Apple iMac MB950LLA 21.5" 3.06GHz 500GB iMac desktop computer

Get the better view

It's kind of ironic that Windows called their last operating system "Vista" since that's a synonym for view. And one look at this iMac will tell you it's obviously the computer with the view. The new iMac lets you take it all in with an improved screen for cinematic viewing. This 21.5" model features a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. That's a lot of pixels — over two million! If you notice, that's a sweet 16:9 aspect ratio, so it's great for viewing widescreen videos. Lighting up the screen is LED technology, letting the monitor stay thin, bright, and energy-efficient. IPS technology keeps the view great from pretty much any angle. Millions of colors let you see every detail of what's on your screen. And edge-to-edge glass with black bezel provides the perfect cinematic frame for your monitor. If such a gorgeous screen still isn't enough for you, though, you could always use the DisplayPort output to send the picture to a monitor up to 30" diagonally (up to 2560 x 1600 pixels) while maintaining the native resolution of the iMac simultaneously. You can choose either extended desktop or video mirroring mode to do so. And driving all this graphical goodness is the powerful NVIDIA GeForce GPU.

Decisions, decisions

The newest generation of iMacs is the fastest yet. How much faster? Well the 20" iMac from the last generation had a 2.66GHz processor. That's pretty quick. But the new 21.5" cinematic iMac uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor that clocks in at a blazing 3.06GHz, standard. Its speed is not in question. What is in question is what you'll use all that extra zip for. Are you going to put it to use rendering transitions and effects in Keynote? Or perhaps uploading and correcting the photos from your last trip? Maybe what you really want to do is just kick back and play Call of Duty 4. But then, since you'll finish your work so much faster, what are you going to do with all your extra time? Take up croquet? Mow the lawn? Take a nap? With the new iMac, it's up to you.

Ooh-la-la

The view of what's on the screen isn't the only one that looks really good. The computer itself is beautiful. After all, Apple products place nearly as much emphasis on the visual design as their engineering or their interface. A great product should look great, and in that area, the iMac delivers. Its aluminum unibody enclosure complements the jet black bezel perfectly. The edge-to-edge glass monitor furthers the sleek look created by the computer's narrow profile. Even the tapered pedestal makes it blend better with the desktop, as do the included wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. This computer looks so good, your eyes will stay glued to it even once it's off.

Master of disguise

To tell you the truth, though, the aluminum unibody keeps the iMac from showing its true color — green. Apple is proud to make the world's most eco-friendly computers. For starters, the single aluminum enclosure and single panel of glass are both sought out by recycling companies. The glass is also free from dangerous Arsenic. Meanwhile, the LED bulbs powering the display are mercury-free. The computer components have been made lead-free, PVC-free, and even BFR free. It wasn't easy to build a computer without all those chemicals, but for a company committed to helping the environment, it was well worth it. On top of the actual construction, the iMac is ENERGY STAR 5.0-compliant, meaning that it meets (and exceeds) the strictest requirements for energy use. Since Apple makes most of the components used in their computers, including software, they can design smarter computers that minimize energy use by doing things like having the computer reduce power usage between keystrokes. All the extra energy saved by using an iMac also helps lower utility bills. Because of the many ways Apple reduces the iMac's environmental impact, EPEAT gave them a gold rating, the highest award they give.

No more pesky wires!

The new iMac makes your workspace a lot less cluttered by putting the computer and the monitor into one low-profile package. Seeking to reduce workspace messiness even more, they included a wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse with the iMac. The two complement each other, and the computer perfectly with equally sleek design and a similar color scheme. They connect to the computer via Bluetooth, and then you're ready to roll, scroll, click, zoom, flip through pages, and much more. After all, the Magic Mouse is the world's first Multi-Touch mouse. If Apple's designed-for-the-computer keyboard and mouse really don't suit your fancy, don't worry — with four USB ports and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, iMac will work with just about any keyboard or mouse you want to use. Chances are, it even has the drivers ready so you can just start using them, no install required.

Grr.

The new iMac comes with Apple's latest operating system, known as Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard provides a lot of behind-the-scenes advancements to speed up your work, offering much quicker operation than previous operating systems, as well as more hard drive space, and even better power management. But it also comes with a lot of sweet applications designed for computers like the iMac. iTunes 9, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, Quicktime X, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, and even Xcode developer tools come standard. A few minutes working with Snow Leopard and you'll want to purr.

Get a life . . . an iLife

The new iMac also includes the latest version of Apple's highly-praised creativity suite, iLife '09. Included in iLife '09 are iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, and Garageband. Whether you're determined to make an HD movie that will become the latest YouTube sensation, or just trying to make a slideshow of your family get-together, iLife has you covered. But you can do a lot more than that. iWeb makes creating and publishing stylish, easy-to-use web pages a cinch. iDVD lets you publish that masterpiece movie to discs for your friends complete with custom menus, titles, and chapters. And Garageband provides you the recording tools to create or record your latest musical endeavors. Whatever creative project you've got a bent for, iLife has a program for.

But that's just the beginning

Like with almost any computer, you're going to want to expand the number of programs you've got on your computer. Now, Macs have a reputation of not being able to run most software, but that's a reputation that's no longer deserved. With Boot Camp, you can buy and install a copy of Windows to your computer on a separate hard drive partition, to natively run any Windows programs. And as far as industry standards like Microsoft Office and Photoshop, you can easily snag a Mac version. Or, in the case of Office, you can use Apple's own iWork '09 software to read and write PowerPoint, Word, and Excel files that are fully compatible with Windows machines. But those won't be all you want. There are many more programs that come in both Mac and Windows versions than most people think, including games. Here's a tip: unless there's an Apple store or an Apple specialist near you, your best luck in getting all the great programs you want is online. And while you're there, you can download a lot of great applications, many of which are available for free like Mozilla Firefox web browser, Adium universal instant messaging service, or VLC media player. And downloading and installing those programs is effortless without tons of anti-virus software, pop-up warnings, and permissions needed to keep Windows computers safe.