The Mac Is Back
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday November 13, 1999
Many have already fallen for Apple's Internet-ready iMac. Now, new models and a tastier price are tempting more people to take a bite, reports Daniel Fallon.
THE concept was revolutionary yet so obviously long overdue. An affordable computer for everyman, Internet-ready from the moment you opened the box; daringly designed around compact curves and see-through colours for people who don't have the living space to hide a beige box in the spare bedroom or study.
The iMac made a barnstorming debut.
Today, three funky new iMacs hit the streets. They're sleeker, cheaper and faster than last year's original iMac.
In fact they answer almost every criticism of the original marque. This time around, Apple really has hit the target.
It has also hit the iMac with a 10-tonne weight, flattening it into an eye-catching, Internet-savvy notebook dubbed the iBook.
The curves, colours and sheer friendliness of both products have lead Apple to gushingly describe them as "huggable". Although users may not get quite so close and personal with the iMac, Apple executives certainly owe the machine a big hug.
With more than 2 million machines sold worldwide - and about 47,000 of them sitting in Australian homes and offices, according to research firm IDC - the iMac has saved Apple Computer, which had been slowly slipping into oblivion.
Apple is now riding a wave of hip products, its fortunes and future reinvigorated by a clever, Internet-based strategy. It wasn't some litany of high-tech specs that made the iMac a hit. Its key selling point is that it's the easiest way to get on the Net.
"The whole aim of the iMac is to make it simpler to get online," says Apple Australia spokeswoman Myrna Van Pelt.
"We are working at getting everyone on the Internet in 10 minutes."
Ten minutes might even be generous. All you need do is lift the iMac out of its box, plug in the power cord, keyboard, mouse and a phone line, then follow the on-screen Internet wizard the rest of the way. This has options to sign up to OzEmail or Optus for Net access, although most other Internet Service Providers can supply the details you need. You can choose either Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape's Communicator browser.
"Four out of five iMac buyers connect to the Internet for the first time ever, and some 80 per cent of those are doing so on their very first day," says Van Pelt.
It appears Apple's iStrategy has been wildly successful. Yet the iMac was not without its flaws. Some users found fault with the relatively low chip speed and meagre memory allocation; others singled out the tinny built-in speakers or the pedestrian graphics performance. A more significant hurdle was that comparable Windows PCs undercut the iMac's $2,495 price by almost $1,000. It was a hefty premium for thinking different.
To its credit, Apple has not just addressed these issues with the new iMac - it has gone beyond the mandatory technology update.
The best news for buyers is that prices start at a tasty $1,995 for the entry-level iMac (there are now three members of the family). While trimming the price tag, Apple has increased everything else: memory is doubled to 64Mb, the hard drive is now a generous 6Gb and the G3 processor revved to 350MHz. Clearly, you're getting more bang for fewer bucks.
Apple also took the opportunity to make an even bolder fashion statement. The internals were re-jigged for a cleaner vista through the transparent casework, while holes on the top panel disperse heat so efficiently they've done away with the noisy cooling fan. The side-mounted connection panel into which the cables run is also now more accessible.
The Son of iMac has beefed-up video capabilities for better gaming plus an extraordinary pair of speakers from audio experts Harmon Karden, to which you can add the doof-doof-doof factor by buying HK's iSub subwoofer. And yes, it too has a see-through case.
By the end of November, the new breed of iMac will come with the just-baked Mac OS 9 operating system - however, the first batch of new iMacs is preloaded with the lesser OS 8.6. It'll cost you another $33 to step up to OS 9, which, we must admit, is a pretty poor "welcome" to customers.
A feature of OS 9 is the Sherlock 2 search tool, which, as well as scouring the hard drive and Internet, can track down almost anything for sale on the Web's major shopping and auction sites.
Support for multiple users lets mum, dad and the kids save their favourite desktop pattern, home page, personal files and e-mail settings with single password access.
There was one factor out of Apple's control when the iMac debuted in mid-1998. That was the supply of printers, scanners and other devices employing the machine's USB-only connection. Unlike Windows PCs and previous Macintosh models, the iMac lacked the conventional serial and printer ports. For months following the release of the iMac you could barely find USB products.
But now it's clear Apple's USB gamble has paid off. The iMac, and Microsoft's introduction of the USB-ready Windows 98, prompted manufacturers to embrace USB's plug-and-play technology, which makes adding hardware a snap.
Unfortunately, the new iMacs haven't grown a floppy disk drive, so you must still rely on e-mail to send files to friends. To back up your work you will need to buy an external storage unit such as a Zip or SuperDisk drive or alternatively use an online storage service such as iMacfloppy - which can even be customised to match the colour of your new machine!
Yet the floppy-free iMac wasn't the disaster some predicted. Despite the fact not everyone has e-mail and larger files can take forever to send over the Net, most iMac owners have clearly learned to live without floppy disks. Not nearly as many have adapted to the hockey-puck mouse, so replacement rodents made by companies such as Logitech have been a steady seller.
Earlier this year, Apple released a portable version of the iMac. The iBook is a laptop computer aimed at students and casual - but style-conscious - consumers. This $3,295 notebook represents Apple's strongest assault yet on the school and university market (watch for a review in next week's Icon).
Claiming six hours of battery life and featuring a vivid 12.1-inch display, built-in 56Kbps modem and "smoothly rounded edges that fit the curve of your hands" it's intended as much for thumping out last-minute assignments and keeping track of e-mail as enjoying multiplayer gaming.
The iBook's hottest feature is wireless Web surfing. It has a tiny radio module that talks to the optional AirPort base-station modem plugged into your phone line, school or office network. For iBook owners it's all about cutting every cord that ties them down; for iMac users, with the optional plug-in AirPort card ($195), they can put the computer in any room without ugly extension cords or extra phone sockets.
Turn to page 17 for your chance to win an iMac or an iBook.
Navigating the Mac maze
If you just want to surf
iMac ($1,995)
The cheapest and most cheerful iMac offers an easy way to get connected without the sting. The 350MHz G3 processor and 64Mb of memory are ample ammunition for zipping around the Net, hammering out documents and ripping through the latest games.
Play your favourite music while you work using the slot-loading CD drive; hook up printers, digital cameras and much more through the USB ports; and enjoy 6Gb of hard-drive space for storing all your programs, downloads and MP3 files. Just make sure you like blueberry, as that's the only colour this baby comes in.
If you're a budding Spielberg
iMac DV ($2,595)
You want to try your hand at home movies? Pull up your director's chair in front of the iMac DV. It stands for digital video, which is the hottest thing in camcorders. They record weddings, parties and anything onto a slab of computer memory instead of videotape.
When you yell "Cut!", connect the camcorder to the iMac DV's high-speed FireWire plug (think of FireWire as USB on steroids) and upload the footage onto the DV's ample 10Gb hard drive. You'll need all that extra space, plus the added grunt of the 400MHz G3 processor with 64Mb of memory, to store and manipulate the clips.
Apple's impressive iMovie video-editing software lets you cut and paste scenes, create credits and scene-to-scene transitions, and even add a soundtrack from audio CDs or MP3 files. You can create a low-budget indie masterpiece in less than an hour, provided you can resist futzing around with all the options and special effects.
Finished movies can be published on the Web, sent to a friend via e-mail as compact QuickTime files or saved back to your camera. And if you need a dose of big-screen inspiration, slip in a DVD of your favourite film.
It costs a little more than the classic iMac but you do get to choose from those five fruity flavours, so why not ask the AFI to cough up a $500 grant to develop local movie-making talent?
If you've got to have the best
iMac DV Special Edition ($2,995)
This flagship model enjoys all of the DV's features but with 128Mb of memory and a whopping 13Gb hard drive. It's really only suited to the most serious Mac heads and we can't help but wonder if it is worth the mark-up. Anyone who feels the need for that much speed might be better off looking at a Power Macintosh G3 desktop machine. But in its defence, the SE is dressed for business with a granite-cool graphite case, if you're too embarrassed to work on a strawberry machine in the office.
imacfloppy
www.imacfloppy.com
Apple Australia
www.apple.com.au
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald