Hello fellow mac addicts,  
 
I'm mainly writing this review for those who may just be curious about the new 1ghz emac or deciding whether it might be for you . . . I also feel it my karmic duty to post my first impressions because I couldn't find a damn thing on the machine when I was thinking of buying one.  
 
After a lot of a brain-racking over a new machine, the new 1ghz emac with the superdrive seemed to me the best decision in the long run. The superdrive offers great dvd burnability and the machine is an excellent value. I even haggled with the apple phone sales person (Lisendro) and was able to get a $100 credit in addition to my higher education price and a free canon printer.  
 
Let me first start off by saying that apple phone sales rock. "Lisendro" was extremely helpful and courteous and the discount just made my day. Anyway, I ordered my emac and printer last thursday and was impressed at apple's free shipping deal (fedex ground) getting the package to my place by monday!! That's an impressive turnaround considering there was no charge. I knew the machine would only come with 256mb of sdram (not ddr like the imac) so my next visit was to crucial.com to order some ram. I snatched up a 512mb chip for 75 bucks (with coupon code) and free 2-day air shipping, also. The ram arrived at my house the same day as the computer and printer . . . nice.  
 
Out of the box, the emac looked fantastic . . . mmmm, that refreshing "new mac smell." Everything was packed very nicely and well organized, not crammed into one compartment. Included with the machine is a redesigned keyboard, non-adjustable (unlike like the pro) and apple has moved the usb ports from the corners to the middle near where the usb cable connects to the machine. One cool/geek design feature of the new keyboard is the lip of plastic surrounding the keyboard. This alone wouldn't be very exciting but after closer inspection I see that each key is suspended and surrounded by sealed plastic. What does this mean to the average joe? If you knock a glass of soda into your keyboard during your next drunken stuper, not only will the liquid be contained in the keyboard so as not to bleed over your desk and precious electronics but since the keys are suspended upwards, the circuitry will not be affected by the spill. Hard to describe without actually seeing but believe me this is a good thing.  
 
Other stuff that came with the machine: modem cable, blank dvd-r, blank cd-r, user manual and warranty info, back up and restore discs and a copy of the current 2003 WorldBook Encyclopedia Media Cd. No rebate forms for the printer included . . . I found out later you need to visit apple's website to get them.  
 
After connecting all the cables, I powered up the emac and was pleasantly surprised at the very fast startup time. The 1ghz processor really flies. I'd estimate with the stock ram it only took about 15-20 seconds to startup. Sure beats staring at the beachball of doom for 4 minutes, doesn't it?  
 
On screen, you are first greeted with some sweet music to help get you through the apple registration process, where you will set up your internet connection. I was offered 12 free issues of MacWorld magazine if I completed apple's registration . . . why the heck not?? free = smile  
 
Upgrading the ram in the emac is painfully simple. Just turn off the machine, flip it on it's front, unsrew one screw holding the little door on the bottom and your set. One comment about the screw . . . I've read a lot about this screw giving people trouble, even stripping so bad they had to farking drill the thing off to remove the door. I think apple has heard the cries because the new screw is very heavy duty and it's philips-head, not flat-head. After the ram upgrade, I restarted (which blazed through in about 5-10 seconds!!) and checked to make sure the machine had recognized my previous actions. You could already tell she liked the extra memory . . . I could almost hear her saying "thanks brian."  
 
I next decided to check out the speakers. Not too bad but planning on grabing the iSub ($50) for a little extra low-end. Included speakers are good for everyday tasks, but for music there is no contention. Also, some people have commented on the speakers producing feedback to the moniter at high volumes. This has not happened to me. I have turned them up to full volume and have not witnessed any screen changes. There is a small issue that does arise when turning up the speakers. The plastic surounding the speakers likes to vibrate just a little bit . . . a little annoying (however, with the addition of the tilt and swivel stand, this problem has completely disappeared!). Oh, and I've read a lot about the fan on the back of the machine being too loud. I won't lie to you, it's not as quiet as an imac, but it's not that bad. I'd compare it to a box fan turned on in the corner of your apartment on the lowest setting. You are aware that it's there but you sort of drown it out after a while. I certainly wouldn't let it keep you from buying the machine.  
 
Some have talked about the screen flaking out when the resolution is adjusted to the highest setting. This has apparently been fixed because I've tried the monitor on its highest allowable setting (1280x 960 at 72Hz) have experienced no problems. I would have kept it there for the extra screen real estate but the refresh rate is painfully low and I kept getting headaches from looking at it. I kicked it down to the next highest, which is still very crisp and it's kept me satisfied. If you plan to compare the crt monitor to the imac's LCD, don't do it. There is no question the LCD of the imac is much crisper and brighter . . . but CRT's are reliable and much cheaper.  
 
After installing a few software titles like Office X, Photoshop, and Studio MX, the printer was next. An easy install, the i850 is great for the money. Unfortunetly, the driver disc included with the printer are for the OS 9 install, so if you are running OS X you'll have to chuck the cd and visit Canon's support website for the updated OS X drivers. Tried it out by printing a few black and white documents and one 4 x 6 photo of my cat (Leo) and both came out fast and good quality. The printer even does borderless pics . . . Leo approved of his pic.  
 
Other first impressions of the machine are positive. Its more stream-lined than the average 17-inch crt and is less deep than most. Apple ditched the removable speaker grills, now permanently fixed; probably a good thing. I bet they're fun to play with for a mischievous kitty. OS X is a great program. Very smooth-running and friendly on the eyes. For linux-junkies, the "terminal" is a great place to hang out. iTunes is great for music and syncing with your ipod. For surfing, don't feel like you need to stick with microsoft's bloated internet browser, IE; Safari and Mozilla are great alternatives and are very stable (tabbed browsing is the way to go). In the end, I'm very happy with the emac and would recommend it to anyone looking for a G4, sweet as heck machine, for right around $1000  
 
.......... So, I've owned my emac for nearly 5 months now and it still manages to put a smile on my face. Novelty has worn off a bit, however. But, this is far from a novelty machine and my feeling is still of complete satisfaction.  
 
Since my initial purchase, I've done more software installation; mainly design titles such as Acrobat, InDesign, and Illustrator. They run very smooth on the G4. Just an FYI, anyone looking for a decent ftp client, techtv.com just did a writeup of "Transmit" for mac. I've tried it and think it's a great program. Anyone into webdesign looking for a better ftp alternative, try it.  
 
I've also made 2 hardware upgrades. I ditched the single-button piece of sh** (sorry apple, it's true) and indulged in the Logitech MX500 ($50 bucks most retail stores however check ebay to get up to 20 bucks knocked off the retail price). Not a fan of wireless or the MX700 would have been my first choice (fantastic for all you wireless junkies). The MX500 is very nice . . . great feel and very smooth with ample programmable buttons.  
 
Only other hardware indulgence was the emac tilt n' swivel by apple. Holy Schmoly . . . this thing is great!! Check out ebay to score one for about 35 bucks, normally $69 retail, and let me tell you it makes a HUGE difference with comfort level. Before I installed the stand, my emac sat about 2-3 inches lower on my desk and was permanetly positioned in a very uncomfortable upwards tilt, producing an incredible amount of glare from the artificial light in my apartment. After installing not only is the emac up to eye level, but I can tilt the screen down just a hair so it doesn't catch so much glare. It also makes turning the emac easy as pie. Made of a really strong Lexan plastic (think Nalgene water bottle) it truely compliments the emac's design. I really can't say enough about the tilt n' swivel . . . If there was one thing I'm thankful I bought for my computer (other than the ram upgrade) it would be this stand.  
 
I'd be lying if I said I didn't, on occasion, still dream about a 17 inch iMac sitting on my desk (don't tell my emac) but, the 1799.00 sticker price keeps me in check and thankful for my decision to go with the emac instead.  
 
Good luck in your decision and I hope this review has helped.  
 
cheers,  
brian  
