We're basking in the glow that comes from having seen what we believe to be the first iMac to appear on television. And no, we're not talking about Apple's commercials, or news shows where some know-it-all says that it's a great computer but that it's doomed to fail because it doesn't have a floppy drive. We're talking Seinfeld-style sitcom appearance. We're talking about "iMac as prop."

We like to keep ABC tuned in on Wednesday nights, primarily for Dharma & Greg, the Drew Carey Show, and the new Americanized version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (though we still think the original English version was a lot funnier). Anyway, at some point during the evening, ABC aired a clever commercial showing the Spin City characters piling into the flux-capacitor-equipped Delorean from Back to the Future, since the show is moving from Wednesdays to Tuesdays for the new fall season. The end gag is that Paul got left behind on Wednesday night, and is left wandering the offices of Winfred-Louder from the Drew Carey Show. What makes this all relevant is that sitting prominently on Mimi Bobeck's Troll-covered desk is a spiffy new iMac, resplendent in its Bondi-blue glory.

Terrific! The iMac will apparently then start making a regular appearance on the show, which airs its season premiere on September 23rd. (That's the same day as the scheduled season premiere of Redmond Justice, which features the big trial between Microsoft and the Justice Department-- coincidence? We think not.) As for whether Mimi's use of an iMac will help Apple's sales or hurt them, we can't say-- after all, despite being on a popular show with high ratings, she is evil incarnate. But we'll say one thing: the iMac matches Mimi's eyeshadow beautifully. That's gotta count for something.

We're not used to seeing positive press about Apple in Business Week magazine, but hey, as we all know, the iMac can work miracles. For proof, just read this Business Week Online article, which details how a PC-using veteran of over ten years finally turned his back on years of "humiliating abuse" and bought an iMac.

For those of you who haven't had to foray into the world of Wintel PC's for whatever reason, consider yourselves lucky. Otherwise, you'd fully understand why the author of this article was stunned and amazed by what happened when he plugged in his iMac and turned it on: "Knock me down with a feather -- it worked." It's sad that some people have been working with PC's for so long, it actually surprises them when something works correctly right out of the box.

The author could use a little consultation (for instance, he says he needs to buy a "tape drive" for the iMac so he can transfer files from his PC, but there are no tape drives yet available for the iMac, and a much better and cheaper solution involves buying or borrowing a $30 Ethernet card and a $10 crossover cable to build an instant network), but his heart's in the right place. We're pleased to see that the iMac is winning over some converts from the Wintel camp, not just because it's good for the platform, but because the happier people are in this world, the better. Less frustration all around-- that's the real promise of the iMac. Who says a $1299 computer can't change the world?

There are those among you who couldn't resist the sheer style and power of Apple's new creation. Admit it-- several of you got caught up in the consumer frenzy and bought an iMac even though you didn't really need a new system. That's perfectly okay; everybody could use a little Bondi-blue bundle of joy in their lives these days. (The iMac has brought peace, tranquility, and zest for life back into our home, for instance.) The thing is, though, now that you've made the commitment and bought one, you have to take care of it; no fair throwing it in the back of the closet with your lava lamps and Cabbage Patch Kids once the initial thrill wears off. The iMac deserves better, gosh darn it.

Thankfully, Apple's right on the ball when it comes to helping you with the care and feeding of the new addition to your family. They've just released iMac Update 1.0, which improves the USB software that drives the iMac's new-fangled peripheral expansion bus. Perhaps you've been hearing about some glitches that arise when trying to attach, for example, an Epson USB printer to the iMac? Well, apparently this update fixes several of those types of problems. The fact that Apple is releasing this patch less than three weeks after the first iMacs hit users' homes is an solid indication that Apple's paying attention and support for the iMac is a top priority.

Incidentally, the update itself is a pretty cool thing. It works by replacing the ROM file in the iMac's System Folder. As the first Mac with a minimal physical ROM, the iMac enjoys two benefits over previous Macs. First, it performs some operations faster, since the instructions are loaded from the ROM image on disk and popped into RAM at startup; there's no more bottleneck with the system needing to retrieve all of its instructions from a slow physical ROM. Secondly, since the ROM is just a file on the hard disk, it's upgradeable without requiring a hardware swapout. That's why fixing bugs in the iMac's USB code requires users only to download an updater and double-click it. Very cool.