Apple opted for a shadow mask display rather than the usual Sony Trinitron. This machine feels fast, too. In an emergency, you can boot from your CD-ROM, and as far as transferring files goes, anything small enough to fit on a floppy is small enough to send over the Internet, especially with a 56K modem. Let the tiny group of people who have a real and compelling need for a floppy drive buy an external one, rather than force those who don't to pay for one they may never use. I would, however, have preferred a configuration option that included a removable drive like a Zip or SuperDisk.
Setup is ridiculously easy.
Lift it out of the box, plug in the mouse, power and modem cords, and press the power button. The software guides you through setting up your new or existing Internet account, and all the bundled software is pre-installed. I have a couple of complaints about the iMac that are so minor, I feel bad bringing them up. And the standard 32MB of RAM is probably not enough for even an average user any more. With a system that wants anywhere from 12-20 MB and applications that like 16 or more, that doesn't allow enough available RAM to run more than a couple of programs concurrently.