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NOTE: I've chosen to use $1,100 as the price point instead of $1,000 because the Dell XPS 210
(Dell's only "slim" model) can't be configured with an LCD for less than $1,100.
NOTE: For the same $200, the Dell could be configured with a 19" ANALOG LCD instead of the 17" DIGITAL LCD
In my opinion, the analog signal cancels out the larger display, so I went with the one which was physically closer to the iMac.
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Best of Field
(in my opinion)
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Apple 17" iMac
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Dell XPS 210 w/17" Digital LCD
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Design/Styling:
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White/Aluminum
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Silver/Black
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Mobility:
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all-in-one ultraflat; 16 lbs. total
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Tower + LCD; appx. 27 lbs. total
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Component Access?
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easy access to RAM slots
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easy access to all components
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Cords/Cables:
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4 cables/cords total
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8 cables/cords total
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Desk Space Used:
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appx. 115 sq. in.
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appx. 220 sq. inches total
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"Ultraquiet fans"
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"QuietCase" cooling fans
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Max. Energy Use:
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180 Watts total (maximum)
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330 Watts total (maximum)
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1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
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1.86 GHz Core 2 Duo
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L2 Cache:
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2.0 MB L2 cache
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2.0 MB L2 cache
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RAM Type:
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DDR2-SDRAM PC2-5300 (667 MHz)
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DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4200 (533 MHz)
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Front Side Bus:
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667 MHz bus
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667 MHz bus
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RAM Amount:
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1.0 GB (2 DIMMs)
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1.0 GB (2 DIMMs)
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Max. RAM:
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2.0 GB (2 slots)
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4.0 GB (4 slots)
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Hard Drive Capacity:
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160 GB
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250 GB
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Hard Drive Type:
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Serial ATA
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Serial ATA
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Hard Drive Speed:
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7200 RPM
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7200 RPM
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CD-RW:
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24x16x24x CD-RW (slot-loading)
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??x??x?? CD-RW
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DVD-/+RW:
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8x DL DVD-ROM (slot-loading)
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??x DL DVD-ROM
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Floppy/Other Drive:
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--
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--
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PCI/AGP Slots:
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1 filled PCIe slot
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1 available PCIe slot + 1 filled
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Internal Bays:
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1 3.5" drive bay (filled)
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1 3.5" drive bay (filled)
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External Bays:
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1 5.25" drive bay (filled)
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1 5.25" drive bay (filled) + 1 3.5" bay (filled)
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Mouse:
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4-button, 360º trackball
optical USB mouse
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USB Optical 3-button scroll mouse
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Keyboard:
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USB Keyboard w/2 USB 1.1 ports
(includes volume/mute/eject keys)
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USB Keyboard
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Remote Control:
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Apple Remote included
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optional
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USB Ports:
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3 USB 2.0 on CPU + 2 USB 1.1 on keyboard
3 available (5 total)
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10 USB 2.0 total
(6 in back, 2 in front, 2 on display);
8 USB 2.0 available
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FireWire Ports:
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2 ports @ 400 Mbps
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1 port @ 400 Mbps
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Legacy Ports:
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--
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--
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Video Card:
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Intel GMA 950 graphics
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Intel GMA 3000 graphics
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Video RAM:
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64 MB DDR2 (shared)
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?? DDR2 (shared)
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VGA Out:
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optional adapter
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1 VGA out
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DVI/ADC Out:
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optional adapter
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???
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RCA-Out:
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optional adapter
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optional PCI card
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S-Video Out:
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optional adapter
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1 S-Video out
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TV Tuner:
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optional PCI card
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Dual Display Support?
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Yes (mirroring or spanning)
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Yes (mirroring or spanning)
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Display:
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17" viewable widescreen digital LCD
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17" viewable digital LCD
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Display Upgradable?
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No
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Yes
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Display Resolution:
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1440 x 900 / 1.3 Mpx
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1280 x 1024 / 1.3 Mpx
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Brightness/Contrast:
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250cd/m; 500:1 contrast
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300cd/m; 600:1 contrast
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Viewable Angle:
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140 deg. horiz.; 120 deg. vert.
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140 deg. horiz.; 130 deg. vert.
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Audio In:
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Built-in microphone; Analog & Optical Line-in
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Line-in; Integrated 7.1 channel audio
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Audio Out:
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Headphone jack, Optical digital audio out
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headphone jack; Integrated 7.1 channel audio
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Speakers:
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Integrated stereo speakers, internal digital amp
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AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs
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Video Camera:
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integrated iSight full-motion video camera
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--
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Ethernet:
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10/100/1000 Base-T
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10/100 Base-T
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56k Modem:
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optional USB modem
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56k modem
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Wi-Fi Card:
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built-in 802.11g (54 Mbps) card
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optional
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Bluetooth Card:
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optional
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optional
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Hardware Extras:
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--
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--
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Included OS:
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Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger; BSD Unix;
X11 Window System included
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Windows XP Media Center Edition
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Windows Support:
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XP/Vista Native via Boot Camp (beta)
or via 3rd-party (Parallels, etc)
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DOS/95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP (Native)
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Mac Support:
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OS X (Native)
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Mac OS 8 (via Basilisk)
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Linux/Unix Support:
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Various flavors (Native)
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Realtime Metadata Search/Organization:
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Spotlight (system-wide)
(includes Smart Folders, Content Search, etc)
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(Google desktop search available)
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Modular Desktop Utilities:
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Dashboard (system-wide)
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Task Scripting:
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Automator/AppleScript (system-wide)
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Windows Script Host
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Save-as PDF:
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Native (any file; includes encryption)
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--
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Faxing:
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System-wide (requires optional modem)
Send/Receive logs/archives included
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Fax Service not installed by default
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Zero-Config Networking:
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Bonjour (system-wide)
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Handwriting Recognition:
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Inkwell (system-wide)
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--
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Voice/Speech Recog:
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Voiceover (system-wide)
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(limited to certain non-core apps)
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Web Serving:
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Apache w/Perl, Python & PHP included
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(XP Pro only)
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Data Backup Utility:
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(iBackup, PsyncX, etc. available as free download)
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Included
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Developer Tools:
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Xcode 2.0; GCC 4.0;
Quartz Composer included
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(free download of compiler/linker/diff tools)
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File Compression:
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System-wide Zip compression
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System-wide Zip compression
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File Encryption:
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FileVault system encryption
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(XP Pro only)
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Word Processor:
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TextEdit (Word compatible)
or OpenOffice (free download; Word comp.)
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MS Works 8 (Word compatible)
or OpenOffice (free download; Word comp.)
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Spreadsheet:
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OpenOffice (free download; Excel comp.)
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MS Works 8 (Excel compatible)
OpenOffice (free download; Excel comp.)
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Presentation:
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OpenOffice (free download; PwrPt. comp.)
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OpenOffice (free download; PwrPt. comp.)
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Database:
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OpenOffice (free download)
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MS Works 8
OpenOffice (free download)
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Drawing/Painting:
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OpenOffice (free download)
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OpenOffice (free download)
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Page Layout/Publishing:
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--
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--
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Website Authoring:
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iWeb 1.0
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Font Management:
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FontBook 2.0
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no on-the-fly font enabling/disabling
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Projects/Planning:
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Omni Outliner
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--
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Web Browser
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Safari RSS 2.0
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Internet Explorer 6
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Image/PDF Viewer:
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Preview 3.0
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Image Viewer/Acrobat Reader 6.0
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E-Mail/Address Book:
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OS X Mail 2.0 / Address Book 4.0
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MS Works 8
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Calendar Program:
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iCal 2.0
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MS Works 8
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Data Synchronization:
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iSync 2.0
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(XP Pro only)
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System Data Transfer:
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System Migration Assistant
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Settings Transfer Wizard
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Chat/AV Conferencing:
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iChat AV 3.0
(others avail. as free downloads: ICQ, AOL IM, etc..)
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Windows Messenger
(others avail. as free downloads: ICQ, AOL IM, etc..)
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Multimedia Software:
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Front Row (works w/Apple Remote)
Quicktime 7.0; DVD Player 4.5
(WMP & RealPlayer avail as free downloads)
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Media Center software (works w/MC Remote)
WMP 10; Cyberlink DVD Player
(QuickTime/RealPlayer avail. as free download)
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PVR Software:
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Media Center software
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Financial:
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--
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--
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Reference:
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Dictionary/Thesaurus; Sherlock 3.0
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--
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Digital Photography:
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iPhoto 6.0, ImageCapture;
Photo Booth; Comic LIfe
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Image Acquisition
Google Picassa avail. free dl
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Digital Video Editing:
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iMovieHD 6.0
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MSFT MovieMaker 2
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CD Burning/Music:
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iTunes 6.0; OS X Disk Burner; OS X Burn Folders
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Sonic DigitalMedia; XP Disk Burning; WMP 9;
MusicMatch 7.0; iTunes avail. as free download
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Audio Engineering:
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GarageBand 3.0
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--
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DVD Burning/Authoring:
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iDVD 6.0; Disk Burner
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Std. XP Burning
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Games Included:
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Big Bang Board Games; Chess
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Mine Sweeper, Asstd. classic games
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Total Software Titles Available:
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Either Fewer or More
depending on whether BootCamp is utilized
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Either Fewer or More
depending on whether the Mac uses BootCamp
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Additional Software:
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Asstd. system software
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Free Services:
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1 month .Mac trial
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6 months AOL
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Viruses/Trojans/Worms:
|
No known viruses, trojans,
worms or spyware affect OS X.
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Firewall:
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Built-in, fully configurable
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Warranty:
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1 yr. ltd./at-home; 90 days phone
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1 yr. ltd./at-home; 1 yr. phone
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Customer Service:
|
|
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Subtotal:
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Base system price: $999
+ 1.0 GB RAM upgrade: $75
+ Apple Remote: $29
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Base system price: $879
+ UltraSharp 1707FP digital LCD: $203
+AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs: $10
+ USB Keyboard/Optical USB Mouse: $10
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- Rebates if any:
|
--
|
--
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+ Ground Shipping:
|
n/c
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n/c
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Total Price as configured:
(tax not included)
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