January 31st, 2000

[1:50 PM] Walt Mossberg Of Wall Street Journal Offers Ringing Endorsement Of iMac DV Special Edition by Staff Thanks to The Daily iMac for pointing out this article from The Wall Street Journal to us. Walt Mossberg writes about computing for The Journal, and as such is one of the most respected journalists in the industry. In this particular case, Mr. Mossberg was asked if a Sony Vaio was the best choice for a digital editing machine. His reply was that the iMac DV Special Edition was not only the better choice, but that it was one of the best Macs ever. The question and answer from The Wall Street Journal: Q. I have a nice new Sony DV Camcorder, and want to edit digital videos on a PC. I like the idea of sending home movies to friends via CD. Two models I am looking at are the new iMac DV and the Sony VAIO desktop. Other than video editing, this computer will be used largely for Internet activity. Although I presume the software for the iMac is great, I am concerned about the additional software availability compared with the Sony PC. Your thoughts? A. I like both of these computers, but the $1500 iMac DV Special Edition (not the plain DV, but the Special Edition) is better for video editing, in my view. The software is better, and the FireWire port (which connects the camera to the computer) is better integrated into the operating system. Also, the special edition has a generous amount of memory and hard-disk space. In fact, it's the best Mac I've ever used, and one of the very best PCs of any kind. As for your software concern, it's true that there is much more software for the PC, but there's good software for the Mac in almost every common category, now that Apple has been revived. And, since you'll mainly be on the Net, the Mac is the equal of the PC in that environment. And, with special software, the iMac can run the occasional Windows program you might need. As always, we encourage you to read the full article. The Mac Observer Spin: A more ringing endorsement could not have been written. Mr. Mossberg has taken heat from the Mac community, including The Mac Observer, for years due to seeming slights to the Mac in his writings. His views have often seemed slanted towards Microsoft, but since the release of the iMac DV late last year, and somewhat before that as well, Mr. Mossberg has obviously been impressed with Apple's consumer offerings. In his own columns and interviews at such TV outlets as CNBC, Mr. Mossberg has again and again said that the iMac DV or iMac DV SE was a great computer. This is a welcome change, and one that bodes well for Apple's sales. Mr. Mossberg is indeed a very popular journalist, especially in the mainstream and business worlds. Personal Technology by Walt Mossberg