In fact, not five minutes after I pulled it from the box, we were already showing off a co-worker's vacation pictures from Iceland in a slide show that drew even more attention than the initial iMac unveiling.

In other words, if you do go out and buy an iMac, for productivity's sake, don't open it up at work.

In case you missed the Sept. 6 announcement, Apple updated its entire iMac lineup, pushing the envelope at both the top and bottom end of the price universe. At the bottom end is a 17-in. version that just slips under the magic $1,000 price point by a dollar. And while it's a fully capable entry-level machine, buyers will be hard-pressed not to opt for spending another $200 on a version that offers a faster processor, twice the RAM, more shared Level 2 cache, a SuperDrive and dedicated video RAM. In other words, if you're seriously eyeing the $999 model, figure out a way to scrape up the extra $200 for the next model up. It's worth it.

Apple also updated the former top-of-the-line 20-in. iMac, and dropped the price on it to $1,499. If you don't need 24 inches of screen real estate, this is the best buy in my book.

But if you do need the big screen, or even if you don't but can't resist getting it anyway, the 24-in. version is absolutely sure to please. It may not have quite the horsepower of the Mac Pro desktop machines, but it's got more than enough for about 90 percent of users.