Today Sears announced that they will soon carry the Apple "iMac" computers in more than 800 of their stores. This may sound like just another corporate press announcement but I've got to tell you that I'm pretty glad to hear it. The fact that I'm typing this on one of the first iMac's sold only contributes to my enthusiasm.
I should back up and tell you that I'm a pretty experienced software engineer. My formal training goes way back to mainframes by Burroughs, Univac/Unisys, Honeywell and IBM. We fondly refer to these behemoths as "BIG IRON". But I am also a Master Unix Administrator and even have been programming for Intel/DOS/CPM machines since their early 1980's debut. What the heck does all that have to do with Sears carrying iMacs? Plenty.
I've worked with most platforms and operating systems on the market but by last year I was so sick of how difficult it was to keep Windows PC's running that I was about to puke. My kids needed a new system for back-to-school that could run cool new educational and business software without me having to spend my weeknights constantly trying to resolve system crashes and lockups. I spend my days fixing computers, at home I just want the damn things to work!
So we pre-ordered an iMac two weeks before they were initially released. The day I brought it home, I plugged in the machine, connected the keyboard and the phone line and that was it. It was up in about 2 minutes. One wire to the wall, one from the computer to the keyboard and the optional phone wire from the built-in modem to the phone jack. Boy, that was easy. Later I added a printer and a digital camera. The "hardest" part was letting go of all the CRAP that Microsoft/Intel have beaten into our brains about nonsense like "IRQ's" "Memory Interrupts" and "I/O Ports." There's none of that baloney on the iMac. Want to add a new disk drive? Plug it in and insert the CD, DONE! How about a digital camera? Nevermind the CD, just go directly to the Logitech's website for the latest version of their QuickCam software and, Oh yeah, PLUG IT IN! (I didn't say "take your computer apart to add new hardware" or even "reboot") You can plug and unplug accessories while the machine is running!
How reliable is it? My Windows PC's (and those of my coworkers) usually lockup at least once PER DAY. The iMac generally doesn't have problems unless you are trying to run some old versions of game software. Some of the free stuff we got from our public library was designed for much lower resolution monitors and couldn't deal with the incredible screen resolution of the new iMac. So, before running old stuff like that, we now switch down into low-res mode (a pathetic 256 colors instead of the usually MILLIONS, but I guess compared to modern PC's that default to only 16 colors, it's not too shabby!)
Yeah, but there's no software for Mac's, right? Man are you wrong! You can get Mac versions of almost anything you want from Microsoft Office to Tomb-Raider III. We don't have much in the way of virus software though. We thought there might have been an Apple virus back in December, but it turned out to be a dud. There IS anti-virus software available, but considering that almost 100% of virii are designed for Windows, it's probably a waste of money. Gee, I don't feel very left out.
So why not buy a PC? Some of them are pretty easy to setup and they're really cheap too. I guess it all comes down to your reason for owning a machine like this. If you want something quick and reliable that you and the family can use out of the box and for a couple of years to come (WITHOUT having to go back to college to learn how to "set your interrupt to avoid conflicts with that IRQ" and other senseless garbage, then you should consider an iMac. They're a pleasure to use and soon you'll start to forget about Windows messages like "Illegal operation performed, REBOOT" (unless you have to work with the #%@! things at your office!)
So, around Memorial Day, swing by Sears and get checkout the new Craftsman wrenches and pick your favorite "flavor" of iMac. They're all the same fire-breathing machines on the inside, but their "skin" is available in Grape, Tangerine, Lime, Strawberry, and Blueberry!
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