My new Mac arrived two days ago, on Tuesday.
Saved up three months for it.
The package was larger than I expected. And heavier: 19+ kilogrammes.
Bought it from Apple online store. After considering really hard on what and why I would want/ need a new Mac, I decided to go for the Quad-Core i7. The i7 was only available as a 27″ model. I qualified for the Apple Educator pricing. This baby costs me SGD $3,015.50 (including the 7% GST).
- 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2x2GB
- 1TB Serial ATA Drive
- ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- Magic Mouse
Reading the label on the box, I learned the unit was assembled and packed in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Then shipped directly to Singapore.
Took out the iMac package from the corrugated paper box.
I wondered how the packed it to prevent contact/ damaging the iMac screen. So this was how they did it: by slotting the main unit onto the Styrofoam slots.
The top layer was the package containing the wireless keyboard and the mouse. Removing that revealed the top of the iMac unit.
I wonder how many iMac customers were like me, where the first experience of unboxing the iMac was really with the wireless keyboard and the Magic Mouse. Well, both items were pretty impressive by themselves.
Everything about the Mac is like a work of art. There are no wasted lines or design angles.
The wireless keyboard’s slim and practically flat profile makes it look as if it’s just a bunch of white plastic keys mounted on a basically flat aluminum rectangle, with a round edge. The round top part works as the two AA batteries housing, and as the stand to prop up the keyboard at a comfortable angle.
Next, the mouse. The accompanying foldout cheekily puns itself as “Finger Tips”:
Or the Magic Mouse, as it’s called. There are no buttons on the mouse. Well, the entire top surface is the “button” and a scroll pad. Man, you have to go try one of these at the Apple retailer to get a sense of why they are magic 🙂
[BTW, both wireless devices come loaded with fresh sets of batteries. “Energizer” brand’ and not some cheapo house brand.]
The instruction booklet and accompanying setup DVDs were in the same package as the wireless keyboard/ mouse. Again, the thinking and “we’re serious but know how to have fun” factor was apparent in the way they labeled the instruction booklet as “Everything Mac”, and the rest as (literally) “Everything Else”.
Finally I lifted the iMac unit out of the box. For the uninitiated, the iMac screen is also the CPU unit (my wife was wondering why I only put up the screen only, until I explained that part to her):
I also found this interesting: the license agreement sticker is at the back of the unit, overlapping the protective sheet. You tear off the label in order to remove the entire sheet, and doing so is deemed to have accepted Apple’s software license agreement. Very untypical of a Windows software, where the license sticker is on the installation discs.
The smooth, glassy, obsidian-looking surface of the screen was really something.
I placed my 5-year old 15″ Macbook Pro next to the 27″ iMac for comparison. BTW, my Macbook Pro cost just under SGD $4,500 or thereabouts. Was really paying for the portability then.
Even the power inlet at the back of the iMac is a work of art and design.
I set my iMac on the wooden foldable table (it was sturdy enough to take the 19kg). Placed a fan underneath the table, where it would provide circulation for the Mac and the man.
After a few minutes of initial setup, my iMac was ready to go.
I’m once again reminded of why the Mac commands a community of raving fans.
It works.
It’s simple, in that it gets you past the tedium of setting it up, right on to the actual use.
Plus, when you unbox your Mac (whether it’s your first or second or how ever many) it’s always apparent that it’s one heck of an art piece.
My Right Brain 