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New Core Duo iMac: First Impressions

c.k. sample, iii
Updated ·2 min read

So, yesterday, I decided to be conservative, save some money, and purchase the 17-inch Dual Core iMac, which was in stock at the Palisades Apple Store, rather than wait for the more expensive 20-inch to arrive. After all, I've already ordered a fully-loaded, top of the line MacBook Pro, so I may as well be conservative with the iMac. Also, someone at the Apple Store screwed up, because when I got the iMac home and unpacked it, I had a free upgrade to a wireless keyboard and mouse. Nice! I need to order more RAM and the monitor adapter (wish they'd included it...), so I can plug in another monitor and try the monitor spanning trick.

As soon as I opened the box, I lost the iMac remote. It turned back up about 25 minutes later, and now I am keeping it stuck to the side of the iMac.

So far, I have to say, this machine is very fast. Even with only the default 512MBs of RAM, this baby launches programs fast. Safari and iTunes are instantaneous in nearly everything (with only a slight load screen when visiting the iTMS). Universal binary programs are all super fast, and most of the programs running in Rosetta still function very well, as long as they aren't graphics intensive. Unfortunately, World of Warcraft is quite laggy with frame-rates fluctuating from 7-20 per second. I hope the universal binary version comes out soon. iPhoto is fast and cool, but would seem to need some more RAM to really zip through my 12K photos. I'll report more details later today, and hopefully have a nice video podcast of the new machine for you sometime today or tomorrow, so stay tuned.

I was disappointed to find that GraphicConverter is no longer bundled with the new Macs, but there is a universal binary version of the application already available. For a full list of apps included with the new iMac, check after the break.



List of included software:

  • Safari

  • System Preferences

  • iWeb

  • Stickies

  • Sherlock

  • Photo Booth

  • OmniOutliner

  • Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive

  • iSync

  • iPhoto

  • iTunes

  • TextEdit

  • Internet Connect

  • iMovie HD

  • DVD Player

  • iDVD

  • Dashboard

  • Chess

  • Image Capture

  • GarageBand

  • Quicken 2006

  • Dictionary

  • Font Book

  • Mail

  • Automator

  • Address Book

  • QuickTime Player

  • iCal

  • Big Bang Board Games

    • Big Bang Mancala

    • Big Bang 4-In-A-Row

    • Big Bang Checkers

    • Big Bang Backgammon

    • Big Bang Chess

    • Big Bang Tic-Tac-Toe

    • Big Bang Reversi

  • iChat

  • AppleScript

  • Calculator

  • Comic Life

  • Utilities

  • Installer

  • ODBC Administrator

  • Directory Access

  • Migration Assistant

  • Network Utility

  • NetInfo Manager

  • Terminal

  • Console

  • VoiceOver Utility

  • Grapher

  • Activity Monitor

  • System Profiler

  • Keychain Access

  • DigitalColor Meter

  • Disk Utility

  • AirPort Admin Utility

  • Printer Setup Utility

  • Audio MIDI Setup

  • ColorSync Utility

  • Java

  • Bluetooth File Exchange

  • AirPort Setup Assistant

  • Grab