My New iMac: What's to Love?

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since I walked into the Apple Store to browse and instead walked out with my first Apple product. I’m still learning to love this sleek, responsive machine now sitting on my desk in front of the living room window.

I’ve relied on Microsoft and an assortment of Dells and Toshibas in the 14 years since I became computer literate. During this entire time I heard the rumors, and what I was pretty sure was hype about the superiority of the Apple machine. For the first 10 years, I wasn’t really interested in the distinctions. I was knee-deep in discovering how the computer could change my life, especially my work life, and I really didn’t see any reason to get a more expensive computer just because it would have a few more bells and whistles.

I do a lot on the computer these days, and gradually I’ve learned to appreciate the finer points. However, even a year ago, although by then I’d heard innumerable friends and acquaintances deliver impassioned speeches about their love affair with all things Mac, I still didn’t consider it a necessity to switch to Apple, just a preference. I still hadn’t really gotten the message; I mistakenly thought that the Apple would just be a ‘better’ computer. What I didn’t know, and am just now really beginning to understand, is that this is an entirely different world of computing.

Maybe it’s because all the software in the iMac is designed with the machine in mind -- and vice versa. Maybe its because there is more emphasis on elegance and design; there is no doubt that the sheer beauty of my experience on the computer now is seductive.

For instance, the feel of the keyboard, the weight, and the action under my fingers is – well, it’s really nice. (I’ve compared mediocre products of one sort with the high end version before. One such instance that comes to mind is the guitar. Placing your fingers in the right position to play chords on the guitar, and then maintaining that pressure throughout the strumming or picking, immediately tells you whether you have an expensive, well-made instrument in your hands or something crudely less than that. It just plain hurts to play a cheap guitar; your fingers will rebel.) There is something similar at work here with this keyboard. My fingers fly across it, met by the feel of steel and a slightly organic clicking sound – I make very few mistakes even though I’m typing much faster than usual.

I also love that the computer is built into the monitor. Or, maybe it’s more accurate to say the monitor and the computer are One. :) There’s a sense of unity here, of ‘No Waste,’ of having planned ahead to be the best and knowing what that means.

Each time I sit down to my iMac, I find something new to rave about. I’ll check back with you in another week after a couple more sessions at the Genius Bar…