GO TO THIS QUESTION, AND PROVE ME WRONG!

You're wrong -- the iMac does not "suck".

the imac is a "dummy" computer, it does everything for ya.  It doesn't have a floppy drive, one-button mice suck, and good luck upgrading it!

Optionally, you can add a "next-generation" SuperDisk(tm)
external USB-port floppy-drive. It stores 120MB per diskette,
and maintains "backward-compatible" with 1.44MB 3.5" diskettes.

It's brand-new, so that no upgrades are needed, yet.

Of course, Apple will announce upgrades, within the next 6 months.

It comes with:

* 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor,
* 32MB SDRAM,
* 4GB hard disk drive,
* 24x CD-ROM drive,
* built-in 56K modem,
* 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet (ready for ADSL or cable-modem),
* built-in 12Mbps Universal Serial Bus ports,
* Mac OS 8.1
* a collection of useful software.
* integrated monitor

All for about $1000.

A "dummy" computer -- well, at least it doesn't require
an expert to keep Windows from crashing.   :-)

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't computers designed to make life easier?

>Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't computers designed to make life easier?
A dummy-computer does everything for ya, so you won't have as much fun exploring it or learning better stuff(i.e. win95, win98, mac.)  If someone just wants a computer to play games on or do homework, then that type of comp is for that type of person.

>32MB SDRAM
WOW!  That is the most ram I have ever heard of.
>233MHz PowerPC G3 processor
Hmmm, is it just me or is that kinda slow?

BTW, support is something any mac is hard to find for.  When I say this, I mean finding something upgradable for it.  Go down to Comp USA and look for the mac section.  You will notice that most stores don't carry much mac stuff because they know mac is almost dead.  If I want a good 3d graphics card or a hot new sound card(like an SB LIVE!), do you think mac will offer something better?  I THINK NOT!

> most stores don't carry much mac stuff

My Ferrari is not upgradeable either,
so I guess that you think that it sucks???

My point is that there is no need to "upgrade" an iMac,
because it is built with everything you need:
---
Includes 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32MB SDRAM (expandable to 128MB),
6MB SGRAM, 512K of backside L2 cache, 4GB IDE hard disk drive, 24x CD-ROM
drive, 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet, 15" (13.8-inch viewable) high quality
display, internal 56K fax/data modem, 2-12Mbps Universal Serial Bus (USB)
ports, 4Mbps infrared technology (IrDA) port, built in stereo speakers with
SRS sound, Mac OS 8.5, Apple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse. Comes bundled
with the following third party software: Netscape Navigator 4.x from Netscape,
Outlook Express and Internet Explorer from Microsoft, Total Access from
EarthLink Network, Kai's Photo Soap SE from MetaCreations, Adobe PageMill
from Adobe Systems, Williams Sonoma Guide to Good Cooking from Broderbund
Software, Quicken Deluxe 98 from Intuit, Nanosaur from Pangea Software (game),
MDK from Interplay (game), AppleWorks 5.x, FAXstf 5 from STF Technologies.
--

Well, then we have different opinions.  I am the kinda person who upgrades a lot.  Considering how fast technology moves, that is why.  There are a lot of people though who don't like to or don't care.  Just depends on what you use it for.  So I apologize for making it seem like it sucks, it's ok, but I don't really like it for the stuff I do with computers.  After I tried it a couple of times(at my friend's house) I didn't like it.  But maybe it has some advantages over pc's that I don't know about.  But from trying it and reading about it, it is not something I would spend my money.  And the fact that I don't like alread-built computers, I like to build my own.

When it comes to the Mac
Most PC users don't know jack!


Here's some facts they might find surprising:

Apple is vastly larger than most PC users would
          believe. Don't take our word for it; just check the
          Fortune 500 where Apple Computer was ranked #114. (ahead
          of McDonald's, Federal Express, Time Warner, and General
          Mills), and over 100 spots ahead of, you guessed it,
          Microsoft (whose Fortune 500 rank is down at #219).

More web pages are created on a Macintosh than
          any other platform. Recent reports show that Macintosh
          is the #1 platform for Worldwide Web authoring, with 41
          percent market share.

Apple Wins J.D. Power and Associates 1995 Desktop
          Personal Computer Satisfaction Study. Apple Computer,
          Inc. leads the computer industry in overall customer
          satisfaction for desktop personal computers, according
          to the J.D. Power and Assoc.1995 Desktop Personal
          Computer End-User Satisfaction Study

The Mac OS is more popular than Windows NT
          servers on the Internet. After Unix, the Mac OS is the
          most popular platform for World Wide Web servers. More
          than 20% of the servers on the Web are Macintosh
          systems.

Over 25,000,000 Macintoshes have been sold and
          over 56,000,000 people worldwide use Macintosh everyday!

Apple's worldwide marketshare is much larger than
          the public has been led to believe. In fact, Apple's
          worldwide marketshare is greater than the COMBINED
          marketshares of Chrysler, Mitsushishi, Cadillac,
          Lincoln, Acura, BMW, Volvo, Lexus, Mercedes, Eagle,
          Infiniti, Saab, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, and Porche.

Macintosh computers based on the PowerPC chip,
          significantly out perform comparably equipped
          Intel-based PCs. Independent tests, using 10
          applications available for both Windows and Macintosh,
          showed that a 120 MHz PowerMac 9500/120 was, on average,
          51% faster than a 120 MHz Pentium processor-based PC.
          Tests by Byte Magazine confirmed these results.

Macintosh isn't just for graphics! Macintosh has
          a 50% share of chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
          scientific, and engineering computing markets.

The fastest PC is a Macintosh! That's right,
          Power Computing's 225MHz Macintosh clone is the fastest
          personal computer ever made. Period!

  Macintosh is still the only true "Plug and Play"
          computer. But don't take our word for it. Here's what
          Computerworld magazine had to say, "The full benefit of
          plug and play technology in Windows 95 is still two
          years away."

Apple holds the #1 market share position in K-12
          education. Apple has 63% of the installed base in U.S.
          K-12 institutions, according to QED. Apple's market
          share in K-12 has risen four points in the last year.
          58% of all K-12 purchases in the 95-96 school year will
          be Macintosh, per QED.

Even PC magazines have to admit Macintosh is
          better! The February 1996 issue of PC World magazine
          rated the Mac OS the best 32-bit operating system, over
          Windows 95, Windows NT, and IBM OS/2 Warp.

Apple leads the industry in customer loyalty! 87
          percent of those who use Apple computers, repurchase
          Apple computers.

Macintosh is still significantly ahead of Windows
          95 on features. Just ask Byte magazine who wrote, "To
          see tomorrow's PC, look at today's Macintosh." Or
          Computer Reseller news who wrote, "Market acceptance non
          withstanding, Windows is far, far behind the Macintosh."
          Or perhaps consider what PC Computing said, "Macintosh
          System 7.5.2 is by far the easiest, smoothest, most
          usable operating system out there."

Apple software exclusivity. There are currently
          over 1,000 "Macintosh Only" products that are not
          available for PC users.

Macintosh held its position as the #2 software
          platform in 1995. In the wake of the Windows 95 launch,
          Macintosh software revenues actually grew from Q3 to Q4
          1995 at a faster rate than during the same period in
          1994. Specifically, SPA data reveals that revenue growth
          increased 26.2% from Q3 to Q4 in 1995, compared to 9.7%
          for the year prior.

Apple has international appeal. Apple is the most
          used personal computer brand overall in Australia, per
          IDC, and is the number one brand in Australian small
          business, education, and consumer markets. Apple is the
          number one U.S. computer vendor and the number three
          vendor overall in Japan with 14% to 15% share per IDC
          and Dataquest. Macintosh was the number one selling
          brand of desktop computers in the U.K. in the fourth
          calendar quarter of 1995, per IDC. Apple's share was
          13.0%, followed by Compaq at 11.9% and Packard Bell at
          9.6%. The Macintosh Performa 630 and Performa 5200 were
          the number one and number three best-selling personal
          computers in the European home market in 1995, according
          to Dataquest.

Users who use both Mac and Windows 95 on a PC,
          like the Mac better! An independent study by Evans
          Research shows that people who use both system rated the
          Macintosh higher in every category including overall
          satisfaction, productivity, and ease of use.

Software developers make higher profits with Mac
          software than Windows software. Macintosh continues to
          offer developers and retailers greater profitability
          than the competition. Average revenues per unit remain
          higher overall for Macintosh software than for Windows
          applications, according to reports from PCData and SPA.

Apple leads in computer industry innovation.
          According to the Jan. 29, 1996 issue of Information
          Week, Apple Computer was awarded 53 U.S. software
          patents in 1995, more than any other vendor.

PC Magazine awards Apple top honors in customer
          service and reliability. Apple leads in reality. For the
          third consecutive time, Apple has received top marks in
          1996 for reliability and service from PC World magazine.
          Apple's customer support staff received the highest
          possible ratings in technical knowledge, courtesy, and
          follow-up. Apple also received "best"ratings in the
          survey's three product reliability categories. Apple
          also received the top ranking for quality and
          reliability from a Home PC magazine survey published in
          November 1995.

Apple's still on the cutting edge! InfoWorld
          magazine named OpenDoc the winner of the 1995 Landmark
          Technology Award, given to the most significant original
          idea or advance in a current technology each year.

Apple ranks as third largest computer
          manufacturer in the word. If Apple's third, who's
          fourth? IBM.

Apple's got some jack! Through all the doom and
          gloom of the national media, it's rarely mentioned that
          Apple has a healthy cash position of over $1.3 billion
          in reserves (that's billion with a "B").

Nobody can beat Apple's brand loyalty! Computer
          Intelligence InfoCorp just announced that Apple again
          led the PC industry in repurchase loyalty in 1995 and
          according to their report seven in eight of Macintosh
          users who purchased a PC in 1995 purchased another Mac.
          I wonder how many Packard-Bell buyers bought another
          Packard Bell?

When placed head-to-head, the Macintosh beat
          Windows hands-down in a public battle staged by the
          Software Publishers Association, titled "Ultimate Mac
          vs. Windows Challenge." The Windows team (staffed by the
          Windows Sources magazine editor and his assistant) was
          beaten in a series of real world tests (which included
          assembling the computer, connecting a printer; zip
          drive, connecting to the Internet, etc.) by Apple's team
          (which consisted of a 10-year-old boy who did all the
          real world tests and assembly by himself.)

Apple is worldwide market leader in digital
          camera sales. According to BIS, the Apple QuickTake
          share is greater than the sales of all other digital
          camera manufacturers combined

Apple was the number one vendor in the Canadian
          consumer market in 1994 and through the first half of
          1995, per AC Nielsen Marketing Research. Apple's unit
          growth in Canada through the first half of 1995 was
          double the overall Canadian market growth.

Apple is the multimedia king, as reports show
          that 63% of all multimedia applications development is
          done on Macintosh computers. And 33% of existing
          multimedia computers are Macintosh.

Macintosh is the undisputed choice of commercial
          publishers. Apple has a 63% share of the U.S. commercial
          publishing market and a 26% share of the corporate
          publishing market.

 Using Macintosh computers to develop software
          saves money! On average, the cost to develop and support
          Wintel (Windows/Intel- based PCs) applications is 50%
          higher per dollar of revenue than the cost to develop
          for Macintosh.

Macintosh rules the CD-ROM market. 72 percent of
          all multimedia CD-ROM titles are developed on a
          Macintosh; Regardless of the platform they run on, 42 of
          the 50 top-selling CD-ROM titles worldwide were
          developed on Macintosh; and Apple is the Number 1
          multimedia vendor in the world...for the second year in
          a row.

Interest in developing for the Macintosh is
          growing! A survey of several hundred top industry
          executives at Agenda 96 indicates growing interest in
          Mac development. While 57 percent of respondents
          developed or sold products for Macintosh in 1995, 65
          percent expect to develop products for Macintosh in
          1996.

Color publishing is Macintosh! Eighty percent of
          all computers used for color publishing jobs in the
          advertising, graphic design, printing, publishing and
          pre-press industries are Macintosh, according to a 1996
          study by Griffin Dix Research Associates.

Apple has large share of Internet client and
          Server stations. Apple's share of Internet client and
          server stations is twice as high as their general market
          share. And the Mac OS is the second most popular OS
          platform for Worldwide Web servers, according to a
          Georgia Institute of Technology survey; more than 20
          percent of the servers on the Web are Macintosh systems.

 In a test for the easiest to put together PC,      
                              a 35 year old Teacher was brought  in
                              to race A ten year old to see who could
                              set up a computer faster. The 35 year old
                              used a Pentium with Windows, and the 10 year
                              old used a 7500. The 35 year old guy quit after he      
                              took 25 minutes to find out how to plug things in,
                              while ten minutes prior, the 10 year old was just watching
                              the Mac do it's own Installations from 7.5.5, and five minutes after that,
                              He was wrecking havoc on Marathon Infinity. -Need we say more?

Contribute and pass around:

that was a textfile, slightly outdated, but you get the point.  macintosh is no way under and pressure, and the sold 20% to microsoft so they could get the rights to nearly all of microsft's program, as to make life easier for its users.

as to th imac, it is a network computer, specificaly made to operate on a LAN. that is why it has such ease of use and no disk drive. everything about it is bent toward a network, thats all there is to it.

MetallicA,

I usually give the following quote to  " mac vs. pc " questions.:

Excerpts are from an English translation of Umberto Eco's back-page column, in the Italian news weekly "Espresso," September 30, 1994.


..."The fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and users of MS-DOS compatible
computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the
Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the 'ratio studiorum' of the Jesuits. It is cheerful, friendly,
conciliatory, it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach--if not the Kingdom of Heaven--the
moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple
formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation.

"DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions,
imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can reach salvation. To make
the system work you need to interpret the program yourself: a long way from the baroque community of revellers, the
user is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment.

"You may object that, with the passage to Windows, the DOS universe has come to resemble more closely the
counter-reformist tolerance of the Macintosh. It's true: Windows represents an Anglican-style schism, big ceremonies
in the cathedral, but there is always the possibility of a return to DOS to change things in accordance with bizarre
decisions; ..."

One source indicates that APPLE has shipped
over 800,000 iMacs; that's one every 15 seconds.  :-)

This is a silly debate. The iMac is good at what it does. It is by no means a hard core professional mac though in a pinch can be used as such. It is designed for the home end user to "browse the net" and play moderate games...nothing more.

Is it just me or did Bill Gates totally coppy GUI and call it WINDOWS?  DUH!  Who doesn't know that?

How soon they forget that Xerox's P.A.R.C. (Palo Alto Research Center) had the first GUI, and that later GUIs, both from MS and APPLE, seem to have similarities.

> All macintosh computers have one button mice
> but you can by [sic] two button mice out of catalogs and stores.

Or, you can hold a keyboard-key while clicking the mouse,
and get the effect of a 2-button mouse.
Or, you can use a "click-and-a-half" in MacOS.

>Xerox's P.A.R.C. (Palo Alto Research Center) had the first GUI

hmmm, I never knew that.  Amazing how everyone(tv and mags) tell the story of how Macintosh built the first GUI.