by , 1:05 AM EDT, September 30th, 2004
It's time for Walt Mossberg's weekly Mac column, his Personal Technology column for the Wall Street Journal. Last week he called the iMac G5 the most elegant computer he had yet used, saying it performed flawlessly. In this week's column, he has put together his annual buying guide for prospective computer buyers, and in that guide he calls Apple's iMac G5 "an excellent choice." From the column:
Windows or Mac: Most buyers will go with Windows PCs. But Apple's new iMac models are an excellent choice. Not only are they beautifully designed, but they also use a powerful processor called the G5, and their prices are actually lower than those for comparable Windows machines. Best of all, users of the current Mac operating system haven't encountered any viruses.
The main downside of the Mac is that it requires buyers to acquire and master all new software. Much of this comes bundled on the computer, but most people will have to spend at least $150 for a Mac version of Microsoft Office, which can handle files created in the Windows version.
If you choose Windows, make sure you wait for a machine that has the new SP2 version of Windows XP, which closes some of the operating system's most egregious security holes.
The full column has more comments about Macs not being susceptible to known viruses. The rest of the column is comprised of more mundane comments about how much memory, hard drive space, and what kind of processors to buy. We recommend it as an interesting read, and we also recommend printing it for any friends and family members looking to buy a new computer.
You can find the column (link expires after one week) at Mr. Mossberg's Personal Technology Web site. Wall Street Journal subscribers can also find the column at the newspaper's Web site.
"Hi, Walt."
Seriously, though, we love this exposure for the Mac platform, and Mr. Mossberg could be adding to whatever momentum Apple has leading up to the holiday buying season. The value of that can simply not be overestimated.