Opinion: Is iMac just another Mac?

You have to give Apple--well, Steve Jobs, actually--credit. A year ago, thecompany was teetering on the edge of oblivion, with a software strategybased around an unpopular server OS no one wanted to develop for. Today,Apple Computer is basking in the glow of three consecutive money-makingquarters, and on Saturday they will launch the latest bid in its comebackstrategy, the iMac. The iMac has pushed Apple back into the limelight, withfrontpage stories in major newspapers, coverage on all the major TV newsnetworks, and glowing reviews from happy journalists that were seeded withfree units.

Is it really that good?

I'll be heading out the CompUSA this weekend to find out, but frankly, I don't see what all the hubbub is about. The iMac, which was had preordersin the 150,000 range, will be bought primarily by existing Macintosh customers, just like other Macs. There will be some gains in the educationmarket, I suspect, though I've seen advertisements for Compaq, IBM, andother computers will similar specs--but not the cool iMac chassis--sellingfor less than $1000. What you really get when you buy an iMac is a slowMacintosh that costs more than similarly-equipped PCs. The 233 MHz CPUused in the iMac is slower than the CPU you can get in any other Macintosh,which feature 266, 300, and 333 MHz processors. I don't have a problem with the lack of a floppy drive, but I suspect some people will.

And that integrated monitor. Yee gods, that might have been a nice featurein 1984, but today, I want to be able to swap monitors should the poorthing die. When your iMac monitor dies, the whole system goes with it.And there is no way to upgrade it: On my PC, I've upgraded over time froma 15" to a 17" and, finally, to a 21" monitor. On the iMac, you're stuckwith a tiny 15" monitor.

No matter.

The iMac doesn't change the very basic problems with the Macintosh: A userinterface that refuses to let you do more than one thing at a time, thelack of software in actual retail stores where people actually shop, andthe steadily declining marketshare that Apple suffers. Apple could sell amillion of these things by the end of the year and it really won't do muchto reverse the trend. Apple advocates will point out that sub-5% marketshare is also enjoyed by such companies as Mercedes Benz and BMW but thesemarkets don't rely on aftermarket software as the computer industry does.This isn't an oranges-to-oranges comparison, though it makes for funcopy.

The real "morning after" experience for iMac will come when Dell Computer,Gateway, Compaq, and the slew of other PC manufacturers simply copy and exceed the iMac design in their own, higher-volume machines. Yes, Apple pundits will (rightfully) scream cries of the PC copying the Mac yet again,but in the end, it just won't matter. If you're interested in ordering allyour software mail-order, and not being compatible with the rest of the world, the iMac *is* a beautiful looking computer. But when it comes to computers, beauty is only skin-deep: It's not about beauty, it's aboutavailability