Washington Post On iMac: "It Was Eerie: Everything Just Worked"

by , 10:00 AM EST, November 24th, 2003

Apple recently updated its line of consumer computers; first, the iBooks got a much needed refresh with G4 processors and a rather distinguished facelift, then the iMac got a speed bump and a new high-end model that sports a 20" screen. The low-end iMac is nothing to sniff at, it has a 1GHZ G4 processor and other nice updates. The Washington Post reviewed the 15" iMac and posted some generally favorable remarks. Here's a bit of that review:

Throughout, this model lived up to Apple's ease-of-use pitch. It was eerie: Everything just worked, an experience that has eluded me in several years of reviewing desktop PCs.

The only real irritation in day-to-day use was the AppleWorks 6 word processor, which garbled many Microsoft Word files. A bundled 30-day trial version of Microsoft's Office v.X for Mac, meanwhile, can't print and hassles you to buy the real thing -- $150 at the "Student and Teacher Edition" discount, $400 otherwise.

Read the full review at The Washington Post Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

It's always good to see a positive review of Apple products in major publications, and few publications are more major than the Washington Post.

It's also interesting to note that the newspaper took exception to AppleWorks 6, pointing out problems it has with Word files. AppleWorks is a sore subject for some of our staff, but in this instance the problem may lie with Microsoft's infamous file format changes, which can vary so much that one version of Word can have problems deciphering files written in other versions. To a point, it is understandable that changes must be made to accommodate new features, but at times it seems that there is no one planning the changes at Big Redmond, hence the problems many users of Word and other MS apps must deal with daily.

Be that as it may, AppleWorks is in desperate need of an overhaul. We sincerely hope that Apple is working on a new version.

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