If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
"It looks like Barbie's computer."
"It should have fish swimming inside it."
"I want one. I don't even like Macs, but I want one."
New computers at Wired Digital usually go as unnoticed as new chairs. But the iMac now occupying our front desk compels everyone to comment. Designers, engineers, and FedEx drivers gush whenever they lay eyes on it. iMac's curvaceous lines and attention to detail have the same inexplicable emotional appeal as a New Beetle. Or better yet, a newborn.
It's about time a computer makes us fawn over it. The original 1984 Mac made the personal computer an acceptable consumer item, thanks to its toasterlike packaging and simple operation. Nowadays, when the PC is a required desktop centerpiece, iMac is the first computer designed to act its part. Its cherubic rotundness invites parental doting and avuncular inspection from any angle, not just the front. The translucent blue color scheme, which seemed risky in advance publicity photos, works surprisingly well in the flesh - er, plastic. We found ourselves hunting through drawers to find network cables and mousepads that complement it. To our delight, we discovered that a standard white 10baseT line and a blue Hello Kitty wristpad match the iMac perfectly.
Unfortunately, the software inside this huggable package isn't much different from last year's Apple offerings. Performance is improved noticeably, but otherwise it's pretty much the same operating system. Internet access is made new-user friendly by a talking setup program and a bundled ISP offering. After a couple of system lockups, however, one office cynic deemed iMac's best feature to be that "it reboots faster." Apple's long-delayed OS replacement and some new killer apps are necessary to inspire another 1984-style revolution. Meanwhile, since most of us will be stuck running Office 98 no matter what computer we buy, we might as well look good doing it.
iMac: $1,299. Apple: www.apple.com/.
STREET CRED
Novel Sales Method
Virtual Handler
Digital Wordsmith
Redundancy Has Its Virtues
A Case for Transvestites
History of Hype
Baby Blue
Seeing Ear Theatre
Gone Gonzo
Dawkins's New Medicine
Put Your Noggin to Good Use
ReadMe
City of Bits
Return of the Giants
Game Boy Color
Contributors
