(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/500x_imac10.jpg)The iMac's notorious flickering problem has been solved through a firmware update. And after a few weeks' hiatus, Apple has continued shipping 27-inch iMacs. This may be it.Can You Safely Buy a New iMac Yet?Nope, but you might be able to next week.Why?There are two noted problems with iMacs—the 27-inch models in particular. First is an issue where their screens flicker (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2212682&tstart=30). Apple released a firmware update (http://gizmodo.com/5431482/firmware-update-for-27+inch-imacs-to-fix-flickering-screens) for the problem, but it didn't seem to fix it. However, the second firmware update (http://gizmodo.com/5461902/apples-second-firmware-update-for-27+inch-imacs-supposedly-fixes-flickering-screens) looks to have been more successful. How successful?
Combing through about 30 pages of this thread (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2212682&start=3960&tstart=0) (thanks Kyle), dozens have found the second update successful—and similar threads have come to similar conclusions. A few outliers still exist, but the vast consensus seems to be that the issue is nullified when the update is properly installed.
So it looks like the flickering problem is fixed for most users. This is great news—a huge breakthrough in this whole saga. If your iMac is still flickering after the update, call up Apple and demand new hardware. It finally seems safe to say, you're probably in the minority.
Read more: The Faulty iMac Saga, Chapter 5: The Moment of Truth (http://gizmodo.com/5468824/the-faulty-imac-saga-chapter-5-the-moment-of-truth)