Writing for the Associated Press, Larry Blasko has posted a review of the iMac entitled iMac Praised, but Not for Price. He also does a comparison of the iMac and a Celeron-based system from Dell.
After comparing the particulars of the 800MHz iMac and the 1.6GHz system from Dell, Blasko noted that the Dell’s flat panel monitor isn’t as adjustable as the iMacs, and it also lacks FireWire.
“No doubt about it, for being nifty-looking, the iMac wins hands down. But unless you’re willing to pay a $271 tribute in artistic appreciation — and that’s before shelling out for the missing floppy drive — it’s something to consider carefully,” said Blasko. Apparently Blasko is unaware that the vast majority of Mac users have lived quite contentedly without the vestigial floppy since well before the turn of the century.
“If you’re on the original iMac, a compromise choice might be the latest version of the all-in-one original, now running at $999 for a 600-megahertz machine with 256 megabytes of memory and a CD-RW drive,” said Blasko.
He added that consumers would still find a better value in a similarly priced PC. “… but it’s understood that Apple True Believers make other cultists seem tame.”