Filed under: iMac, Universal Binary
iMac Core Duo quirks
No, this isn't a pic of our rig of the day. It's my rig. I've had my iMac Core Duo for a few weeks now, so I thought I'd provide some more impressions for those of you still on the PowerPC side of the processor divide. Monitor spanning works nicely, especially with a nice screen like the 24-inch Dell (featuring
I have noticed a few oddities with Rosetta. I cannot always drag documents to Word in the Dock or pictures to Photoshop in the Dock to launch the program and open the document / picture, as I can with native apps. I can launch the program this way, but it will often not open the file after launch. If the app is already running, then this sporadic inability to open files doesn't seem to occur. Also, Rosetta apps have crashed on me from time to time. Native apps run fine.
Another issue: where is X11? I cannot find it installed on the machine and cannot seem to find an installer that works online. I downloaded the Intel-savvy ports of OOo and the Gimp, but neither will run since there doesn't appear to be any installation of X11 on the iMac. If somebody knows where I can find X11 let me know. UPDATE: Found an "Install Optional Installs" app on the disk that came with the iMac and X11 would appear to be the only of the apps listed that wasn't installed by default. Odd.
The processor is fast. I know I keep saying that, but yesterday I used the free Universal Binary version of iSquint to batch process about 10 movies into iPod format in just a few hours. Much faster than either my old G4 PowerBook or my old G5 PowerMac. Overall, I'm loving the new iMac, but I am noticing little spots of bugginess here and there, and I'm hoping that recent Core Duo problems in Windows land don't end up being issues with our Macs.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jimmie geddes said 11:40AM on 1-30-2006
C.K. after reading your Intel iMac review, and watching the video podcast I took the plunge and got the 17" iMac witn the stock 512 RAM. I am very happy with it, it is sooo fast. I have a 12" PowerBook g4 1.33mhz and the iMac is like night and day, it's so much faster. I love it. FrontRow was giving me a few problems with freezing up and not being able to exit. It seems to be working fine now, needless to say I love my new iMac!!!
I posted a review at my site.
http://gadgetsonthego.net/2006/01/intel-core-duo-imac-you-had-me-at.html
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arkowi said 11:40AM on 1-30-2006
a sibe by side time comparison of a dual core intel and a dual G5 converting a movie to iPod would be an interesting.
i have never converted a movie with my G4 powerbook becuase i cannot stand the wait, but i find my dual G5 to be pretty speedy...well as speedy as converting a movie can be.
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dave said 11:53AM on 1-30-2006
Explain the better resolution bit to us, CK. The displays both have the same resolution (1920x1200) last I checked.
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Michael said 11:56AM on 1-30-2006
I am also curious about how the monitors can be the same but different?
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Mo said 12:00PM on 1-30-2006
Is the X11 installer not part of OptionalInstalls.mpkg (from memory), on your OS X install/restore discs?
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Derrick said 12:05PM on 1-30-2006
Can you display Front Row on the external display only?
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Oliver Otway said 12:06PM on 1-30-2006
As for the problem with documents; whereby they open the respective prgram but not the actual file - it might not neccessarily be an Intel related problem
If you fail to install visual basic, then a similar problem arises.
There could also be other potential causes as well
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C.K. Sample, III said 12:21PM on 1-30-2006
Dave and Michael,
It's the same LCD panel stuck in a different casing, and in Apple's design it's a 23-inch viewable screen at 1920x1200 while the Dell screen is 24-inch viewable at 1920x1200. So, yes, technically it's the same resolution, but the Dell has a better fit (plus a slew of extras like PIP attachments for DVI, D-SUB, S-Video, Composite, and Component. You can plug all these things into it simultaneously and toggle between them with a push of a button).
Mo, yes it is. They used to have it in a folder on the hard drive called Installers, along with the Developer tools, so I was thrown off when I didn't initially find it anywhere.
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C.K. Sample, III said 12:24PM on 1-30-2006
Derrick, yes.
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Jeff Weitzman said 12:29PM on 1-30-2006
I've had a similar odd problem where Photoshop won't open a document dragged onto it, or using "Open WIth..." The app launches, but it doesn't open the doc. This happens on PowerPC Macs, so the similar behavior you describe may not be related to Rosetta.
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Chris said 12:47PM on 1-30-2006
I too have problems with dragging a doc to the app and getting it to install. I am on PPC CPUs still, latest version of OS seems to be the cause.
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Alex Kalish said 12:59PM on 1-30-2006
How did you get Front Row on just your external display? I have a new 17" iMac Core Duo with an external Dell 17" LCD and would love to have it setup like that. Also, the color on my Dell is off compared to the (quite beautiful) iMac screen. Did you encounter any problems or have any advice for syncing the two?
Thanks!
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Steve Sweitzer said 1:14PM on 1-30-2006
I would like to add my name to the list of people who have experienced the 'Open with . . .' issue with Photoshop. It is a occassional issue with my G4 mini that I will drag a Photoshop image to the dock, and it only opens the application. Sometimes, even when I double-click a Photoshop file, it only opens the application and not the image I double-clicked. It sounds like this may be a legacy issue that has not been resolved yet. I just hope it's been noticed by Apple.
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Mike Evangelist said 1:18PM on 1-30-2006
Sorry, but it is not possible for the two panels to be the same if their active areas are different sizes. (Since they both display the same number of pixels within their active areas, and the size of the pixels on a LCD panel is fixed.) Mike.
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redobsess said 1:44PM on 1-30-2006
The Photoshop file open problem is usually associated with OS upgrades/re-installs. There is a Folder/File in the /Library called "Scripting Additions" with a file called "Adobe Unit Types." This doesn't get moved in an upgrade/archive. You can locate it in your Previous Systems/Library folder and just move the folder back to /Library.
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redobsess said 1:45PM on 1-30-2006
For C.K. and #10
The Photoshop file open problem is usually associated with OS upgrades/re-installs. There is a Folder/File in the /Library called "Scripting Additions" with a file called "Adobe Unit Types." This doesn't get moved in an upgrade/archive. You can locate it in your Previous Systems/Library folder and just move the folder back to /Library.
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Carvalhinho said 1:51PM on 1-30-2006
Can you do us a favor and connect your Imac to a UPS and test the UPS life time with and without a USB2 thinggy attached to you beautifull IMAC?
Thanxs
Carvalhinho
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Sean said 2:05PM on 1-30-2006
By your logic, can you explain to me how a 23" LCD and a 24" LCD are the same? There's a difference between "same resolution," and "same panel."
This is completely inaccurate. The 20" Dell 2005fwp and the Apple 20" Cinema Display are, in fact, the same panel, and I'm assuing that's what you're thinking of. The 24" Dell (Samsung LTM240M1-L01) and 23" Cinema Display (panel made by LG)are indeed different.
I also know from experience that the two panels are not equal. The Dell is definitely the better of the two (sharper, brighter, less bleadthrough, better stand, card reader, more video inputs, cheaper). The only thing the Dell monitor doesn't have over the Apple is the Aluminum bezel to match that G5 tower you bought last year.
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C.K. Sample, III said 2:12PM on 1-30-2006
I stand corrected. They aren't the same panels. I was confusing the 23 and 24-inch with the 20-inchers which are the same.
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lakiolen said 3:07PM on 1-30-2006
My PowerBook, bought in September, didn't come with X11 installed by default. Nor with the developer tools. I can see that Apple would put those in the same 'Advanced User' space and not install them by default since the typical user would have no need to use them.
P.S.
You could have at least moved the Dell(?) laptop before taking your 'Apple Rig' pic. :)
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