The state of art of David Boger in December.
2012 try this simple test at home: What is Dell\'s best nameselling PC? Anybody? Anybody? Right. Nobody knows.
Nobody cares.
Baby, everything today is about mobile phones and tablets.
No one is complaining about the PC anymore.
Innovation is dead.
Sales are down, right?
In fact, there is a pocket for sales and innovation in the PC space: Luxury goodsin-
A computer made by iMac.
I looked at three silver, high-design, screen-on-a-
Competitor: Apple\'s new iMac ($1,300 and up), Hewlett-
SpectreOne in Packard ($1,300 and up)
And all of Vizio. in-One Touch PC ($1,000 and up). (
Lenovo, Dell, Samsung and Acer also offer or are about to offer very similar servicesin-ones. )
What are the features of these computers?
First, emphasize the appearance.
They are shiny, stylish, futuristic, neat and cordless (
They come with a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and trackpad or mouse).
They are sculptures.
On your kitchen or table, they help to decorate even if they are closed.
The usual box of internal organs in the advertisement is gone.
In the iMac, the internal organs are hidden behind the screen.
At Vizio, they are at the foot of the monitor. In the H. P.
They are inside the stem that supports the screen.
The second common feature is the country. of-the-art components.
These computers offer gorgeous, vivid, high
Define the screen.
And very fast;
They feature the latest Intel chips and lots of memory.
Third feature: no DVD drive. What?
Do these companies really think the era of CDs is over?
No one wants to digitize the music on the CD anymore?
Or burn some files to a disc and hand them over to a colleague?
Or borrow a DVD from the library? Apple, H. P.
Vizio seems to believe everything is online now. Well, it’s not.
Would you like to rent the Indiana Jones movie Jurassic Park or Schindler\'s List?
How about Star Wars, beautiful hearts, Bridget Jones diaries, or my big Greek wedding? Too bad;
They can\'t rent a house online.
Of course, you can buy an external DVD drive.
But aren\'t these so-called \"all have?
It looks stupid to drive.
Now, it\'s understandable to eliminate DVD drives on your laptop.
You have a laptop. Weight matters. Bulk matters.
But why eliminate the DVD drive on a computer in one place?
Okay, the Roar is over.
The new iMac, made of traditional aluminum, is amazing.
The bracket is still a thin and curved metal bracket
But now the screen looks as thin (0. 2 inches).
Where is the courage?
It turned out to be a scam. an illusion.
Behind the screen you will see a big bump;
Apple tapers aluminum as it approaches the screen, so the whole screen looks very thin on the front.
Apple has also eliminated most of the glare that has long plagued today\'s glossy screens. Viewed side-by-
IMac is much less reflective than its competitors.
There are two iMac sizes for advertising: 21. 5 and 27 inch.
Basic models for $1,300 and $1,800 come with 1-
Terabyte hard drive, 8 gb memory and Intel processor i5.
Each has four USB 3.
0 Jack, 2 Thunderbolt jacks (
For video input or output or external hard drive)
Camera memory-
Stuck slot, clumsy position on the back.
Apple has abandoned the FireWire jack that has been promoting for years. On the 21. 5-
Incher, you can\'t upgrade the memory yourself;
Unless you bring it into the store, you buy what you always have. On the 27-
Inch model, you can install up to 32g by yourself through an easy-to-open door. (
It is recorded that this is about 262,144 times the original Macintosh memory. )
Online, you can use 3-
Terabyte hard drive, 32 gb memory, 768-gigabyte flash-
Invoice for memory drive and $3,700.
Vizio is not a company that you expect to engage in PC business;
It sells very well. quality, low-price TV sets.
Of course, the best part of all this so far --in-
One-button PC is its lovely touch screen, 24-and 27-inch versions.
There are also non-touch versions, but Vizio comes with Windows 8 and is much more enjoyable to use with the touch screen. (
Microsoft is pushing computer manufacturers to add touch screens to regular desktop computers, but I doubt that.
The phone or tablet is very close to your body, but the desktop screen is very far and vertical, which makes it awkward to move the precise fingers.
And then fingers-grease buildup. )
The rest of Vizio is not so dazzling.
The body, keyboard and large trackpad all have the feeling of Plasticine.
You should plug the computer into the subwoofer and then the subwoofer into the power outlet;
However, it is strange that the sound is not as clear or rich as the wireless speakers of the iMac.
Otherwise, this Vizio is a great home
Entertainment PC;
Except for its four USB 3.
0 Jack, it has a remote control and two HDMI inputs for Blu-ray
Ray player, console or cable box. (
It can display their output even if the PC is off. )
Advertising vizio should also be praised for resisting the urge to disrupt your new computer with trial software and other third softwareparty junk.
This is a clean Windows installation. The 27-
Inch Vizio starts at $1,300-
$500 lower than iMac
But of course you don\'t get that much.
You get less memory, slower processor, audible fan, lower
Resolution Screen (
1920 by 1080 pixels;
Razor for iMac
Sharp 2560 by 1440)—
And more plastic. H. P.
Ask for $1,300 for its SpectreOne.
This is quite expensive for a 23 person. 6-
Inch PC without touch screen, only two USB jacks (
Plus HDMI input)
Only 6 gigabytes of memory;
Like the iMac, you pay a lot for fashion.
This machine looks great.
The feeling is silver too-
Although it is painted plastic, it is the smallest of the three computers.
David Boger of The New York Times
The tech columnist saw three different things. in-one computers.
It comes with the full version of Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10, saving you about $150
And, through the current promotion, Nook e-$100 free of chargereader.
You can also get a cordless mouse and trackpad, as well as NFC-near-
Field communication.
This feature allows you to exchange information (
A map, a photo, an address)from an NFC-
Your PC is equipped with an Android phone.
Or, after some programming settings, just tap your phone and you can log in to SpectreOne-
A normal phone, you have one of the two NFC stickers on it.
Some models of these three computers contain an entity. state drive (SSD)
A large piece of super-fast flash memory.
It is copied (caching)
Data bits that are often used on SSD.
In Vizio and H. P. , it’s a 32-gigabyte cache.
Apple\'s Fusion drive is a $250 option, which is much larger (128 gigabytes)
Different ways of working.
Apple says it\'s not just caching (duplicating)
SSD usually stores important files like Mac OS X itself, your program, or the video scene you\'re editing. Whatever; it works.
SSD iMac is going crazy: 15 seconds on;
Open the browser in 1 second;
IPhoto in the month and seconds;
Cut 2 last time. It’s fast.
The goal of all these machines is success.
The IMac has the best screen you \'ve ever seen on your computer, the best craftsmanship and ridiculous quick response.
Vizio\'s touch screen and low price make it attractive. And the H. P.
Capable, neat and unobtrusive.
All these ads represent a clever step forward in reducing the computer\'s interior.
Of course, each price exceeds your standard plastic black box.
But sometimes, beauty, grace and satisfaction are only worth a few dollars. E-
Email: pogue @ nytimes
The coma version of this article was printed on page B1 of the New York edition on December 6, 2012 with the title: Not cheap fashion computers.
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