iMacs For All

12 October 1999 - Evan Kleiman

If you've ever ordered a pizza with someone, you've experienced it. No two people ever want the same thing. I guess this is the same when ordering a computer.

Now people can finally have the computer that's suited to them - last week, Apple introduced it's new iMacs. These are the new iMacs which the internet has been abuzz about for the past month.

The new iMac comes in three different varieties. A base model for students and beginners. A step up from that one, called the iMac DV, which adds more features, and adds a little more price. And lastly, a pricier, but enhanced DV, called the DV special edition.

The first model is a lot like a plain cheese pizza. It only costs US$999, and it only has basic features. Features such as two USB ports, each with its own controller (this might sound like a geeky thing - but all it really does is speed things up) are standard. The only downside is it only comes in one color, blueberry.

Even though this computer is very much like its predecessor, it has one feature that stands out. It's US$200 less expensive. This marks the entry of the iMac into the sub-1000 dollar market. Now that there is finally a really affordable iMac, Wintel computer makers will have more competition.

The next model is a lot like a pizza with extra cheese. The iMac DV comes in lime, strawberry, tangerine, and grape. Of course, it also comes in blueberry. For US$1,299, the iMac DV is a huge value for the money. Other than the regular features of the blueberry iMac, it also adds a 4X DVD drive, a 10 GB hard drive, and 2 FireWire (a.k.a. i.Link) ports.

This computer is pretty much an iMac for home users who want to do a little bit of video editing.

Lastly, we have a super-iMac. It's sorta like an iMac with double cheese and mushrooms. This one is called the iMac DV Special Edition. This is the iMac you may never need to upgrade. It comes standard with 128 MB of RAM and a 13 GB hard drive.

This computer is more centered towards Mac users that want some of the multimedia capabilities of a G4, but want nowhere near the high price, as the DV SE is priced at US$1,499.

On a closing note, these iMacs are right for everyone. Whether you need an affordable little computer for homework or a nice computer for video editing, the iMac is for you.  

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