"For Games, it's average, but in every other regard, it shines."

Let's take a history lesson and think of some of the things Apple has done....... The First Personal Computer, The Mouse, The Keyboard, The Floppy Drive, A Graphical Operating System, Color Personal Computers, Smallest Personal Computer, the PDA, Digitial Cameras, Scanners, Laser Printers, Color Laser Printers, the change to USB, Firewire, 802.11b, All Flatscreen monitors, colored computers, the Flat-Panel iMac, DVD burning in a home computer...... the list goes on and on. Apple made most of what we use today in the computer world. It's not the most popular computer in the world, but as Steve Jobs once said ''Cockroaches are by far the majority compared to humans, but numerical superiority doesn't suggest a higher life form, does it?''

The Computers: Today, Apple's finally running again on all four cylinders. The Titanium Powerbook, white iBooks, Flat-Screen iMacs, and G4 towers are all seen as pillars of their respective fields. Apple has great side products now with the Xserve server, and the educational market eMac. Mac OS X is one of the most highly regarded operating systems out there, and Apple's iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD are all praised greatly. The one thing that used to haunt Apple computers was the great cost, but these days, the cost of an iMac compared to a similar Windows machine is within a hundred dollars, possibly tilted the Macintosh way. Overall: 9 out of 10.

The Games: The one area Apple gets trashed-talked in is in the area of games. Simply put, it doesn't have that many. Frankly, this is becoming less of an issue as time goes on. If a game is really that great, the Macintosh will eventually get it, but the Apple community enjors specialized shareware developers who are die-hard Mac fans. As console gaming begins to pervade the earth, computer-gaming is quickly becoming outdated, especially now in the opening wave of online gaming, computers will soon be regulated to intense, age of empires type games. If they can put Starcraft on the Nintendo 64, it's only a matter of time until computer gaming is dead regardless. Overall: 5 out of 10.

The Future: So, what's the future going to be like? Frankly, I predict it's gonna be like this forever. Apple will forever be the mad scientist innovator. It's probably not a good thing if the world was filled with people who think different anyway. So, would you want a Macintosh?

It really depends on who you are. If you don't care about games, and have a little extra money, get a Macintosh. They tend to last longer, and be better. With a new iMac with the flatscreen, you get a pretty sweet experience you're not gonna fine anywhere else.

If you don't care about computer games, it's prime time to jump into the world of DVD-burning, wireless internet, and the colorful, fruity world of OS X. You won't regret it. Overall: 9 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/02, Updated 05/27/02