Sunday, Sep 7, 2008
Apple's legions weigh in, prompting second thoughts on iMac pros and cons.
Sep 10, 1998 | Whatever else you might think about it, the iMac sparks sharp opinions. When a debate on Apple's new, sleek, blue-plastic Mac erupted at one of our editorial meetings last month, we decided to carry that argument over into the pages of Salon 21st -- hoping to sustain the spirit of lively give-and-take. In "iMac -- iLove it/iHate it," Janelle Brown took up the cudgels on the iMac's behalf, and I cast a more skeptical gaze on the popular machine.
If success can be measured by generating responses from readers and sparking a dialogue, then we hit on all cylinders. Of course, quality matters as much as quantity, and e-mails that read "yOU SUCK! iMAC RULES! THAT'S ALL" may not constitute the zenith of civilized exchange. Still, despite the occasional yelps from the junior wing of the Mac-enthusiast camp ("You are a total thick-headed, ignorant retard"; "Burn in Microsoft-dominated hell!"), the great majority of letters we received -- in a ratio of roughly 3-to-1 supporting the iMac and questioning my criticisms of it -- were friendly and thoughtful.
Many of you had a hard time with my comment about the apparent fragility of the iMac's plastic case, which, I wrote, "looks flimsy and feels cheap -- like it wouldn't survive a drop off a desk." What's with me, anyway -- who goes around dropping computers off desks? Have I ever had a computer fall off a desk?
Maybe I'm just clumsier than the average 21st reader, but in truth, during 15 years of owning computers I have twice seen them plummet floorward (once during an earthquake, once during a move -- both survived their falls), so my concern didn't seem so outlandish to me. In any case, my argument was more about the iMac's appearance of flimsiness, which is admittedly an in-the-eye-of-the-beholder kind of thing. I prefer my consumer-fetish objects to appear sturdy, tough, built to last, even if I don't actually intend to pummel them with mallets. To my eyes, the iMac -- bulletproof polycarbonate or no -- looks excessively fragile.
Many correspondents also pointed out one major oversight on my part: In wondering why Apple chose to rig its new consumer machine with a high-speed ethernet port when few home computer users have much use for it, I failed to realize that the ethernet connection is of great use to two groups: students at colleges with (increasingly common) wired dorms and home users with cable modems. Cable modems remain a wonderful luxury few of us have access to, thanks to the sluggish roll-out of cable Net services around the United States. But for students, ethernet indeed rules. I guess I've simply been out of school too long.
My complaint that the iMac's round mouse is hard to orient provoked derisive jeers along the lines of "Hey, stupid, if you want to know which way the mouse points, just find the cord!" Uh, sure; but I don't especially want to keep looking at my mouse -- I'd rather sense its direction by feel and keep my eyes on the screen. To me this is less a matter of taste than of common sense. Similarly, my objection to the iMac's omission of a floppy disk drive evoked a torrent of suggestions -- some kind, some dripping with condescension -- that I get hip to e-mail for my file transfer needs. Dear readers, I live by e-mail, and my in box overfloweth. But there are times, especially at home, when it is simply faster to pop a floppy in than to dial up the modem and wait for a Net connection just to move a little file from one computer to another.
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