Digital performer dvd3/22/2023 As a side‑effect, an iMac DV SE with a 400MHz G3 processor, 128Mb of RAM, 13Gb drive and FireWire ought to be quite useful for musical purposes, by using the USB ports for the audio and MIDI (or maybe even the FIreWire ports one day.). Now I know that lots of home and small‑business users might be tempted to dabble in making their own videos, but I'm still surprised at Apple's decision to make the whole focus of the top of the iMac range so video‑oriented. The DV reference is the cause of my confusion, since here you have a home product which seems to be moving upwards into the digital video world with its FireWire port, newly independent USB ports, DVD‑ROM drive, video ports and iMovie software (cut down from Apple's pro‑level Final Cut Pro video editor). One thing which is now gone from all iMacs is the fan - a development which suddenly makes the iMac quiet enough for studio environments where you might previously have not considered it. What's missing is the DVD drive, video ports and FireWire interface now found on the 400MHz G3 iMac DV and DV Special Edition. The iMac Standard (available in blueberry, blueberry or, er, blueberry) comes with a 350MHz G3 processor, 100MHz buss, 64Mb of RAM as standard, and a 1Mb backside cache. Inside the case is a new digital hi‑fi audio system designed by Apple and Harman/Kardon, plus the new AGP 2X Rage graphics accelerator. The case itself is now available in a much more transparent, rather than translucent, form, including a special edition in the graphite G4 colour. This time, there are subtle changes to the casing, such as a slot‑loading CD/DVD drive. However, the new iMacs aren't just speed‑bumped versions of the original, as was the case with previous new models. Musicians fall somewhere between these two camps, with the iMac being at the lower end, and lacking some of the features that you would expect for music (such as PCI expandability, perhaps), whilst the G3 and high‑end G4 have enough power to make the 'sound studio in a computer box' less of a pipe‑dream, and more of a reality. Previously, it seemed that the iMac was the entry‑level, home and small‑business Macintosh, whilst the desktop 'minitower' G‑series machines were targeted at the serious business and professional market. Apple followed their announcement of the G4 with some iMac news, and it's the targeting of the two ranges that is getting confusing. Sometimes things just aren't easy to interpret. Martin Russ puts the new iMacs in context, and delves further into his new G3.
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