... This opinion is slightly misleading, as Apple have recently relaunched the Emac with more powerful processors (mine is the 1.25ghz) whilst, get this, slashing the prices.
You can now own an exceptional computer that mocks the the fastest of fast PCs for a mere £550 including the dreaded ... Read review
...opinion is slightly misleading, as Apple have recently relaunched the Emac with more powerful processors (mine is the 1.25ghz) whilst, get this, slashing the prices.
You can now own an exceptional computer that mocks the the fastest of fast PCs for a mere £550 including the dreaded VAT. Upgradeable from the easy to use Apple website, I pushed the boat out and doubled the memory to 512mb (upgradeable to 1gig), and leapt from a 40 gig ... ...to hook up online with Apple and download music for 79p a track. Apple online support is great and again makes a mockery of the clunking world of Microsoft and Windows. Browse the support using either Internet Explorer, or Macs own internet browser 'Safari' which I confess to not being overly found of. 'A little buggy' best describes it.
Whilst online, you may wish to make the most of IChat or ISight, Apples own competitors to MSN ... more
And so it came to be, that I finally bought a Mac after a lifetime of loving them, but never having the financial clout to splash out on one.
Therein lies the beauty of the Emac. Aimed primarily at Education, they're priced semi-affordably, whilst not skimping on the innards.
Well, that was the case. This opinion is slightly misleading, as Apple have recently relaunched the Emac with more powerful processors (mine is the 1.25ghz) whilst, get this, slashing the prices.
You can now own an exceptional computer that mocks the the fastest of fast PCs for a mere £550 including the dreaded VAT. Upgradeable from the easy to use Apple website, I pushed the boat out and doubled the memory to 512mb (upgradeable to 1gig), and leapt from a 40 gig hard drive to an 80 gig, and still it weighed in at less than £700, and if you've ever yearned for a Macintosh, that is not to be sniffed at.
Admittedly the Emac is the ugly duckling of the Mac range, an all-in-one affair that saves space on a tower, but ultimately makes the monitor unit both unsightly and extremely heavy. The single unit houses all the components (accessible from the bottom should you wish to tinker) and a 17" flatscreen CRT display. Nestled beneath the sickeningly good display, are two adequate stereo speakers, and in between can be found the CD-RW / DVD-R drive. You can of course upgrade the drive to become DVD-RW (Superdrive which burns DVDs at x8) too, and I'm already regretting my decision to save in that area. One slight, minor niggle is that unlike it's sleeker cousins, the G5s, the CD tray slides in and out like a steam engine, all clatters, shrieks and groans.
Another drawback is that the unit just sits where it is put, and you will need to purchase a sit and swivel stand should the angle of the screen not suit your requirements.
However, beyond the fact that it is ugly, heavy and static, it shines in every other department.
It comes preloaded with Panther (OSX 10.3) and also runs in classic mode (OSX 9) so that all of your applications will be supported. And boy does it handle said applications nicely. It positively purrs along, without a pause or stutter as you push Photoshop to its limits and play with the world of Digital Video. 1.25ghz of processing power seems like some kind of typo, surely it's a dual processor, or maybe a G5 in disguise. It certainly helps that both Panther and Classic OS are great operating systems that make Windows (even in its most recent guise) seem like some prehistoric joke. Neither will the Mac alienate new users with its operating systems, it's all so intuitive that it hurts, the only thing that may offend is the lack of a right mouse button, but hey, who really cares about that?
Connectivity? Well, that is all arranged in a small recess on the right hand side of the unit. 3 USB 2.0 ports (with an extra one positioned on the back of the keyboard) which will back support USB 1 devices. 2 Firewire 400 ports for the ultimate in high speed connectivity, a phone jack for the inbuilt 56k modem, and an ethernet 100Base-T port to enjoy the simplicity of networking a Mac (even to a PC). There is also an (as yet untested by myself ) VGA slot so that you can link your Mac to a projector or display device. Headphone and speaker sockets are there too, and the Emac comes shipped as Airport and Bluetooth ready, though if you wish to be totally wireless you will need to invest in a card.
What would you possibly want to use all of the above connections for? Well, the Emac comes with 5 knock-out programmes along with Panther. Garageband lets you get all midied up (or not) to create music from scratch. IPhoto is simplicity itself when it comes to grabbing your pics from a digital camera. After downloading (using USB or Firewire) then you can edit the snaps, create albums, burn a CD or DVD of your collection, or just start building libraries.
ITunes is the Ipod's music repository, and the 2 connect and interact seamlessly, or you can just use it for saving your music files as MP3s, WMV, AAC, and so forth. Build playlists, DJ sets, or whatever you wish, ITunes is as complicated as you wish to make it.
IMovie is my current favourite, impossibly easy to use, but very powerful as a bundled programme. Grab DV footage from your camcorder (staggeringly quick with Firewire and that mind bogglingly effective 1.25 processor) and play with it. Edit, cut, paste, add music, add commentary tracks, add effects, add titles and on and on. It does everything you would want it to, stopping short of being a professional package.
IDVD lets you create DVDs, not just burning them, but creating chapters, menus, buttons, special features, subtitles, etc. Here's the best bit though, they all interact seamlessly. Create a short film in IMovie, score it in Garageband, save it in ITunes, drag it back to IMovie, throw in some stills from IPhoto, and author it all onto a DVD in IDVD. Don't expect to be able to make a cup of tea while the Emac labours over it though. Because it won't. Ever.
Last evening I put the finishing touches to a 10 minute film, with soundtrack, the project weighed in at 2gig, and the Mac never missed a beat, not even with Classic Mode running in the background, and ITunes happily playing in the foreground. IMovie huffed and puffed a little when I compressed the 2gig file to a Quicktime movie that could be emailed. Oh? Didn't I mention its flexibility with file formats? That it will compress or buff up your finished product to whatever file size or format that you require?
Shame on me. Then again, the Emac, Panther and it's family of programmes does so many things so very well, I'm bound to forget something.
ISync lets you synchronise your machine with any other Macs, or Mac products you may own. So the Mac at work, at home and the Ipod can all be at one with each other. It will also sync with PDAs and PCs. That's just showing off though.
As a further enticement, ITunes Music Store has finally launched in the UK, allowing you to hook up online with Apple and download music for 79p a track. Apple online support is great and again makes a mockery of the clunking world of Microsoft and Windows. Browse the support using either Internet Explorer, or Macs own internet browser 'Safari' which I confess to not being overly found of. 'A little buggy' best describes it.
Whilst online, you may wish to make the most of IChat or ISight, Apples own competitors to MSN Messenger, ICQ and the like. I'm yet to test those, but imagine they perform as well if not better than their competition.
So, it's ugly, heavy, and the best thing since sliced bread. Don't be fooled by the ancient sounding processor, or intimidated thinking Macs are impossible to upgrade, they're not. 10 years in professional design using up to the minute PCs and Macs leave me in no doubt that these are great little machines rather than fashion accessories. Apple shipped mine to me in under a working week. It cost less than £700. What's stopping you?
Advantages: Beautiful retro design, huge screen, never crashes! Disadvantages: Potential build quality problems, lack of preinstalled memory
...popular demand from Mac lovers, Apple decided to make it available to the general public. If you look closely at the design, you can see how the design came about. The front is relatively featureless - although it borrows the old iMac's shape and the new eMac's colour scheme, later models now have fixed speaker grilles (to prevent theft) and a case which is seemingly inpenetrable, apart from a small slot for memory and battery replacement, cleverly ... ...ugly! A picture on the Apple site showed it as a bland white blob. "Why would anyone want one of those instead of a tangerine iMac?" I thought - and quickly dismissed it.
It wasn't until I was wndering aimlessly around the Mac section of my local PC World that the eMac caught my eye - and wow, did it look different! The flat-screen 17" display was completely stunning... enormous, crisp, clear and very easy on the eye. In a weird way, an eMac sitting ...
antsss 20.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Apple eMac PPC G4 17" CRT
Advantages: Size, Its a mac, compatability/connectivity Disadvantages: screen problems
...Ohh and the programs. Apple applications are AWESOME. iPhoto organizes all of your photos in chronological order in a really really easy to use program that automatically uploads and controls the content on your digital camera. iTunes IS the worlds best MP3 player, take my word for it, I've tried them all. I've got all of the music in my house (about 1600 songs) on here at the moment and it automatically synchronizes it with my iPod, which IS the ... ...you like to make music? Apple computers come with Garage Band, an awesome music making application. Im not going to go into details because it will double the size of my review but check it out here: http://www.apple.com/uk/ilife/garageband/
There is so much more to OSX than i could possibly mention so if you are interested go and have a look because it is worth it http://www.apple.com
Now hardware. The processor is fast, fast enough to cope with ...
Chumpit 12.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Apple eMac PPC G4 17" CRT
Advantages: Looks great, works great, doesn't crash. Disadvantages: Pretty but badly designed mouse. That's it!
...and straight forward.
Using Apple computers every day for work and pleasure I never tire of their simple, well thought out design. I bought my eMac when I left my job and started up business on my own. I am a grphic designer and already had an older G3 Mac but needed something up to date but not too expensive. The eMac fitted the bill perfectly. The monitor is big and sharp enough to work with and the processor is fast enough for anything bar high ... ...to be dropped from the Apple range after the introduction of the tiny, similarly spec'ed, sans-monitor Mac Mini.The computer manufacturers continue to make faster machines but really I can't see the benefits outweighing the costs for me to upgrade. The eMac is fast enough for most professional and consumer users. So... get yourself a cheap stock clearance eMac, pop in some extra memory, ditch the mouse for a Microsoft Explorer or Logitech MX and ...
steveash 05.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Apple eMac PPC G4 17" CRT
Advantages: totally reliable, user-friendly, attractive design Disadvantages: not compatible with pc games and such
I spent many months researching computers on my own time with the goal of purchasing a system that would last longer than the six months that most of the PC's my friends were buying were lasting before becoming painfully bogged down by random crashes and general problems.
I spoke to many different computer geeks and found that overwhelmingly the only major disadvantage for the average consumer was that because of Mac's disappearance from the market ... ...close to the volume of games offered for PC. Furthermore I was informed that a Mac would likely stay useful for much longer than the average PC of similar value and thus I was sold.
I couldn't have been more happy than when I received this rig to discover that a single cord rendered my PC-ten-plug power bar unnecessary and that after plugging it in, the machine virtually set itself up. I was even more pleased to find that Mac had set all the programs ...
landry09 16.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Apple eMac PPC G4 17" CRT
Advantages: Fast, fun and easy Disadvantages: Not very compatable
...straight onto the hard disk. Apple bundles a video editor called iMovie with the eMac, as well as a DVD recording program called iDVD, which can be used in conjunction with the SuperDrive to create your own CDs and DVDs. Other useful features include a network port and a 56K modem for dial-up internet connections. There is a cheaper version with less memory, a smaller hard disk and a CD-RW drive. This slices £200 off the price, making it worthwhile ...
Jamesbond007 24.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Apple eMac PPC G4 17" CRT
2 x right / left channel, 2, 1 x right / left channel, amplifier
Audio input
Type
Microphone - integrated, Microphone
Operating system / software
OS Provided
Apple MacOS X / MacOS 9 / preinstalled, Apple MacOS X 10.1 / MacOS 9.2 / preinstalled, Apple MacOS X 10.2 / MacOS 9, Apple MacOS X 10.2, Apple MacOS X 10.2 / MacOS 9.2 / preinstalled, Apple MacOS X 10.4, Apple MacOS X 10.3, Apple MacOS X
Software
Drivers & Utilities, AOL, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Adobe Acrobat Reader, AppleWorks, EarthLink, Apple QuickTime, Apple iTunes, Apple Hardware Test, Otto Matic, Quicken 2002 Deluxe, World Book Mac OS X Edition, Apple iDVD 2, Apple Mac OS X Mail, Apple Mac OS X Chess, Apple iPhoto, Apple iMovie, Deimos Rising, Apple iChat
Manufacturer's product description
The eMac comes packed with features and attributes that could easily make the dean's list. Come to think of it, you might say it is the dean's list made manifest. It's true that the eMac's design aesthetics are distinctly Apple-like. But the inspiration for the eMac came from you. For example, you asked for a 17-inch screen - while making it clear that you didn't want to have to buy new desks to accommodate a physically bigger computer. By the same token, you liked the idea of having a supercomputer in the classroom. You wanted your students to have the benefit of a PowerPC G4 processor, but it had to be affordable. You also wished for a computer with a space-saving design - and you insisted on not having to go out and buy new peripherals for it. To this last point, the good news is that thanks to Mac OS X, the eMac works with most of your existing printers and scanners. You can also use your Mac OS 9 applications in Classic mode.
