Tom, it is going to be used for R&D.
> iMac speeds by competition
> (Chicago Sun-Times; 05/14/98)
>
> Apple Computer, following on two quarters of solid profitability and
> renewed market share, has just announced the iMac, a very competitively priced
> new home computer that just also happens to be the fastest home computer you
> can buy.
>
> In my testing of a pre-released iMac, with its 233MHz G3 PowerPC
> processor, it was more than twice as fast as the fastest Pentium MMX machine in
> its price class (the 233MHz Pentium II), and a tick or two faster than the
> fastest 400MHz Pentium II that lives in $3,000 Windows workstations. The iMac
> finally gives a real voice to Apple's Think Different ad campaign.
>
> The iMac looks different, because it is different. Besides its alternately
> funky and snazzy translucent white and teal plastic case, contoured Euro-look
> lighted mouse and keyboard, and built-in handle (remember the original Mac?),
> the iMac is jammed with technology that belies its $1,299 list price.
>
> Consider its superfast 233MHz G3 CPU with 512KB of backside L2 cache that
> easily beats the Wintel competition.
>
> Consider its two 12Mbps USB expansion ports, 32MB of SDRAM, 4GB EIDE hard
> drive, and 24X CD-ROM drive - all equaling or beating the Wintel competition.
>
> Consider its 4Mbps infrared (IrDA) port for quick connections to digital
> cameras, printers or wireless network hubs. Or its built-in SRS surround sound
> stereo speakers flanking its high-res 15-inch color monitor (1024 by 768
> pixels), plus built-in fast 10/100BASE-T Ethernet. And don't forget a software
> bundle offering Quicken 98 Deluxe, Internet Explorer 4.0 Plus, AOL 4.0,
> AppleWorks (formerly called ClarisWorks), FileMaker Pro 4.0 and a nice bunch of
> utilities, games and eduware including Kai's Photo Soap, Kai's Power Goo and
> Disney's Animated Storybook.
>
> When you review the iMac specs, though, four odd things strike you after a
> few minutes reflection: No floppy drive. And no place to put one. With
> virtually all software coming on CDs or downloaded from the Internet these
> days, that's not as big a problem as it might seem, but it's still a curious
> omission. Third-party vendors will produce floppy drives that use the USB
> connector, though. Why a 33.6Kbps modem? Perhaps because Apple could build
> this into the motherboard nearly for free, but today's consumer computer
> Internet dialup standard is 56Kbps. Expect Apple to change the modem to a
> 56Kbps modem before the iMac ships in August. No Small Computer System
> Interface. Does Apple expect us to use one of the two USB ports to connect
> high-speed peripherals such as external disks? USB, while affording much
> greater speeds and multiple device connectivity than the older Apple Desktop
> Bus, is still no match for SCSI for sustained transfer rates. USB is, however,
> much easier to connect than SCSI, can support much longer cable runs, support
> more devices per bus (in theory) and is less of a pain to set up and configure
> than SCSI.
>
> However, the various flavors of SCSI are an external expansion standard
> that the rest of the Mac line has embraced for years. Not having SCSI prevents
> current Mac users from re-using existing SCSI peripherals, such as SCSI
> scanners, hard drives or **Iomega** Zip drives. Expect third-party USB-to-SCSI
> adapters. No built-in removable drive, such as a **Zip drive**. Expect third
> party USB- connected Zip drives, however.
>
> Despite these omissions, though, the iMac looks like a winner, since it's
> very fast, will sport a street price likely to fall through the $1,000 barrier,
> and is a breeze to set up and use.
>
> Chicago Sun-Times computer columnist Don Crabb appears on the Connected
> page Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and in Homelife on Friday. His radio show can
> be heard Saturday from 10 to 11:30 p.m. on WGN-AM (720). E-mail:
> don@doncrabb.com. |
