I've had my iMac 17" intel Core Duo for three days now, and it has surpassed all of my expectations. The first thing I have to say is that it is the most gorgeous computer/entertainment device I have ever seen. Apple is known for their design, but it's not just the design of this computer that is so breathtaking, it' s what's inside that really makes it complete, and makes me love this machine even more.

Setting up the iMac couldn't be easier. Open the box, plug in the power cord, keyboard, mighty mouse, and turn on the power switch. It starts up in about 20 seconds, my PowerBook g4 took close to a minute. It asked me to name the computer, and automatically found my wireless network, then logged on to OS X. This complete process from start to finish took about 2 minutes and I was up, running, and surfing the web. I have a .mac account so all I did was sync all my bookmarks, contacts, and calendars on to my iMac, and there everything was on my new iMac, a complete mirror of what I had on my PowerBook. I thought to myself, "did I miss anything?" "This was just way to simple", and then it occurred to me this is why Mac users are so faithful, everything is done so intuitively, and seamlessly.

Now I'd like to discuss how using the iMac feels. Apple did the right thing with switching to Intel, this iMac is like a rocket. It is a speed demon, I can't believe the speed of everything, it's UNBELIEVABLE!! Applications open instantly, no more bouncing in the dock when launching an application, it just opens immediately. There are no spinning beach balls in applications that Mac users expect to see with apps such as iPhoto. On my PowerBook iPhoto would take around 20 seconds to open with a photo library of 974 pitcures. On the iMac it bounces once in the dock and opens in 3 seconds. I can scroll through my whole library without one spinning beach ball. This is due to Apple switching to the Intel Core Duo processor, having 2 processors on this one chip really shows how much of a speed demon this computer is. It's so much fun to have everything open instantly, and not have to wait for anything. I feel spoiled. This is how a computer should work.

All of the built-in applications are written for the Intel Core Duo processor, and they are super fast. I have run a few applications under Rosetta, and Rosetta has been very impressive, there is a tiny slow down, but nothing that makes you think it's slow. I am not running photoshop, or final cut applications, so I can't comment on them. Everything that I have ran in Rosetta, including Microsoft Office 2004 has ran faster than it did on my PowerBook G4, so try not to be too concerned with Rosetta, it runs fast for everything I've needed to use it for. Rosetta runs in the background if you're running an application that hasn't been made a "Universal Application" yet, but developers are releasing updates daily. To sync my Treo 650 to my iMac I use "The Missing Sync" which is also running under Rosetta, but it actually runs faster on the iMac than it does on my PowerBook. I have yet to run into an application that runs too slow, or faster on my PowerBook, so for me Rosetta has been great.

One of my favorite applications has been Front Row. This is Apple's way of sticking it's feet into the Media Center OS. Apple's version is intuitive, and if you know how to use an iPod you will be at one with Front Row. You just detach the ipod shuffle like remote control that magnetically hangs on the right side of the iMac to launch Front Row. You hit menu and you are now in Front Row. Here you have access to all of the media center applications you can control from across the room and play full screen on the beautiful, bright screen of the iMac. You have access to your whole iTunes library, your whole video collection, whether it's music videos, video podcasts, or full length movies, it's truly a joy to control it with a tiny ipod shuffle like remote control. You can also watch slideshows from iPhoto, or just look through your entire library. You can also pop in a DVD and enjoy watching it full screen. I must say, the more I use Front Row the more I love it. The first day it seemed sluggish, but now it's very zippy, maybe it needed to be used a few times, I don't know, but I'm not complaining:)

In closing I have to say I am 100%, completely satisfied with my iMac. I can't recommend it enough to anyone looking for a super fast computer that is also a work of art, and a one stop media center go for this. Apple has really done it with switching to Intel processors, the speed of this iMac is unbelievable, and it will only get better. This is the best computer I have ever seen or used, and I highly recommend anyone that is in need of upgrading a computer, even if you're a Windows person there hasn't been a better time to switch. If you're a Mac person, just try to imagine the OS you know and love on steroids, it now has the heart of a Core Duo processor that you must need to try out to see how fast it is, and trust me you still won't believe how fast it is.

I wanted to rate this iMac, and since this is gadgetsonthego, I have come up with a rating scheme. I give the new 17" Intel Core Duo iMac 10 gadgets out of 10 gadgets. Huge thanks to Apple for creating such a lightening fast machine.Apple advertises the new iMac with the saying " 2 X faster. Twice as amazing". It truly is, my new iMac had me at hello, I love it!!!!