Apple Imac

Well let's see... It looks wonderful, so good that it qualifies for some sort of design award with the 24" screen reducing the relative size of the surrounding white bezel that houses the necessary hardware so that everything looks perfectly in proportion. Setting it up for home use is a dream - the box comes with just 4 items: computer/screen, keyboard, mouse and power plug (plus a tiny remote control) - you plug it in and within minutes you're there with very high quality photo, video editing, DVD authoring, address book, calendar and e-mail software pre-installed and, of course, internet access with no virus problems. Plus, with the addition of "Parallels" software, which is equally simple to set up, you can convert everything into a Windows PC running at the highest resolutions and install all your existing Windows applications - Word, Excel etc. etc. - accessed by the touch of a button as the screen flips round to seamlessly switch between Mac & PC.

And then... well, as Mac users know everything just works... no crashes, super quick start up and ridiculously easy installation of third party programs. If you haven't used a Mac before you will (believe me) become a dedicated convert within days. And if you're already a convert, the sheer beauty and stunning resolution of the screen and its extended workspace which makes moving around between program windows an absolute joy will take your breath away.

So, it looks beautiful, it's ridiculously easy to set-up, everything works without a hitch, it switches within seconds between a Mac and a PC and everyone who sees it will want one. But like a beautifully engineered "supercar" this quality has its costs. Firstly, the standard configuration doesn't do the machine full justice... what you really need is the upgraded processor (2.33 GHz), the better graphics card (the standard configuration is fairly puny), a larger disk drive (probably 500GB to handle all your photos, music, video and a reasonable PC partition for your Windows programs) and, of course, more memory to keep all of this running seamlessly (2GB minimum and ideally 3GB). Which bumps up the cost to top-end prices... but when you're buying a Ferrari you don't skimp on the tyres.

And then... well if you're a dedicated PC gamer you'll need to install Apple's Boot Camp software to run anything serious. Which is free but, like Parallels, needs a copy of Windows XP or Vista to work. More outlay and it's all adding up.

The ideal home computer? Well, you get what you pay for and with the 24" iMac you're entering into a different world where everything is quite wonderful but where it comes at a (justifiably) high cost. Better to classify it as the "perfect home computer" which, if you're into perfection, beats everything out there.