BUYERS BEWARE: TECHNOLOGY STILL HAS ITS STEREOTYPES

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word "stereotype" as being a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment. Unfortunately some stereotypes still persist in the computer and technology arena.

I can remember as a kid that when seeing the words "Made in Japan" on anything technological meant that it was something cheap and inferior. Of course that stereotype eventually vanished when dozens of companies such as Sony, Matsushita, Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba and Hitachi emerged as world leaders in the world of consumer electronics.

All-in-one products still bear the stereotypical view of being inferior to components. And while the purist will argue to the death that an all-in-one stereo system can't possibly match one made from individual components, most of us will be quite happy with one box that does most everything. But what about computers? Can it be there are still stereotypes lurking? You betcha.

Take Apple's Macintosh for example or more specifically, the iMac. Too often when I mention the word "iMac," people still remember the old Bondi-Blue, low-cost, slower, bulky CRT original model that was its inception. But nothing could be further from the truth. Today's iMac should be putting that stereotype to bed for good.

The iMac has had many stereotypical images to overcome throughout its evolution that includes the all-in-one, slower and not being expandable opinions. But hopefully, that's coming to an end. Apple's latest iteration of the iMac continues to show that it's ideal for about 90 percent of the consumers who are considering the purchase of a Macintosh. The top-of-the-line Mac Pro Tower is really only for those who need the ultimate in personal computing power. Those who need high-end graphic cards that squeeze out the fastest possible frame rate for video rendering, multiple processor cores for scientific number crunching and other similar applications will find the 8-core Mac Pro towers to be the computer of choice.

But for the rest of us, the all-in-one iMacs offer processor speeds up to
3.06 gigahertz, gigabytes of memory, terabytes of storage if needed and up to a 24 inch screen. And while you'll find arguments on both sides of how prices compare with comparably equipped Windows machines, remember that these iMacs can run Windows on their Intel-based processors. In fact, you can run both operating systems at the same time if you wish and transfer the data between them seamlessly.

Look I know that the Apple vs PC battle has been going on since the days these computers were created and I know that there's nothing I can write nor say that will change the minds of those who are passionately devoted to the brand they own. In fact the battle rages on with those funny Mac versus PC commercials we continue to see on TV all the time. It's the nature of the beast and there you have it. I just thought I'd mention the stereotype thing for the benefit of those of you that are new to the computer game and are considering buying a computer now or in the near future.

It's OK to ask around for opinions but when you do, like everything else please consider the source. These computer stereotypes have been around for a long time and while some of them have been laid to rest, there's still a lot of them circulating around.

You can check out Apple's new bevy of iMacs at their website (www.apple.com) or if you're lucky to be nearby one of Apple's retail stores, you should go pay them a visit for some hands on time.

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