iPerforma

Matthew Urban – 2001.04.01

This is a review of iPerforma, the next generation of Macs to hit the desktop and replace my vintage Performa.

The more things change, the more they remain the same. For example, no more Bondi blue, indigo, or blue Dalmatian cases, but back to basic beige. However, the screen is finally bumped up to a 17″ monitor. This combination of retro color and current state of the art, such as the 17″ monitor, makes the iPerforma a stunning machine – a first rate consumer computer by another name, a balance between the past and the future.

The Past and Future

68k and System 6. 25 MHz. Was it that long ago?

The iPerforma boasts a G4 processor running OS X at 533 MHz. It screams.

Old apps? No problem. Taking a cue from the 640 DOS compatible Quadra, iPerforma sports a 50 MHz 68040 processor to ensure that all my old apps, like Mac Man or Spin Doctor, will run native.

Nothing like having it all

Serial and SCSI ports. A beige box. Analog audio and video input.

They’re all back!

Yes, the new iPerforma has a single serial port and a SCSI port, in addition to FireWire and USB ports.

Finally a Mac that can use my old grayscale QuickCam out of the box – and comfortably use my FireWire CD-RW drive.

In addition to iMovie and iTunes, iPerforma comes iTV, a blend between the Apple TV/Video system and iTunes. iTV is a great application to stream video from across the world on your Mac.

Need to work on Turbo Tax as April 15 approaches, but you don’t want to watch The Simpsons? No problem, just say “save movie” from speakable items and the show will save itself on a 60 GB hard drive.

In brief, iPerforma is a Mac worthy of being everything to everyone – all for under US$1,000!