iMac G5 Now Shipping

[Mr. Anderson]

Things could be much worse....

When I take the computer out of the remains of the box, water literally drips out of the speakers on the bottom.

Ouch! That's just not right - and where do you live that you got the machine delivered by TNT Express...

D

 

[Deslock]

so tell me how it is...god i need a good review..

It's amazing... a real pleasure to use (I have the 20").

I'm coming from Windows and am still getting used to OS X (and the keyboard layout). There are a few things I miss, but so far I'm impressed with everything.

The G5 iMac hardware is superb: simple design, attractive look, easy to setup. Some have complained about the disproportionately large border below the LCD, but it doesn't bother me.

Most of the time it runs completely silent, but once in a while I can hear a fan (but it's still quiet). Using the optical produces the only really noticeable sound (and it's not any louder than your typical optical drive).

I got the BT keyboard/mouse combo; it works well, though I leave my iMac on all the time and I initially planned to turn off the mouse and keyboard while I'm out (to save on batteries). But OS X takes several minutes to locate the mouse so I just leave the mouse/keyboard on all the time (dunno what that'll do to battery battery life). Note that when booting fresh or coming out of standby, OS X finds the mouse instantly... it only takes a while if you turn the mouse off and on while OS X is running.

It did not come with a wired keyboard or mouse.

Performance is quite good (single 512 MB RAM chip). It feels about the same as a 2+ GHz Windows box. Except that I've yet to experience the annoying random hard drive thrashing that happens occasionally under with Windows... and I dont see system slow-downs when copying files (Win32 multitasking blows).

I installed a second 512 MB chip from Crucial, but I get kernel panics with it, so Crucial's sending a replacement. Things get a bit chunky when managing a lot of hi-res photos with iPhoto, so I'm looking forward to running with 1GB. Accessing the innards to install the memory was easy.

 

[markiemark721]

Oh man! Way to go FedEx! It's on the vehicle for delivery to me this morning. The thing essentially went Shanghai to Boston in about 24 hours. Of course, I'm at work all day. Hoping I can get down to the FedEx place tonight and pick it up there though.

Hehe, same here, delivery attempted at 8 am, not bad. Shanghai to Oklahoma in 2 days....

 

[wdlove]

It. Is. BEAUTIFUL. Just moving my stuff over from my Quicksilver, I'll post some pics in a bit

I'm very happy for you edesignuk, congratulations. Looking forward to pictures and your review.

Congratulations dmseads from a fellow Bostonian. Welcome to MacRumors. I hope that your day will pass by quickly. Do you attend the Boston Mac Group?

 

[edesignuk]

I'm very happy for you edesignuk, congratulations. Looking forward to pictures and your review.

Thanks wdlove, but it's not all smiles - see here.

 

[Raveny]

has any other iMac G5 user noticed that when adjusting the volume while music is playing the speakers make strange noises?
They are also not as loud as the Apple pro speakers or?

 

[wdlove]

Thanks wdlove, but it's not all smiles - see here.

That is a nice looking setup. I hope that you are able to get your new iMac running smoothly. Try not to be disappointed just yet, edesignuk.

 

[Decanus]

Strange noises when adjusting volume

has any other iMac G5 user noticed that when adjusting the volume while music is playing the speakers make strange noises?

Same here. Not just when playing music, but also when DVDs are playing. Pretty poor speakers compared with G4 iMac, but what does one expect?

Cheers

 

[edesignuk]

That is a nice looking setup. I hope that you are able to get your new iMac running smoothly. Try not to be disappointed just yet, edesignuk.

I'm not disappointed, I think it's a great machine. It's just irritating that there is something wrong with it from the get-go, and I;m gonna have to spend time on the phone with Apple getting 'em to fix it!

 

[swissqueso]

That's one of the worst shipping stories I've ever heard. You're right, Apple should drop TNT if this is the kind of service it provides.

However, I don't believe Apple has placed you at the back of the queue. It has become clear that Apple is producing batches of iMacs with similar configurations, and the company is simply informing you of the latest date when a batch with your configuration is expected to be produced. Although Apple won't reschedule the production of thousands of iMacs to make another one for you, I'm sure that if you ask for a manager and try to work constructively with that manager, you can get expedited shipping free of charge, a discount for your inconvenience, and a free upgrade or other Apple goodies to keep your business.

Whatever you do, don't compromise your computing experience because of a stupid mistake made by a shipping company - you're really mostly punishing yourself!

Latest update: Supervisor I spoke with yesterday called Shanghai this morning and informed me that November 3 is the earliest possible ship date. Sigh.

I expressed my disappointment and asked him to cancel the order altogether. He asked if there was anything he could do to make up for the situation. I asked him to review the size of my order and requested a discount. Although he didn't want to commit to a number on the phone, he finally agreed to offer a healthy rebate. With the discount and a commitment to November 3 ship date I accepted.

Guess I can spend another month checking my order status on the web every 5 minutes.

 

[one3]

Same here. Not just when playing music, but also when DVDs are playing. Pretty poor speakers compared with G4 iMac, but what does one expect?

Cheers

Same here ... or similar ... if I have iTunes playing songs and a system sound chimes in it sounds cut off and weird. Also adjusting volume has that weird cut off sound too. Tried to look for some sort of fix / mention on Apple's support site and via Google but could not find any....

BUT other then that my 20"-er is a beautiful machine.... i often get up from my desk just to walk around and admire it from all sides very happy with the performance over my G4-400 PowerMac too. I do a lot of design (print and web) and it's just a pleasure to do work on it. I don't know about gameplay (I don't play games) & video editing but for design work like print and web it's great!

 

[kjgnola]

I too get wierd sounds from the speakers. First it was just the odd clicky-pop noise with system event sounds and music were going at the same time. Now there is a vibrationy noise that occurs at "high" volumes. Kinda like the grill is loose or someting.

 

[sjl]

Latest update: Supervisor I spoke with yesterday called Shanghai this morning and informed me that November 3 is the earliest possible ship date. Sigh.

I expressed my disappointment and asked him to cancel the order altogether. He asked if there was anything he could do to make up for the situation. I asked him to review the size of my order and requested a discount. Although he didn't want to commit to a number on the phone, he finally agreed to offer a healthy rebate. With the discount and a commitment to November 3 ship date I accepted.

Guess I can spend another month checking my order status on the web every 5 minutes.

Well, that sucks. I'm not sure I can top that, but consider this: I'm a Melbourne (Australia) resident. I ordered my iMac (stock 20") early in September (within no more than three days, probably two, of the announcement). I'm still waiting, with absolutely no news -- not a peep -- from Apple Australia to the reseller I ordered through.

I rang the Apple store (they have an online/phone ordering service that bypasses the retailers); they indicated that their customers are looking at the end of October for delivery. I spoke with Computers Now (another reseller, not the one I ordered through); they indicated that every store they've spoken with has the same story as the Apple store gave me. My reseller hasn't contact me; my guess is that he's not going to until he knows for certain when it's going to arrive.

I begin to understand, more and more, what my reseller said to me back when I bought my 1.25 GHz 15" PowerBook (shortly after it was available in Australia): he's in business in spite of, not because of, Apple Australia.

My summation of Apple: great products; but their business execution stinks to high heaven. I want that iMac for several reasons; arguably the biggest one is that I ended up in a hole (emotionally speaking) after working at a job that was ... uh ... less than brilliant; it's taken me three years to reach the point where I feel like doing a complex -- but educational -- programming task for the hell of it. Now events are conspiring to make it impossible to do the task I have in mind (kernel programming simply can't be done with just one computer, unless you're superhumanly patient.) Argh!

Oh, well, I guess I've waited three years to get to this point; I can wait another month or two...

 

[Deadhead]

17, 1.8, 512, BT keyboard & mouse, Airport - to UK

Hooray. This switcher got his email this morning. My iMac has been dispatched. Ordered 23 Sept, original OOB date 28 Oct.

The package hasn't shown up with TNT yet. Is this normal?

Also this thread is so long now that I can't find it and I wasn't really paying attention well enough before; but is there some other place that I can track this box coming into the UK via The Netherlands?

 

[arnegp]

Deadhead: check out http://www.apecode.com/appletrack/
track you european package there.

ANYONE! my package is getting real close now!
TNTs tracker says: OUT FOR DELIVERY
does this mean that i'll get it today?
is the package on the car?

the strange this is that where it said out for delivery the
location was a town some hours away from me.
maybe i have to wait till tomorrow... but tomorrow, i have
no chance to be home and get the package... exams...
damn it # #"$#"

 

[dmseads]

I'm very happy for you edesignuk, congratulations. Looking forward to pictures and your review.

Congratulations dmseads from a fellow Bostonian. Welcome to MacRumors. I hope that your day will pass by quickly. Do you attend the Boston Mac Group?

Thanks wdlove. I love this iMac. Went and picked it up last night at the FedEx place. I know it's only been one night, but to all the switchers still out there waiting...it's MORE than worth it. This thing's a beauty. And I'm really impressed with OSX already.

What's the Boston Mac Group? Have you ever sat in on any of the tutorials over at the Cambridge Apple store? Anything worthwhile or no? One very happy switcher here!

 

[arnegp]

ITs here!
im unpacking it right now!
this must be one of the best moments ever

have to go jipiiiii

 

[stickyjohn]

Hooray. This switcher got his email this morning. My iMac has been dispatched. Ordered 23 Sept, original OOB date 28 Oct.

I ordered Sep 22, OOB Oct 21.. 20", no BT. Still waiting for my status to change from "open"..

Can't... last.. much.. longer....

 

[Maaij]

Latest update: Supervisor I spoke with yesterday called Shanghai this morning and informed me that November 3 is the earliest possible ship date. Sigh.

I expressed my disappointment and asked him to cancel the order altogether. He asked if there was anything he could do to make up for the situation. I asked him to review the size of my order and requested a discount. Although he didn't want to commit to a number on the phone, he finally agreed to offer a healthy rebate. With the discount and a commitment to November 3 ship date I accepted.

Guess I can spend another month checking my order status on the web every 5 minutes.

hey swissqueso, What config did you order?
I am still waiting for my 20" 256mb,160GB,AE, BT mouse and keyboard. Order on 31 Aug oob was 12 Oct. Got a delay email from Apple. Now is oob 18 Oct.
Hope I will get it this time with no delay. Tell me you didnt order the same config. I dont want to wait till 3 Nov

 

[Arkitus]

Hello everybody!

I decided to join in too. I ordered an iMac 17" BT 512, on Sep 6th, and it shipped today.

here is the history form apecode.com:

17 okt 04 32 05 Flight Booked Apple Shanghai
14 okt 04 00 05 Data received from supplier Apple Shanghai
14 okt 04 30 60 departed from product source Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai
14 okt 04 05 00 boxes scanned Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai
14 okt 04 30 64 Departed from source Apple Shanghai

Two questions:

1) are newer items below or above older items?
2) can you please translate the stuff ive written? what does 17 okt flight booked mean? is it coming on the 17th?

Thanks.

 

[wdlove]

Thanks wdlove. I love this iMac. Went and picked it up last night at the FedEx place. I know it's only been one night, but to all the switchers still out there waiting...it's MORE than worth it. This thing's a beauty. And I'm really impressed with OSX already.

What's the Boston Mac Group? Have you ever sat in on any of the tutorials over at the Cambridge Apple store? Anything worthwhile or no? One very happy switcher here!

See the link below. I haven't personally sat through a tutorial there, but for a switcher would highly recommend attending the classes. You can also just go in and ask questions of a staff member at any time. Congratulations on switching, certain that you will enjoy.

http://www.bmac.org/

 

[andyblac]

Well,. just got yet another "Delayed E-Mail" i now have a date of 22 Oct, not very happy. so i have just emailed the Apple Store UK, saying just that. also i asked the question "Why are people with same configuration as myself, who ordered after me seem to be getting thiers ?"

I know i am not the only person still waiting, and i know there are people who have beening waiting longer, but why do apple give you a date knowing that they can not stick to it ?.

how can a company the size of apple have logistic problems ?

 

[andyblac]

I ordered Sep 22, OOB Oct 21.. 20", no BT. Still waiting for my status to change from "open"..

Can't... last.. much.. longer....

oh yes it can,i have my OOB date changed 3 times now, i now have a date of 22 Oct, but i ordered my 20" on 13 Sep. so dont hold your breath. i would be supprised if you got before mid november.

 

[wdlove]

I'm not disappointed, I think it's a great machine. It's just irritating that there is something wrong with it from the get-go, and I;m gonna have to spend time on the phone with Apple getting 'em to fix it!

I agree that it would be irritating to have a new machine that's not working properly. Please let us know how it goes after you speak with Apple, edesignuk.

 

[Abulia]

Yea! I now get to begin the joy that is the daily tracking game!

17" / 1.8 / 256 MB / 80 GB / BT (BTO)

Ordered: 9/27/04
Estimated Ship: 10/26/04
Actual Ship: 10/14/04
Estimated Arrival: 10/20/04

Currently at FedEx ramp in Shanghai! Here's hoping I see it next week in Utah! Have two sticks of 1 GB Crucial memory standing by.

- Don