Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Apple Elegance

As I've bought more and more into the Apple design aura my level of satisfaction has gone up and up. Just have to tell about increasing the memory in my new iMac. The economics strongly favor the do-it-yourself approach, having Apple add 8 gig adds $400 to the total. The full list price to acquire the same amount of memory direct from the manufacturer is $60.

So the next objective becomes determining how to insert the memory circuits. You need a Philips screwdriver -- that's it. The only screws on the iMac are three on the central portion of the bottom perforated panel. This is what you must open to access the memory slots. Apple suggests placing the unit face-down on a blanket to do this, but I judged that I could do it in-place on my computer desk.

The elegance shows in that as you loosen the screws, the plate comes free, but the screws do not fall out. Each is held in place with a tiny lock-washer so that they are perfectly positioned for re-insertion. Absolutely no muss, no fuss. There isn't much a user can do on this computer, but this is an experience that is pure enjoyment. There is a good reason why Apple's stock is soaring.


I now have 12 gigabytes of memory, of which more than 5 gig is in constant use, and the total is put to work in several apps. Highly recommended -- the additional memory, and the experience of the iMac.