Still THE computer for the rest of us.

Twice in a single year, Apple has released Intel-based iMac computers, and with whispers of the Core Quadro chip (yep, 4 processor cores) on the wind, should you wait?

If web surfing, home movie-making, photo editing and home office work are all you have in mind, the answer is no. The 20-inch iMac in its basic configuration (1 GB of system RAM, 128MB of video RAM, 250GB hard drive) is more than plenty. Only the most rabid gamers will opt for the 256 MB video RAM upgrade, and impoverished graphics designers who can't afford the Mac Pro will find the 24-inch iMac an affordable alternative. Right out of the box, this iMac carries on the Macintosh legacy of "The computer for the rest of us."

The 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor provides ample horsepower to run Microsoft Office 2004 (via Rosetta) as fast as (and some claim faster than) the iMac G5, where it runs as a native PowerPC application. The built-in iLife applications are all Universal, meaning they're native to the Intel chip. The 20-inch 16x10 aspect ratio display might seem like overkill if you don't play DVDs and watch movies regularly, but once you work with it, you won't want to go back. There's so much room and the screen resolution is so fine, you can edit whole pages of text in Microsoft Word 2004 while keeping a chat window in full view without overlapping the windows. The optical SuperDrive completes the package, giving you the ability to burn music and data CDs as well as DVDs.

For many, the iSight camera will be icing on an already satisfying cake. Even if you rarely video chat, iSight lets you snap your own photo and throw in some visual effects with Photo Booth. It's an easy way to keep your bulletin board avatars and chat icons up to date.

Running the show is Mac OS X Tiger, always a 64-bit operating system and finally able to show itself off. Acclaimed around the world as the best operating system for home users, OS X Tiger protects you and your family from the perils of a connected life by turning up its nose at Windows trojans, spyware and other nasty stuff. On the surface, OS X Tiger seems tame as a kitten but deep down inside, amazing things are going on, like Spotlight, a search tool that chews up and spits out Windows XP's cute li'l puppy. Search results appear AS YOU TYPE YOUR QUERY, and not just file names but references in nearly every file format. Open your fantasy novel manuscript, change the dragon's name from Elliott to Fafnir and by the time you've saved it, Spotlight already knows about it. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

This is my second Mac. Transferring everything from my old Mac mini was a breeze with Migration Assistant and a FireWire cable. It was as if it had been my Mac all along. It didn't even care that my default web browser and email client are Firefox and Thunderbird. There were no "You are not using Safari!" warnings or "Would you like to use Mac OS X Mail instead?" offers. Ditto for transferring my wife's info from an even older PowerPC G3 iMac (also running Tiger) to the Mac mini after I refreshed it with its restore DVDs. We had planned on the project taking a couple evenings. It was all done in about an hour and a half.

The only part of the iMac that disappoints is the optical wired Mighty Mouse, but then, we all know Steve Jobs is a quirky guy who seems to enjoy throwing a ringer into every product, so his idea of the perfect mouse is just as quirky. It's a case of love (or hate) at first touch. I don't know anyone who has said "Yeah, it's different, but I can get used to it," though I've heard customers at The Apple Store ask "Can I get a credit if I give back the mouse?" I'm a trackball fan myself and the iMac happily said "Well, hello d'er!" when I plugged in a Logitech Marble Mouse trackball. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Apple to offer a BYOKM (Bring Your Own Keyboard and Mouse) version of the iMac.

Anyone old enough to read this has been alive since the days when 20-inch flat panel monitors sold for the price of the 20-inch iMac. Considering that you get a machine that runs Mac OS X and Windows XP (with optional software), it's a steal. Enjoy the guilt.