Pros:
Great performance, low space requirements, super quiet
Cons:
Glossy screen can be annoying
The Bottom Line:
What computer could be more user friendly and easy to use?
Overall Rating:
Author's Review
This is the fourth iteration of the iMac I have owned. This most recent addition to my stable of macs shines above all others with one exception which I will note below.
I ordered this machine to replace my MacBook at my office that I had been using for the last year. I have had all of my other iMacs at my home so this is the first iMac I have used in a Windows corporate climate.
The machine to my office in typical apple speed. It was almost there before I ordered it their fulfillment is so fast. I took it out of the box and transferred all of the information from my Macbook over to it making it virtually a clone of my Macbook. The transfer took several hours and I just let it go and came back to it at the end of the day.
Every program worked just like it had on the Macbook only much, much faster. My Macbook had 2GB of Ram and I put 3GB of Ram in the iMac. I had planned to use the iMac like I was the Macbook. I run a 17" monitor to the right of the Mac on which I run a windows emulation via Parallels. This is one of the slickest setups you can get. The iMac connects with your network seamlessly but there are a few programs that we use that don't have a Mac counterpart, namely Microsoft Dynamics (used to be Great Plains) which I run on my windows XP in Parallels.
The number of ports on the back of the iMac could be a problem for some real power users. You can solve this like I did with a USB hub, powered certainly, so you don't run into any low voltage notices by plugging in power hungry accessories.
The glossy screen causes some issues with me because I get a fair amount of glare from the lights in my office on the screen. I solve the glare problem by installing a $40 overlay that makes the screen work just like the old matte screens. It has a small cutout where the camera is so you don't block the view of the camera.
I have not had any problems with the iMac, as goes for any of my other desktop macs. I expect this will last me a while until I outgrow the performance needs or something much cooler comes out.