Okay, it's official; AtAT now both acknowledges and endorses the iMac as the new "computer for the rest of us." We were holding off on succumbing completely to the iMac's "I'm the simplest" claim that gets trumpeted so loudly in Apple's commercials until the ultimate test of ease and simplicity had been passed. We're pleased to state that such a test has commenced, and so far the results are encouraging.

Yes, it's a great thing to show that an eight-year-old and a border collie can set up an iMac and get it onto the Internet in eight minutes or so. And we're hearing reports of people letting their four-year-olds set up the iMac, just to show that a four-year-old can do it (though we've got to assume that said four-year-olds got a little help with hoisting the iMac's thirty-eight pounds up onto a desk). That's all well and good, but let's face it-- kids, even very young kids, often have a technological edge over their parents. We're talking about the "son, get over here and program the VCR for your dad" syndrome; exposure to computer technology early in life (even technology like a Sony Playstation) seems to have given kids a familiarity with computer use paradigms and, probably more importantly, a level of comfort around high-tech stuff that often stands in sharp contrast to the technophobia that affects some people of an older generation. The real test of an iMac's simplicity is not whether our kids can set it up, but whether our parents can (or would even want to). We've frequently seen this referred to as the "Mom Test."

Well, so far we personally have no data on the "Mom Test," but as of tonight, AtAT can vouch for the fact that the iMac is passing the "Dad Test" with flying colors. The first part of the test was the hardest: projecting an image of simplicity strong enough to persude my father to buy one. (We're talking about a man who avoided getting a telephone answering machine until his activities made it an absolute necessity.) The second stage was set-up, and we're pleased to note that he called and proudly said he had the whole thing assembled and running. The fact that he was able to do so without feeling the need to call and ask questions or make sure he wasn't doing something wrong is a huge testament not just to the iMac's ease of use, but to its aura of simplicity and encouragement. Of course, the third part of the test-- getting on the Internet-- is going to be the trickiest from a technical perspective, as unfortunately EarthLink's nearest dial-in point is twenty miles away, so my father is going to have to sign with a local ISP instead of using the super-simple "Total Access" signup that ships on the iMac's drive. We'll keep you posted on the results, but so far, the iMac has aced the "Dad Test."