This afternoon, my buddy from down the street dropped by a new, 17-inch iMac, the hot model with built-in iSight camera, Front Row, and remote control. We had planned an Apple Store trip together, when the iMac arrived for sale. But my work schedule wouldn’t accommodate the time off. We had agreed to an even swap. He would take my Dell Media Center PC, so he had always planned on buying the iMac anyway.
The Media Center’s departure is emotional, because of the attachment to watching television. The dual-tuner let me record two TV shows at the same time. The DVR also meant more TV watching and still too much time wasted channel switching like a mindless hamster running a wheel. Going nowhere.
The monitor size is a trade off, too. I swapped out a beautiful 20-inch Dell monitor for the iMac’s built-in 17-incher. Sure, the iMac’s display is just breathtaking, but it feels small for watching DVDs from across the room compared to the Dell monitor.
The new iMac will serve several purposes. My daughter’s homeschooling will be one important use. Another is for non-TV entertainment. It’s probably better to read a good book on the couch with music playing from the iMac than mindlessly clicking TV channels. The new iMac will be the main creative station of the household, for photos and movies, in particular.
I got a 512MB memory upgrade and would have taken 1GB had the local Apple Store stocked the DIMMs. A new pair of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II flank the iMac on either side. Strangely, the Apple Store only had an odd configuration in stock: Wireless keyboard and mouse rather than the standard wired keyboard and Mighty Mouse. I donn’t mind, because I prefer the wireless gear.
Did I mention the new video-capable iPod?
Photo Credit: Jake Bellucci