I wrote the original post (at the bottom) about a year ago but forgot to post it. I now have the Retina iMac, it's fully loaded with the better graphics card, the 3TB Hybrid drive and 24G of RAM. The maximum ram is supposed to be 32G but people report that it will take 64. If the cost of 16GB SIMMS ever drops to an affordable cost I will load it up (I want to play with in memory databases)
I went for the Hybrid drive because I have a lot of stuff. I do have a NAS but still like the bigger drive and the Apple Hybrid has 128GB SSD on board, with it's clever caching it's fast enough for me.
I ordered it with the wired keyboard (rather than the toy they show in stores) and I ordered with the regular touch mouse but immediately switched to a £10 cheap wireless mouse from Amazon. I couldn't get on with the Apple Mouse, it's too shiny and right-clicking feels awkward.
So what do I think?
The cost was high, I paid about £2100, but the lack of a main system unit saves valuable space in my study. Buying a screen and system of equal quality would have been slightly cheaper but only by £2-300, for something I use every day and will have for 5-6 years, that's not a lot of money. I still have my original Intel 20" iMac I bought in 2006 and it's still a workable computer for surfing.
The speed of the 27" is truly amazing - no matter what screen mode it's in. The Retina display is extremely comfortable to use even for long periods.
I tend to run in the highest resolution when I'm developing, I'm not a fan of multi monitors these days. I'd rather have one large screen that allows to me focus on one task. When I'm in my office I prefer 3 monitors because I'm on the phone a lot and heavily multi tasking, but at home I'm normally writing or reviewing code and that's where the iMac shines.
The lack of a DVD or Blu Ray drive is irritating, I ended up buying an external drive and that takes up one of the USB slots.
The slowest (and worst) thing about the iMac is still iTunes! The whole system seems to slow down when it has to do more than one thing. I know that moving from legacy code is hard (and isn't something that the average user can appreciate) but this hasn't been a problem for one, two or even three years, it's been a problem for the best part of 10 years. Apple could and should fix this.
The slowest (and worst) thing about the iMac is still iTunes! The whole system seems to slow down when it has to do more than one thing. I know that moving from legacy code is hard (and isn't something that the average user can appreciate) but this hasn't been a problem for one, two or even three years, it's been a problem for the best part of 10 years. Apple could and should fix this.
I was quite excited when I got it because of the Thunderbolt ports, at last I thought, super fast copying to my iPhone and iPad. Nope. Still have to use USB. Nuts.
From 2015
I was there to take a look at the new 27" Retina iMac, I have a 2010 27" iMac and it's simply the best computer I have ever owned. The screen (even on the old model) is wonderful, the wired keyboard is so good, I can type all day and never have a problem.
My old iMac feels a bit long in the tooth for development and needs an upgrade, mind you it's still more than good enough for all the other things we use it for, Office, iTunes, surfing etc.
The new Retina screen and the sleek design of the unit is something I want and will almost certainly buy as soon as I have the money. However, I was left with a sense of disappointment.
I hate the tiny keyboard for all sorts of reasons: the arrow keys are squashed in, the unit is too small, there is no number pad (which my wife uses all the time). It also looks the wrong size for the unit - if looks matter.
I hate the trackpad thing, a few uses of it and my wrist and arm hurt. I've used computers for over 35 years and I have never had RSI or any issues.
I don't really care about the thinner form factor. I want a DVD drive!
