From the Lab: Penryn iMacs show promise

Macworld Lab has begun testing the new iMacs released Monday, and we’ve got results for the entry-level 2.4GHz model as well as the build-to-order 3.06GHz machine.

Apple Updates iMac

CUPERTINO, California—April 28, 2008—Apple

The philosophy of iMac

Let me tell you something about my mindset. When I bought an iPhone, one of my first thoughts was: "How do I hook up a bluetooth keyboard to this thing?" It's that kind of thinking that has always stood between me and the iMac. Because in this world, there are two kinds of people[1]: the iMac people and the tower people. iMac people love the all-in-one package that their system brings. It's hard to look at an iMac and not think that it's smiling at you. The iMac delivers the entire computing experience in a single friendly unit. Customization? They do it at the store. Buyers decide what kind of memory and hard drive space they want. And then they buy it. And they're done. Tower people don't think that way. Memory, drives, peripherals -- these are all things that ebb and flow throughout the lifetime of the unit. More USB ports? Throw in a card. Widescreen monitors just went on sale? Buy one and eBay the current screen. Coming from an tower perspective, the iMac has always puzzled me. It makes people happy without ever needing to be disassembled and reassembled. Sure, there are hobbyists who do exactly that but they are usually tower people playing with iMac-shaped toys. Most iMac users I know are perfectly happy to use their Apple system for the entire lifetime of that unit -- often a very long lifetime indeed -- and never crack it open and mod it. Ever. Astonishing. So here I am raising a glass to the iMac on its birthday and to all the iMac users whose lives have been enriched by this little puzzling unit. May your systems be reliable and long-lived. And may you continue to enjoy your all-in-one system. Cheers! [1] That is, other than the people who divide people into two kinds of people and the people who don't.Permalink | Email this | Comments

MacMall offering $100 rebates on new iMacs, in stock now

MacMall, Apple's largest direct reseller, is offering up to $100 in rebates on the just-announced Penryn-based iMacs, each of which comes with free shipping, a free printer, and a free copy of Parallel's Desktop 3.0. The reseller is claiming stock...

Intel Provides early 'Montevina'-Like Technology to iMac

Today's iMac updates provided a few surprising upgrades to the existing iMacs. The key changes include: - Faster Penryn processors (2.4GHz-3.06GHz), up from 2.0-2.8GHz Merom processors. - 1066MHz Front Side Bus, up from 800MHz....

Apple iMac 3.06GHz unboxing, hands-on, and benchmarking

Look what arrived on our doorstep today! That's right -- the shiny, expensive new iMac that's now equipped with that funky custom and / or overclocked 3.06GHz CPU. Take a look at us wildly unboxing and handling the behemoth in the gallery below, and get a load of its fairly impressive Xbench scores after the break. Gallery: Apple iMac 3.06GHz unboxing, hands-on, and benchmarkingContinue reading Apple iMac 3.06GHz unboxing, hands-on, and benchmarkingPermalink | Email this | Comments