Was it 24"? I would say that the problem with iMac (24") is weight. I carried it once to the mall to fix it, I had to take a cart, because it was hard to handle such big box (Apple store is quite far from the entrance). Might be 17" inch is not too bad, with wireless mouse and keyboard. I would see myself taking it to let's say a hotel (if I had to stay a week or so), but not to panera! iMac is based on laptop. It has laptop memory, video card and even thickness is quite similar (you have to look at iMac as closed lid laptop).