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Computerworld - Editor's note: Last month, online news editor Ken Mingis snagged one of the first iMac G5s and offered an early look at Apple's latest desktop (see story). Here, Yuval Kossovsky weighs in.
Like many of you, I heard the iMac G5 announcement several weeks ago, and when I saw a picture of the new desktop computer on the Apple Web site, my first reaction was: "I want this -- now!"
I recently had the pleasure of taking delivery of the top-of-the-line 20-in. iMac G5 -- provided by Apple for review purposes -- and I can honestly say that I still have that same visceral reaction every time I see it anywhere in my house.
I asked the folks at Apple about their design goals and philosophy in creating the new iMac and came away with this: The design of the new iMac G5 is based on the consumer using the machine (yes, they made this for you) and redefining the consumer desktop for the 21st century. They want to do for the desktop and home computer what the iPod did for music.
Generally, only the screen, mouse, keyboard and media drive of any computer are regularly accessed, and the rest of the parts are considered necessary evils. Moreover, the box itself is usually considered ugly and intrusive -- not something you would want in your living room, kitchen, office or anywhere else it might be seen.
The iMac G5 changes that by hiding the computer inside a 2-in.-thick flat-panel LCD. The clean design and neutral white coloring ensure that the device will complement any decor. The keyboard and mouse can be tucked into the foot that supports the panel/computer, keeping the iMac's footprint to a minimum. The iMac tucks away anywhere, but it looks so good, you won't want to hide it.
I want to stress that the iMac G5 is truly a "family computer" and was designed as such. For those who need to do intensive 3-D renderings, genome sequencing or other compute-intensive tasks, Apple's Power Mac dual-processor G5 machines are more appropriate. However, if you're just surfing the Internet, getting e-mail, processing photos, editing home videos, making music, doing home banking and studying, the iMac G5, with either a 1.6-GHz or 1.8-GHz G5 chip, is more than enough computing power.

iMac G5

There are a few other design and operational touches I discovered that, again, show how Apple engineers made this a family machine inside and out. The screen has a tilt range from -5 degrees to +25 degrees,