New iMac Tempts Windows User - Almost

A Windows user, tested a new iMac, recalled fond memories of the original Bondi Blue iMac, was impressed with how the iMac has grown up, and was almost ready to make the leap, according to a story published by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

However, there were some flies in the ointment. Rather, "maggots in the apple." Even with this self-admitted play on words, the wording was deemed trite, according to Peter Svensson.

The first complaint was about accessing PC files on the network. "I had problems accessing files on my home PC via the wireless network. The iMac would only sometimes show the PCis shared folders. Thereis probably a fix for this, but this is something that should work out of the box," the author noted.

Next, the author, new to the latest Macs, had a hard time figuring out what mode the Mac was in: display off, sleep, and shutdown. The author claimed that there is no obvious external way to determine what mode the computer is in, and recovering from each mode requires a different action. [However, there is.] "Turning on a computer shouldnit be a guessing game. Sure, minimalism is great, but it wouldnit have killed the design to put in an LED that indicates the computeris state of relaxation," the author lamented.

Finally, the iMacs handling of fonts was met with some concern: "My other complaint is with how the screen displays small type, like the body text of Web sites. It looks faint and blurry on the iMac screen. This isnit unique to the iMac, as it has to do with how Appleis operating system places text relative to the pixel grid on LCD monitors."

These complaints suggest that, after all these years, Apple may still be grappling with how to close the deal with PC users. Of course, Apple has always been torn between Macintosh elegance and PC practicality. The good news may be that Apple is very, very close to closing that gap for good.

Mr. Svenssonis final words tell the story: "The iMac deserves to be a strong contender for any PC user looking to get a new computer. If I was looking to replace my PC right now, I would be sorely tempted."