The G4 iMac Up Close And Personal ... Very
Personal!
Wednesday,
April 3, 2002
by David Engstrom
The more Time you spend with the G4 iMac, the
more its friendly elegance grows on you. You appreciate the
care that went into designing the machine from a purely 'machine
as art' point of view. Apple will garner boatloads of design
awards for this iMac, and they are deserved. Once again there
are a few areas where physical design won out over functional
design. With the first iMacs it was the aesthetically pleasing,
but awkward to use round mouse. With this new iMac, the main
functional problem we have found so far, is the power button
being placed on the back of the base unit. This is an exceptionally
inconvenient placement and I cannot figure out why Apple did
not do what they have done with the rest of the flat panel
monitors they sell, put the power on/sleep button on the front
of the iMac's flat panel display. If for some reason they
thought that this would break up the flow of the screen rim,
then at least put it once again, conveniently, on the keyboard.
Ok this is a pretty minor issue on a truly stunning
machine. You know how you always feel Jobs is going a little
overboard at Macworld when he claims that whatever product
he is introducing at the time as "I think this is the
best thing we have ever done at Apple"? You feel a little
embarrassed for the guy, gushing like a school girl in love
for the first time. Then you get that product in your hands,
and after a brief period of examination, you swoon too. Jobs
is right. The iMac G4 is the best thing Apple has ever done,
at least in terms of industrial design. The 20th Anniversary
Mac was one hell of a good looker, but the new iMac beats
it. This is coming from someone who has a 20th Anniversary
Mac on his desk.
When this iMac was introduced to the Press at
Macworld SF, there was a palpable feeling of excitement and,
though I know that this statement might embarrass some of
our more sensitive viewers, a feeling of 'love' exuding from
the Apple press relations people and other Apple minions,
who were there to show off and answer questions about the
new arrival. And 'new arriva'l is the right sentiment. The
press klatch was like a family gathering to celebrate a new
birth. There was Uncle Sal Soghoian, AppleScript Product Manager
at Apple, tickling the baby asking us if we would like to
see it stick its tongue out (open the CD tray), and PR woman
protectively gushing and telling him "no don't do that."
It was great fun. During the whole expo all the set up iMacs
had layers of people around them waiting to touch them and
take them for a spin.
Who knows what the next 'Best thing Apple has
ever done' will be .... I do know it will be fun!
Over the coming weeks we hope to bring you a
series of reports on the new iMac. Links to them will be posted
on the Performance
Edge index.
For some reason pictures make the base seem smaller
than it really is. Over all though the iMac takes up
very little space and is very light to move around ...
especially if you are used to the Classic iMac or the
Tower machines
Click on picture for larger version
At a slightly different angle. I processed
this picture before I discovered Photoshop's color correction
panel ... the iMac really doesn't have this yellowish
tint.
Click on picture for larger version
Looking down from the top. The screen is absolutely
gorgeous
Click on picture for larger version
This reflects more accurately the tone
on the iMac. Though they have come a long way digital
cameras seem to be a little funky on how they render
reality. At least our does at times
Click on picture for larger version
From another angle
Click on picture for larger version
Click on picture for larger version
Up close on the joint connecting the arm
to the screen. I assume that Apple did a lot of product
testing to see how these iMac would stand the ravages
of use and time .. especially in the hands of children.
Let's hope so!
Click on picture for larger version
Another shot of the back of the iMac
Click on picture for larger version
Ports on the left - : security lock hole,
headphones, speaker jack, 2 FireWire ports, Ethernet
port, power cable, modem port, 3 USB ports.
Click on picture for larger version
Remaining on the right is the video out
port for connecting a second monitor (Mini-VGA output
port - requires VGA display adapter). Further along
is the Power button. This is the one failing that we
have found so far with the G4 iMac. The Power button
is on the back of the base where it is hard to get to.
It should be either on the monitor housing in the front
or on keyboard.
Click on picture for larger version
Looking at the back of the iMac with the
power cord removed exposing it's port (middle). Also
visible is the metallic bottom peeking out below
If you say "alakazam alkazoo"
the G4 iMac will float about 12" off your desk
....
A close up on the vent holes. If you click
on the image to get the larger version, and you look
closely, you'll be able to discern the cooling fan that
lies directly below the holes. Air is drawn though a
series of holes that ring the bottom of the base unit
and out though these holes in the top. The fan is very
quiet and appears to be white like the iMac itself
Click on picture for larger version
Click on picture for larger version
The stainless steel arm supporting the
screen is very fluid in its movement and very sturdy
Click on picture for larger version
The more you look at this iMac the more you appreciate
the care that went into it's design ... from an aesthetic
point of view. When Steve Jobs gets up there at Macworld
gushing over the latest show stopping hardware/software
from Apple, it is easy to say to yourself "Man
he's going over the top." Then you get whatever
Steve has been hawking in your own hands and you understand
the reasoning behind the hyperbole .... it is justified!
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