By Gary Kirchherr
Thirteen years of Macintosh-media hype that surrounds the release of any new model has left me a bit jaded. Both Macworld and MacUser, when the latter was around, always talked about every new Mac as if it were the greatest achievement in the history of technology. For this reason I was, if not indifferent, only mildly interested in the rhetoric swirling around the then-unreleased iMac the last couple of months.
I was therefore quite taken aback with the public splash this computer made when it went on sale Aug. 15. I heard it was selling well, but didn't really realize the magnitude of iMac hysteria until a co-worker told me Aug. 17 that CompUSA already had sold out the 20 to 30 models it had in stock. Wow. Two dozen or so Anchorageites are willing to drive all the way to Dimond Boulevard to plunk down $1300 for a computer within two days of its availability? Maybe, for once, Apple really has created a computer that lives up to the prerelease hoopla. Anchorage's CompUSA wasn't an isolated case, either. CompUSA spokeswoman said in an Aug. 17 MacWEEK.com article that the iMac was the best-selling product launch in Apple's history - no insignificant fact.
So
why the excitement? Is it really that wonderful to have a computer
with a groovy, translucent case, a built-in monitor and modem,
Ethernet and a kick-butt 233-MHz G3 processor for $1300? Apparently
it is, at least as far as the buying public is concerned.
The enthusiasm isn't unjustified. The reviews I've read aren't unanimously enthusiastic, but even the critics grudgingly give the iMac credit for its cool look - a welcome change from the status quo - and easy setup. Personally, I'm bemused that Apple is getting so much attention for the "revolutionary" idea of using a built-in monitor. Of course, the Mac became famous in the first place 14 years ago because of the original model's all-in-one design; I'm glad to see the company, under its then-and-now leader Steve Jobs, is rediscovering the appeal of simplicity. Interestingly, Macworld's review - the most positive I've seen - pooh-poohs the 15-inch monitor as "too small for daily use." That's a curious criticism, since that's the size monitor most home users have.
Other design issues generated more controversy. The iMac's modem originally was going to be a 33.6K one, but Apple fortunately had a change of heart and incorporated a v.90 56K one instead. Wise move. It's hard to convince skeptical customers that you have a state-of-the-art, Internet-savvy computer when the thing uses an outdated modem, for crying out loud. But the debate still rages about the absence of a floppy-disk drive, and replacing Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) and SCSI with Universal Serial Bus ports.
The floppy-drive issue has incited heaps of derision. Typical is CNet's Aug. 14 review, which snidely observes, "for all the hype about the iMac being the next big thing for home PC users, we're left wondering how in the heck those people are going to print a page or swap a file with another computer." Um, maybe with e-mail? Exchanging data across a network? By using a medium that's actually more practical for today's computing, like a Zip disk? Sure, you still have to buy the Zip drive, or the SyQuest EZFlyer, or whatever else you use, but you can make the choice.
And let's be frank, here, folks - the floppy disk is a dinosaur. Software packages come on CD-ROMs now. Floppies' small capacity and short shelf life made them virtually worthless for archiving, and creating a startup disk with one is all but impossible. Floppies themselves take up reams of space - especially since a user really needs two backups because of the disks' high failure rate. And of course, they're slow. Hey, floppies were fine when that's all we had, but Apple has opted not to continue supporting obsolete technology. Geez, if you must use floppies, cough up the $100 or so for an external floppy-disk drive, and quit your whining.
Complaints about the iMac's USB ports are more valid - some existing Mac peripherals that use ADB and serial ports don't work on the iMac, at least not yet, and it's not clear yet which products are going to. SCSI-based devices are out of the picture completely. Obviously, this is no small issue if you have a spanking-new inkjet printer or a few external hard drives that you wanted to use with your new computer. (For more information about incompatibilities, see Macworld's iMac Reality Check.)
I don't want to come off as an apologist for Apple, especially since the company has such a long history of doing stupid things. But in fairness to Apple, adapting USB in its popular new computer does have merit despite the obvious grief it's going to give some people. The fact is, the Mac's output hardware was due for an upgrade, and there simply was no way to get around that without a little pain. ADB and SCSI were fine when we were using 8-MHz Mac Pluses and SEs, but Macs today need something far faster than ADB and serial ports, and much easier to use than SCSI. Come, now, you really aren't going to miss messing with SCSI daisy-chaining and ID conflicts, are you? I suggest that the USB skeptics check out Apple's USB Web page, which lists a few advantages of the new standard. Still not convinced, or can't afford to replace your old peripherals? Well, you can still buy a Mac with the old-fashioned ports. Last I checked, MacConnection still has a few 200-MHz 604e Starmaxes it's trying to unload for a song.
An immediate problem with iMacs was the news that they were having problems connecting with some Internet service providers. Within a week of the computer's release, some ISPs were complaining they couldn't get their customers' iMacs to connect reliably. An Aug. 25 MacWEEK.com article quoted Steve Jobs as saying the problem is with the ISPs, who Jobs claimed were using pre-v.90 56K modems, if indeed they were using 56K modems at all. Some ISPs aren't buying it. While the discussion continues, Apple has let it be known it has created an alternate modem script that will allow its modem to connect via the older v.34 33.6K standard. This takes care of not only ISP that use older modems, but noisy phone lines that can't handle 56K data transfers. The alternate script is in Apple's online Tech Info Library.
The problem with the iMac isn't the absence of a floppy drive, the presence of USB, or its Internet connectivity. It's that awful, tiny round mouse. Oh, those groovy-colored translucent plastics that let you watch the mouse's ball spin is neat-o, I suppose, but the mouse's shape and size is an ergonomic nightmare. The aforementioned Macworld review of the iMac diplomatically suggests that as far as the new mouse goes, "Style has won out over substance" and "A third-party opportunity definitely exists for alternate iMac pointing devices." Talk about understatement.
I don't get it. After Apple introduced its first boxy mouse with the Lisa in 1983, the company has followed up with progressively more comfortable models, culminating with the wonderful Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II. So what does Apple do? It decides to reinvent the wheel, and comes up with a goofy mouse that's even less user-friendly than the Lisa's. Bad move, people. Give us back a mouse shaped like the old ADB Mouse II in the next iMac.
And what about the next generation? It may be here sooner than you think. Legendary Macintosh gossipmeister Mac the Knife said in his Aug. 21 column that Apple at the end of November will introduce a new, faster iMac for the same price. The current one-and-only iMac will see its price drop to around the $1000 mark, according to MTK. Personally, If I were in the market for a computer, I'd hold off on buying a computer long enough to see if this prophecy is correct. MTK's record is pretty good, and even if he's wrong, at least some more USB peripherals should be available by then!
If this column wasn't windy enough for you, you can get more background from CNet's special report "Apple's Gambit." Another site with lots of good reading is Macworld's new site devoted exclusively to the iMac, titled - what else? - iMacworld.
While the computer media the last month have been focusing on Apple in general and the iMac in particular, the biggest monopoly in the Free World continues its 800-pound-gorilla ways. I thought the tidbits I served up in my Aug. 1 column would be tough to beat, but Micro$oft has done so with flying colors. While Bill Gates' slavish worshippers continue to whine about how the Department of Justice is threatening the very foundations of capitalism with its antitrust suit, we learned:
Mark Sept. 23 on your calendars. If these examples from the past month are any indication, the Justice Department lawsuit promises to be very interesting, indeed.