Answer: The new Intel-based iMac that arrived recently from Apple Computer Inc. so I could get some hands-on time with the company's first Mactel machine -- at least until those new (and newly renamed) MacBook Pro laptops arrive later this month.

For now, those interested in an Intel experience with an Apple flair will have to make do with the new iMac, unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs to much fanfare last month. Two models are available: the 17-in. version, which sells for US$1,299 and has the Intel Core Duo 1.83-GHz chip inside, and the larger, 20-in. version, which goes for $1,699 and has a slightly faster 2-GHz Core Duo processor. Both come with 512MB of PC2-5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 RAM and either a 160GB or 250GB hard drive. And both ship with Apple's two-button mouse, in and of itself a nice addition.

So how does the new iMac fare in regular use? This latest generation of Apple's all-in-one runs circles around its predecessor -- most of the time.

Just how fast is the new iMac? We're talking about a start-up time from Mac chime to desktop of just 23 seconds. That's faster than my own Power Mac G5 with dual 2.7-GHz processors. Apple apps like Safari and iPhoto start up before their icons have bounced twice in the dock. In fact, this iMac is faster on those admittedly informal benchmarks than any Mac I've ever played with -- I mean, used.

Now, I realize start-up times do not a user experience make. But they are an indicator of the potential for Apple as it moves its hardware line over to Intel processors during the year ahead. And as is often the case with such transitions, there are a few speed bumps. In this case, that would be all of the programs that have yet to be rewritten as "universal" apps that can run on the Intel hardware as well as on Apple's older G3, G4 and G5 processors.