Dear Jobs in Heaven …
Well, my new computer showed up today and … damn.
The screen makes me feel like I’m sitting in the front row of a movie theater and the keyboard makes me feel like my hands grew three sizes larger overnight.
First observation: I wish all computer companies put so much time and effort into packaging their wares! Not only was my iMac so completely packaged for safety, but it was gorgeously packaged, as well. Also logically packed, since each layer pretty much unwrapped itself.
Second observation: Dear God, it’s friggin’ huge! I’m used to a little Dell laptop screen at home and an eighteen inch screen (two of them, in fact) at work. The monster in-front of me is close to 21 inches wide and stands a full 18 inches from the desk to its top.
Third observation: Who da fuq are they kidding with this tinker-toy keyboard?!? It’s smaller than my laptop’s keyboard and the keys themselves are … well, they feel funny. Not like a keyboard as much as like … I dunno. Like something built by Mattel, perhaps. The keys are nicely responsive, okay, and the entire unit is stable, but it’s small and the keys feel funny. I guess that’s the best I can put it.
Forth observation: It’s soooooo pretty. It’s almost like having a little usable art on one’s desk. Very nice. the way the keyboard, mouse, external optical drive, and computer all match. Very sic-fi and pretty.
Final observation: It’s a serious computer, y’all. From the Core I5 chip out, it’s a powerhouse. Kinda scary, actually, given that my memory of my last Mac (G3) was a lot less powerful.
I’m going to buy myself an oem or used copy of XP in a couple of days and load it into my iMac, either with Mac’s own Boot Camp (a stupid title for a very useful app) or with Parallels Desktop 8, so I can load up my favorite Windows software, too. (Although, if any of you happen to have an old copy of XP just laying around, collecting dust, I’d be more than happy to take it off your hands for a reasonable sum).
I’m also going to buy a decent keyboard. The mouse is cool and feels pretty good, but this silly little wireless keyboard simply has to go!