[psmith2.0]

Oh. My. Gosh.



We got these at work, and I'm finally in a quiet time where I can configure mine a bit, transfer some stuff over, personalize it a bit, etc. We'll be getting the Adobe CS2 in next week, so I can't do any "real work" on this yet, but I'm able to set it up, poke around, etc.

Holy cow...what a blazing monster. I recommend anyone on the fence about the iMac G5 (17" or 20") to GET ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, a little perspective:

I'm coming from a nearly six-year-old 400MHz G4 (Sawtooth, because it's the AGP graphics). OS 9.2. PageMaker 6.5. Photoshop 7. "Ugh" on all the above (yeah, yeah...I know. I've been on a crusade for nearly two years to get this place into the 21st Century, but it's been quite the battle. I won, but it just took some time and effort).



So now I'm going to a FAST, modern Mac (hardware AND software), Tiger, Adobe CS2, etc.

I'm a happy clam this morning.

First off, this screen is completely insane! So bright, so crisp, so...HUGE! I was using some old beige ViewSonic 17" @ 1152x870 with a bubble, poochy screen and a cracked bezel before...



It's so nice. During keynotes and stuff now, I'll be able to join in on iChat. I'll be able to visit iTMS during lunch. I've got Safari instead of Internet Explorer, Mail instead of Outlook Express.

Sorry for the rambling...just had to share.

For the first time in years, my work machine matches my personal PowerBook as far as the OS and usability. I've used OS X since the public beta, and migrated to it exclusively upon Jaguar's arrival (threw OS 9 off my home computer nearly three years ago). But I've come to work here for the past couple of years and felt like one of my hands was tied behind my back and that I had a muzzle/blindfold on!



I've been so upset (and embarrassed) that we weren't using OS X here, despite all my efforts to make it happen. I just work with some real stick-in-the-mud types who aren't too keen on change or learning new stuff, and it was REALLY becoming an issue for me.



But this is a HUGE step in the right direction...

All hail the mighty 20" iMac G5 w/ Tiger...for it is good.

[psmith2.0]

I can't get over this screen. Did I mention that already?

[bassplayinMacFiend]

The screen is most awesome. Best part of the computer for me and the main reason why I got mine last Fall.

Enjoy it.

[kretara]

The screen is pretty nice. We have 2 of them here at work (normally would not buy an Apple AIO for a business, but we really needed a Mac quickly) and I am very impressed with the screen.
The iMac is a nice machine. I just don't know how you can do graphics work on 1 monitor.
Congrats!

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by kretara I just don't know how you can do graphics work on 1 monitor.

Oh, it's a total chore...



Consider the fact that I'm accustomed to (and have known nothing else) 15" @ 1280x854 at home, and (previously) 17" @ 1152x870 at work. I seem to do fine work on both.

I somehow think "I'll manage" with 20" @ 1680x1050. Gonna be tough, but I'll give it my best...

[Engine Joe]

Congrats! I don't have the G5 iMac, but I do have the 20" display (actually two of them, now), so I know what a feast it is!

[709]

That's awesome, Paul. Congrats.

Honestly, I don't know how you managed to stay with OS9 this long...especially having OSX at home and knowing how much easier/better it is for just about everything. I think I would have blown my lid years ago.

Don't forget to buy XSan to get those machines networked!

[Engine Joe]

Originally Posted by 709 Honestly, I don't know how you managed to stay with OS9 this long...especially having OSX at home and knowing how much easier/better it is for just about everything. I think I would have blown my lid years ago.

My fiancee works in publishing here in NY and they're still on OS 9.2 at the office. Drives her (and everyone else) crazy. Worse, many people there don't know better and thinks that these 5 year old work machines with an old OS is what "Apple computers are" and want to switch to Windows ("Our new PC at home is so much faster and more stable than this!").

[thegelding]

ha, still loving mine too...congrats, a truly wonderful machine in all regards....

do you have the 400 gig HD?

g

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by 709 Honestly, I don't know how you managed to stay with OS9 this long...especially having OSX at home and knowing how much easier/better it is for just about everything. I think I would have blown my lid years ago.

Believe me...that wasn't my doing. I've been "fighting for X" all this time. I've been here since April 2003, and when Panther came out in October of that year, I began, in earnest, to "toot the OS X horn" (realizing that with Panther's arrival, OS X was indeed "ready for primetime").

I was hesitant to push too hard when Jaguar was around (because I knew it wasn't "quite there" in several areas, plus I was new here and "being good").



But once Panther hit that autumn, I tried SO hard. I had layers to go through. Had to make the case to someone who would, given the chance, still be using 8.6. Then, above HIM, a bit of a cheapskate, penny-pincher owner, who'll spend gobs on this or that, but doesn't quite see the importance of spending money in other areas (say, for instance, the DEPARTMENT THAT PRODUCES THE PUBLICATIONS THAT GIVES THE REST OF THE COMPANY REASON TO EXIST!!!).



So after two years (literally) of trying, pulling back, trying some more, muttering to myself, dealing with OS 9.2 idiocy (modal dialogs, less-then-elegant implementation of everything, random crashes that would take the whole machine down, restarts and wasted time, etc.), things finally came my way.

Just irks me that we could've been on X two years ago, and at least enjoying THOSE benefits. But now we get X, brand new machines, new CS2, etc., so it all works out well.

Just so frustrating, all this time...knowing there was indeed a better way, OS-wise, and not being able to enjoy it at work.



And I DID blow my lid a few times, believe me...



"This is ridiculous, guys...it's 2004[2005] and we're using five-year-old software, six-year-old software AND an OS that Apple themselves have bid farewell to a good three-plus years ago. Hell, even Microsoft and Adobe aren't making stuff for OS 9...what does THAT tell you?!?! Time to embrace the new, for crying out loud! It's not like we're getting FEWER (or lengthier) deadlines...".

Inertia, fear, complacency and cheapskateness...a deadly quartet, and one that I've gone toe-to-toe with for two years.

I'm tired.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by thegelding ha, still loving mine too...congrats, a truly wonderful machine in all regards.... do you have the 400 gig HD? g

We just went with the stock 250GB, which was a HUGE step up from the 40 and 60GB we had (I'd replaced the original 10GB hard drive on my G4 a year or so ago, due to failure). So 250GB is 4-5x more than we'd had.

Our art files/graphics library is on a separate, centralized 80GB FireWire Maxtor (yes, it's backed up) that we both access, so there's very little "bulk" on our personal actual machines, other than the OS, apps and the small project files themselves.

I would've liked to have saved a few bucks and "downgraded" the hard drives (knowing we'd NEVER use 250GB), but, alas, it wasn't an option. We could've had Rev. A 160GB on here and it would've been more than enough.

But it's just a gigantic step up in every single way: processor, speed, RAM, hard drive, graphics, modern wireless, USB 2.0, I've gone from a DVD to a SuperDrive, etc.

[curiousuburb]

If you've still got the old Sawtooth around the office, set them up side by side for some speed tests.

Particularly something that shows off the G5. (If you have access to the Test Drive CD that shipped to stores to show off the PMG5s... or some benchmarking apps) if not, perhaps just 100+Photos in PShop with Exposé for the told you so satisfaction of productivity gain.

A bit of Fontbook or the Special Characters palette to have him pick the font he wants might also provide a bit of jawdropper action if you really want to rub it in.

[psmith2.0]

I think he'll see for himself when he gets his set up!

I have had the pleasure of causing a few eye-popping moments from some co-workers. They come into my office and see it and go "oh, that's a cool screen...look how big it is! What does the other part look like? The tower...where is it?"



I love those moments.

When I tell them "you're looking at it...the whole thing is right here" (pointing to the iMac), they freak!



I show them the slot-loading drive (I'll stick a disk in to prove it...haha), show them the ports on the back, etc. When I tell them that the entire computer is "behind the screen" and that what they're looking at is it, they just can't quite seem to get their head around it.

I would go off on a "why Apple never does this stuff in a well-done commercial of their own is beyond me!" rant, but I'm in too good a mood. Besides, it's Friday.

[Mugge]

Oh you lucky bastard, I envy you!

Nice to hear you are happy

Never having used OS9 I have a question. Was OS9 really that bad?

[geneman]

Originally Posted by Mugge Never having used OS9 I have a question. Was OS9 really that bad?

It wasn't the best OS, but I think the answer is that OS X is just that good

worst part of OS 9 was if one app failed the whole system would go down.

[psmith2.0]

Well at the time (pre-OS X) OS 9 certainly seemed great. It wasn't Windows. By comparison, yeah...it was a fine OS. But to use OS X at home for 3-4 years THEN have to go to work and use 9, you realize that they're nothing alike, and how great OS X is.

Just simple things: when you open up a "Save" or "Open" dialog box in OS 9, you usually have to deal with that then and there. You couldn't go click back into the system and do other things. Installing software, updating the OS and things of that nature just seem cumbersome and "the long way 'round the bend", looking back.

And yes...if Internet Explorer or Photoshop or whatever experienced a major hiccup, 9-out-of-10 times it was going to take the entire system with it. Everything would freeze, and you'd have to restart the entire machine.

At least in X, if one program is acting like a goober, it only seems to affect itself and not other apps or the system. I can't even recall having to restart an OS X-based Mac because some app was "acting up". I just force quit, and relaunch, the offending app.

Tons of other things too that are different: networking or setting up printers, for instance. So much in X just seems to make sense, and is easy (for non-techie nimrods such as myself, it's a pleasure to use).



And just simple things, like changing your desktop pattern...much quicker and easier in X compared to 9. OS X just makes 9 look weak and clunky, although - at the time - it was the Greatest OS in the World™ (and was still, for me, preferable over the alternative).



In fact, I think everyone who has come to the Mac recently and only knows OS X needs to spend eight hours working in OS 9. You'll gain some perspective AND little things in X that might nag you, suddenly won't.

[Mugge]

No memory protection?

How did it perform compared to Win2k?

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Mugge No memory protection? How did it perform compared to Win2k?

I bought my first Apple, a Titanium PowerBook G4 in 2001. Within 2 hours, OS 9 hard crashed. After a couple more crashes (still in my first evening of use), I had to reinstall the whole system. This lengthened the time between crashes, but compared to my home built dual celery Win2K box it was unacceptably crashy. I had to wait a month and a week for OS X 10.0.0 (with the debug code removed and everything! ) to be released before my TiBook was stable enough for real use.

If I didn't know that OS X was right around the corner I would've returned the TiBook within a week. That's how bad OS 9 was for me.

[Robo]

"Shocks...pegs...lucky!!!"

The 20" iMac G5 is, quite possibly, my favorite desktop of all time (I think I might like the 20" iMac G4 a bit more).

I'm planning on getting a 12" Powerbook (my favorite computer...ever) when they get updated, but sometimes I kinda wonder if I should just get an iMac instead. True, I have no place to put it (but my brother is moving out soon...), but I can't help but wonder if portability is overrated. I enjoy the mobility of my current Windows craptop, but for $200 less than the Powerbook, I could get the base-level iMac...and for $200 more, I could get the heavenly 20" model.

I'd have trouble justifying getting an iMac, as my family just got a new Windows desktop, but...Oh, hell, I wouldn't need to justify it at all. It'd be a Mac. An iMac. With a big screen. (I love small notebooks, but I'm wondering if I'm going to really want to edit video on such a small, non-widescreen display.)

It's amazing how easy it is for me to "upsell" myself. This summer, I was pumped for getting a Mac mini. Then, in all the hubbub around the iBook refresh, I realized it was feasable for me to get a 12" iBook. When I couldn't get the Superdrive on the 12" model, I began to hope that maybe I could get a 12" Powerbook when they were updated, and sure enough, that's what I've been planning on. I thought that would be the most I'd hope for, after all, I prefer small notebooks for the most mobility.

Now, just when it's beginning to look like the Powerbook really will be updated, I start thinking about the iMac...even the 15" Powerbook.

I guess that's the downside of loving pretty much everything Apple makes.

[psmith2.0]

How about the best of both worlds: get the 12" PowerBook you've liked all along, then continue to save and get the 20" Cinema Display to connect to it.

Ultimate portability AND, while at home, the use of a luscious 20" widescreen?

That's the combo that appeals to me most, and will most likely be the route I take next time around.

[curiousuburb]

Roboman, if video editing will be your primary task, your question should be:

"Do I want to edit video on a laptop with slower drives and a G4 with bottlenecked FrontSideBus?"

Put that way, the G5 iMac with 6x faster FSB and desktop-class drives is a no-brainer.

Plus, iMac RAM is cheaper, easier to install, and you can go to 2GB.

[Mugge]

I have been pondering the same solution, due to the fact that my PC isn't doing much else than collect dust since school started. And my iBook's 12" screen isn't ideal for all tasks. But I think the RDF has weakened lately for some unknown reason?

EDIT:
curiousuburb beat me to it.

[Robo]

pscates: I've thought about it, and if the 20" monitor saw another price drop (to $500 or so), I'd consider saving up for it, but I won't be able to afford a Cinema Display anytime soon. You have to remember, when I started thinking about buying a computer this fall, I was basically looking for something to use until the Intel switch - I was planning to buy myself an Intel Powerbook as a graduation present or something. But now I'm in a film competition, and my needs for a computer kinda changed - I actually need a computer now, for starters. I was hoping for a 12" Powerbook, and it's looking like that'll be what I'll get, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'd be better suited with an iMac instead. And if the 15" Powerbook sees a price drop...

curiousuburb: I'll need to edit video on my new Mac, but video editing won't be my only task. It is surprising how much more powerful the iMac is than the Powerbook, though. But I can't wait for Intel...literally. (Unless the Intel Powerbook is introduced in January, in which case we won't see a Powerbook update this year, and all this speculation would be moot anyway.)

I'm just trying to decide how important mobility is to me. I know I want any laptop I buy to be smaller and lighter than my current hunk of plastic...but I think the 15" model (maybe even the 17" model) is lighter than my current 14" Toshiba. I want a small enough notebook to not mind carrying, which is why I was set on the 12" model, but with video editing, I think I might want the larger widescreen display the 15" model delivers (it's lighter than the 14" iBook, after all). But unless the 15" model gets a price drop, I doubt I'll be able to afford one anyway, even if I do decide I want a larger notebook.

But do I need a notebook at all? The desktop of my dreams would only be $200 more than my Powerbook, and it'd be quasi-portable enough that I'd be able to set it up at school when I wanted to show my team clips or something.

Of course, there's the fact that my parents are helping me pay for any computer I do get...since I've been spinning it as a school purchase, they might want me to get something I could actually take to school. (At least I got my dad to stop insisting on Windows.)

It was all so clear last night...I was going to get the new 12" Powerbook. And today...I'm so not sure...

It's amazing how a few months ago I was just looking for a Mac mini or iBook to last me until the Intel Powerbooks hit, and now I'm talking about dropping $1,600+ on a 20" iMac or a 15" Powerbook.

At least I get an education discount...

...my mom's going to regret taking that secretary position at my school.