Apple has long been viewed as the publishers' and designers' computer. The company has worked hard to extend their products to include other markets and in truth, the new iMac offers surprising value. For example, there would be nothing to stop the enterprising Apple fundi or reseller from converting the new iMac as a fully comprehensive home entertainment system. Through a digital video bridge, a video machine can be connected to the iMac. A larger, flat panel studio display unit could also be added and the audio out socket could be attached to an amplifier with speakers dotted around the house or in a specific entertainment area.

What would result is the zaniest entertainment system available - offering much more than any money could buy - full computer functionality, videos, DVDs, hi-fi sound through CD or MP3 and standard television or DSTV through a video machine and existing satellite decoder.

The new iMac comes in three basic options. All three feature an incredibly sharp 15 inch active matrix LCD display. Choose from a 700Mhz or 800Mhz chip with Velocity Engine. A word of advice about that chip ­ this is not a PC, it's a Mac. So, in real terms, your so-called super fast one or two gig chip will not out-perform this Apple solution. There is a reason why high-end graphic and video creation specialists choose Apple ­ they know that when it comes to stability and processing speeds there is very little to touch these super-cool machines. The new iMac is shipped with either a 40GB or 60GB hard drive, CD-RW drive, Combo drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) or SuperDrive (CD-RW/DVD-R).

All new Apple machines ship as standard with Mac OS X (pronounced "Ten"). This is an amazingly stable operating system which is based, or rather is, Unix. The graphical user interface (GUI) is unlike anything the average computer user would have seen before. Safe to say it is a design of excellence. Because OS X is essentially Unix, should an application hang, it's a simple task to shut that application down without having to reboot. All new Macs also come AirPort ready. So, a little extra for an AirPort hub will enable the user to enjoy wireless networking or play games against their neighbour.

On the whole, I loved the new iMac. It's a worthy replacement to my green 333Mhz machine. There is probably not a machine out there, at any price, which offers the kind of benefits, rock-solid performance and zany appeal than the new iMac. Even Office looks good on this Mac.

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