I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged this yet! Last weekend I noticed Apple was selling refurbished iMacs for a steeper discount than normal, and after a little soul-searching I bought myself a refurbished 24″ glossy widescreen iMac. I hadn’t intended to buy it for a couple months, but I couldn’t pass up $400 off.
It arrived on Wednesday, and after spending most of the day migrating stuff over from my MacBook Pro I was able to start using the iMac for work on Thursday. It is now my work machine, and I’m a multiple-Mac owner.
I am ecstatic about the iMac. The screen is huge (which was why I wanted one; I’ve been getting frustrated with my ability to do detailed graphics work on the MacBook Pro), and absolutely gorgeous. It’s perfect for the image work that I need to do, too; when I started using it Thursday, I instantly noticed some fairly severe JPEG artifacts that I’d missed on the laptop. I am continually impressed with Apple’s design ethic, and the iMac is a great example of why Macs are a better choice than just about any other computer out there.
The move from a single computer to computers that are designated “work” and “personal” has been an interesting one. I decided before the computer arrived not to use Apple’s migration assistant to move my data. The iMac has plenty of room, of course, so synching my home account wouldn’t be a problem space-wise, but frankly my Home folder is a disaster. I try to remember to use AppZapper, but there are possibly hundreds of unused preference files from apps I installed once and never touched again, not to mention the hell of my desktop and downloads folders. My documents folder is slightly better off, but still suffers from a number of folders that third-party software dropped inside without consulting me.
In any case, migrating to a new computer seemed like an ideal time to clean things up, so I did everything by hand. Took a while, but the spotless iMac desktop tells me it was worth it. I also discovered some tools to ease multiple computer problems, but I’ll share those another time.
What do you think of the glossy screen? I have the 1st generation iMac 24″ w/o the glossy. Is there any glare problem with your graphics work?
Posted 5:12 PM on Mar. 16, 2008 ↑
Glare was actually one of the things that I worried about when I got it (since refurbs aren’t configurable at all); my desk is right next to a pair of south-facing windows (which in Seattle means the sun’s coming in all the time, assuming it’s out). I’d had some problems with the matte MacBook Pro getting washed out even with the blinds partially or all closed.
When I first set up the iMac the reflections were really obvious in the black screen, but since turning it on it hasn’t seemed like a problem (granted, haven’t really seen the sun much the past week, either). The gloss easily produces reflections, but the screen is bright. Turning the brightness all the way down is about the brightness level of the MacBook Pro at half; I can’t work with it at full brightness for very long without eyestrain unless it’s full daylight.
So far I’ve been finding that the brightness and brilliance of the color far outweighs the reflection problems.
On the other hand, if the window were behind me (instead of running alongside), I’d have serious misgivings about the glossy screen. I may be a little more disgruntled come summer, too, but so far I haven’t had any problems beyond my brief moment of panic prior to turning it on.
Posted 5:42 PM on Mar. 16, 2008 ↑
thanks, Ian – nice graphics tablet, by the way!
Posted 6:02 PM on Mar. 16, 2008 ↑
Thought process upon purchase of Wacom Intuos 3 tablet:
“Ooh, widescreen! Gimme! But wait: gunmetal gray, or special edition with extras I don’t need that will look totally bad-ass sitting under a new iMac in a few months?”
It wasn’t really much of a competition.
Posted 6:09 PM on Mar. 16, 2008 ↑
Thanks a lot for the info, man. This is a lifesaver.
Posted 12:09 PM on Oct. 5, 2012 ↑