but I usually just keep it on my nightstand. I love watching Videoblogs from my bed :D

The computer is relatively speedy, even when you have numerous programs open. This thing has got power!!

The phone tech support is great, but, after the first 90 days, your on your own unless you purchase the extended warranty Apple pushes every time you call. Make sure to get all your tech calls in before the first 90 days are up :P

Overall, a great little machine. I won't ever go back (to Windows). This computer is far superior to that of any PC out there on the market. I was hesitant to switch from Windows at first, but I'm very happy I did. Highly recommended.
--2006-11-20

Brilliant
I needed to run a PC program for work and was going to get a used PC, but my wife insisted that I get an iMac and install Bootcamp instead. She wouldn't hear of having a "cheap PC" in the house. I must admit that she did not have a difficult time convincing me, though I did feel a bit guilty because our G5 iMac is only about 18 months old (We had a PC before that). I was prepared to be pleased, but the new iMac is a dream. Installing Windows worked flawlessly. I am not sure how Apple did it, but the installation was easier than a normal Windows install. That said, there were still the PC hassles of finding antivirus and anti malware software, Adobe reader, archiving software and realising that I couldn't save files in pdf format. Still the machine is fast. I have been throwing some very big bioinformatics jobs at it and it just sails through the analysis. The kids like to play games on the PC as well, but they don't access the internet except through OS X. I also try to do as much as possible on OS X. It is just so much nicer. Everything that you need is already there. Seeing the two operating systems side by side sure makes OS X look nice.
--2006-11-18

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