Re: The sad Truth about iMac:

[CUTjefbla@bconnex.net (Jeff Blakeney)]

This thread is off topic and I wasn't going to reply but then I
decided to see how my reply would turn out.  After typing up the
reply, I considered just deleting it without sending it but decided
that after all that typing, I might as well share it with the world.

However, don't expect me to come back and defend these points.  :-)

On Thu, 4 Mar 1999 23:02:31 -0800, "Charles J. Sarchet"
<csarchet@sinclair.net> wrote:

>Well John, I think that before you make any purchase, you ought to determine
>what your needs really are.  It is true that the iMac is not the end all
>beat all machine, but it does have it's place as can be displayed by the
>iMac's sales figures.  The interesting thing about these figure are that a
>majority of the people buying the iMac are first time computer buyers and
>WinTel converts.

Umm, I thought that was his point.  I doubt the number of "WinTel
converts" is very high so the majority of people buying the iMac are
first time computer buyers who don't know anything about computers or
the computer industry.  These people don't realize that the machine
they are buying uses totally different hardware from all the other Mac
models, is fairly limiting expansion wise and that they will most
certainly want to buy a whole new system in a year or two.

>The iMac is focussed at people who want a computer that is not going to give
>them a bunch of heart ache and will be easy to use.  Most are not concerned
>with blazing speed and the latest games on the market.  All
>technology-challenged people want is ease of use.  There is an article in
>the latest issue of 3D-Design by Chris Tome that really give a good
>perspective on the iMac and the G3.

If they want a machine that isn't going to give them "a bunch of heart
ache" then they really shouldn't be buying an iMac.  Yes, the Mac is
pretty much always easier to set up and use than an IBM style of
machine but just think of all these first time computer users going
into a computer store to buy a new piece of hardware.

Customer: "I would like to buy a new keyboard and a hard drive for my
           computer."

Salesman: "What type of computer do you have?"

Customer: "A Mac."

Salesman: "Well, we have just what you need."

And imagine the surprise of the iMac owner when he gets home and
discovers that he can't hook up the ADB keyboard or the SCSI hard
drive to his machine.  :-)

Remember, as you said, there are a lot of first time computer buyers
getting these machines and most of them will have no idea that there
is any kind of difference between a standard Mac and an iMac.

>As far as plugging the iMac into the wall and surfing the net goes, this is
>possible with most ISPs that are not still in the dark ages.  With my ISP,
>the only information I need is the phone number, my user name, and password.
>After providing it once, the Net is no more than a click away, and this is
>true for both the PC and Mac no matter what the flavor of the month is.

I'm curious, how does your computer do Domain Name Resolution if you
don't give it the IP address of a Domain Name Server?

Besides, you are still skipping steps.  Once you've plugged in the
iMac, you still have to contact the ISP to get them to set up an
account for you which requires you to pay them somehow and you may
need to leave your house to do that.  Then you have to wait for the
ISP to set up your account which, depending on when you are setting up
your account, can take up to two weeks or more (Note: This is a worse
case senario.  It is usually much shorter.)  Then you need to get the
information from the ISP and enter it into you iMac.  Then you can
finally try to connect to the net.  Provided nothing has gone wrong
(like you entering info incorrectly, the ISP making a typo in the info
they send you, wrong account type set up on ISP, et al) then you will
finally be on the net.

This is a LOT more involved than a simple click like there are stating
in the commercials.

>But back to my original point.  What do you want to do?  If portability is a
>concern to you, then the iMac is not really the way to go.  A laptop is more
>expensive, but I have found mine to be the best computer investment (other
>then my 15 year old GS) I have ever made.  It goes with me every where and
>hardly takes up any space.

The IIgs has only been around for about 12 years and half years.  How
is it that yours is 15?  :-)

>If the latest and greatest is what you want, then wait about three months
>when the new 1 GHz G3s and Pentium IIIs come out.  Of course you will have
>to wait another year before a motherboard that can really take advantage of
>the Pentium III is released.

Speaking of commercials, I get a real kick out of the Pentium III
commercial that says "When this door opens, the internet is going to
be a whole lot more fun."  Funny, Pentium III's are out now and I have
noticed any change in the net at all.  Maybe I can sue Intel for false
advertising.  :-)

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