Good gravy, anyone who doubted that Apple was serious about this whole iMac thing must be reconsidering by now. Only four weeks after the system's release, Apple has issued three-- count 'em, three-- service updates to address various bugs and abnormalities. The first two corrected USB "issues," including printing problems, and high-speed modem connection woes. The third, released scant days ago, is a firmware update that addresses an issue with the iMac's internal CD-ROM drive, which apparently "reduces the amount of vibration caused by certain CDs." iMac users can download it from Apple's support site.

For the record, we personally haven't had any problems with the iMac's CD-ROM drive not being able to read a particular CD. The only problem we've encountered so far involved the bundled Kai's Photo Soap CD being extremely loud in the drive, but since the disk was only needed for the software's installation and its first launch, we haven't used the disk since. Those of you who have iMacs and can't seem to read certain CD's, Apple's firmware update may help, but be warned-- a few people have reported that the patch solves some problems while creating others. iMacInTouch has some good comments.

Potential problems notwithstanding, we have to say, we're mighty impressed with Apple for keeping on top of these issues and fixing the glitches so quickly. Of course, the other way to read the situation is to say that Apple released a computer so buggy that it required three software patches in its first month on the market. It all depends on whether you're a glass-half-empty or a glass-half-full kind of person.

Yes indeedy, the iMac comes with an infrared port all right. Pretty cool, huh? Or, at least it would be, if there were any truly practical applications for that IR port. So far the only thing we've tried to do is wirelessly network the iMac and a PowerBook 1400, to no avail-- we think we got them to see each other for a brief instant, by holding the PowerBook right up against the iMac's port, which is a position we consider untenable at best. (We can't imagine what it would be like to hold, say, a printer in the same position...)

But while the IR port on the iMac may seem a bit superfluous (if not just plain useless), slapping the same kind of port on its portable cousin could be a delicious addition. In fact, at this point, next year's low-cost "eMac" will almost certainly include such a port, but the real news is what kinds of capabilities Apple plans to give to the unit on top of the standard file sharing and printing stuff. According to Mac the Knife, Apple is seriously considering adding remote control features to the eMac. Not just the capability to control TV's, VCR's, stereos, etc., but the super-cool ability to control, say, an iMac via infrared. Think of it-- just by using the eMac near your desktop iMac, you could print to the iMac's USB printer, synchronize sets of files between the desktop and the laptop, share the iMac's Internet connection, or just about anything else. In this scenario, the eMac becomes an extension of the iMac, almost like a detachable limb. (Well, okay, maybe not a detachable limb; that's kind of gross. But you get the point.)

Yeah, that all sounds cool, but personally, we're more excited about the possibility of typing away on the couch in front of the TV and being able to change channels without having to reach for the remote. Call us old-fashioned, but we know where our priorities are.

Faithful viewer Steve Pissocra breaks radio silence to ask the following:

Did ya see Noah (Steve Jobs) Wyle at the Emmys Sunday night? The beard, the hair, oh man, talk about flashbacks. I thought the braless hammer girl was gonna come barrelin' down the aisle and give the ol' toss right through the middle of one of the ultra cheesy "How TV Has Enriched Our Lives" segments. (No offense to your fine programming of course.)

So yes, we did notice Mr. Wyle's hair and beard, and we, too, wondered if he's looking the part of Steve Jobs for the upcoming TNT movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley," in which he's rumored to play Mr. Jobs opposite Anthony Michael Hall's Bill Gates. But we also noticed that the dashing young Noah sports the same scruffy beard in his more well-known role of Carter on ER, at least based on the quick glimpse of him we saw in the promos. So while we consider the telltale facial hair a significant clue as to the truth of the casting rumors, we can't categorize it as conclusive evidence. Heck, maybe he's just going for an older look these days. We're hearing ugly rumors that maturity is coming back into style.

On a semi-related note, we were pleased to see that Apple continues its iMac saturation campaign, as we caught at least three iMac commercials during the Emmys, which are watched by something like a billion people worldwide. The hype machine rolls ever forward, crushing all resistance in its path... ;-)