Which Mac is a classic?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Just as there have been many duds in the history of Macintoshes, there are classics.



Which ones do you think are, and what does it take to make one a classic.

Here are a few to start (in my opinion)



The original 128K is one because it started the whole ease of use and mouse interface.



The Macintosh II was a leap in that colour finally came to the Mac world.



The PowerMac 8500AV for the wealth of audio and video capabilities for that day.



The Powerbook G3 for it's awesome industrial design. It set the standard at the time.



The Cube also for it's groundbreaking design and small size.



I'm not sure yet about the iMac original or LCD versions.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Not sure about the original iMac? Put down the crack pipe bro.







    Defininitely a classic. Brought about a billion people over to the Mac... all in one design, ease of use... certainly more of a Classic than the Cube. It sold for what, 3 months?
  • Reply 2 of 13
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Sure it brought back millions. I guess if you base a classic strictly on sales.



    The original Mac was an all-in-one. So while the iMac was different in form, it wasn't anything really new.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Hmm... it didn't bring a billion people to Macs, that's just crazy.



    I'd say the IIfx was definitely a classic.



    The Classic was definitely NOT a classic. It was highly forgettable - although it did serve the same purpose in bringing lots of people to the Mac. It was only $999.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by satchmo:

    <strong>Sure it brought back millions. I guess if you base a classic strictly on sales.



    The original Mac was an all-in-one. So while the iMac was different in form, it wasn't anything really new.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Also though, the iMac started the whole color thing with almost all consumer electronics.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <strong>Hmm... it didn't bring a billion people to Macs, that's just crazy.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Don't tell me you took "about a billion" literally.



    There was a time not too long ago that you almost couldn't watch a sitcom, a movie, read a comic... without seeing that colored bubble of an iMac sitting there. Classic for sure.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    maybe they're not classics per se, but the LC 475 and the original PowerMac (the 6100) were the epitome of the pizza-box machines, and I have to give them "mad props" for that



    neye
  • Reply 7 of 13
    kecksykecksy Posts: 1,002member
    1984 Macintosh

    1998 Bondi iMac

    2000 G4 Cube

    2002 iMac G4



    If I was collecting Macs, I make sure I'd have these.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Is this a plot against good 'ole macintosh Plus? Why didn't nobody mention that? If there is a classic, than it must be that one. I think that was really the first widely sold mac around the world (I know we have one, the thing was darn expensive too, about 5000 bucks).
  • Reply 9 of 13
    kelibkelib Posts: 740member
    IIsi - One of the most reliable and best designed Mac ever

    Colour Classic - For it's kewl looks

    PM 8500 and 9500

    iMac Bondi - the original
  • Reply 10 of 13
    The Macintosh concept itself is a design classic, but so are many Mac models. A very subjectively personal list.

    The original 128K Mac of course.

    The Mac II for breaking out of the all-in-one mold.

    The Bondi iMac for re-inventing the all-in-one concept (an exercise several PC makers attempted in the early 90s with very forgettable results), and dumping the floppy disk.

    The Blue & White G3 despite many shortcoming (limited expandability etc?), a thoroughly practical and ?transportable? design, and one of the few desktop towers too colourful for a funeral parlour.

    The Lombard PowerBook G3 because it got curves.

    The G4 Cube: a beautifully designed commercial failure.

    The iBook: a distinctive shape for a great machine. This relatively affordable Mac-to-go got many of my friends to the Macintosh.

    The ?Bürolampe? iMac: design-wise, as innovative as the 128K Mac, in my opinion.



    Otherwise significant models: though not trend-setting or revolutionary in themselves, still fondly remebered years later.

    The MacTV.

    The Spartacus Anniversay Mac of those darker years from not-so-long ago, it demonstrated that Apple could still put out something very distinctive, remarkable, different.

    The 8600/9600 Macs were the summit of the pre-G3 PowerMacintosh, standard SCSI drives and all, not to mention the numerous PCI slots. The tall casing was probably the best of the beige years.

    The All-in-one G3, just before sending beige to the Gardens of the Shut-Down, a very different variation of it.

    The PowerBook G4Ti, a lean, shiny, solid, capable, ?movious? G4.



    [And the one I wish existed: a PowerMac with the casing of the 2002 QuickSilver G4 (love that line of small-to-smallest buttons above the speaker, as well as those round-sided trays) and the Blue & White G3 colours]



    [ 10-23-2002: Message edited by: Immanuel Goldstein ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 13
    mattyjmattyj Posts: 898member
    The original Bondi Blue iMac without doubt is a classic. It marked a new beginning for Apple.



    "Nuff said"
  • Reply 12 of 13
    rooroo Posts: 162member
    [quote]Originally posted by der Kopf:

    <strong>Is this a plot against good 'ole macintosh Plus? Why didn't nobody mention that? If there is a classic, than it must be that one. I think that was really the first widely sold mac around the world (I know we have one, the thing was darn expensive too, about 5000 bucks).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    i agree. while it may not be "the first of its kind", or a sexy design, they were pretty much everywhere. i have fond memories of mine. other little girls drew pictures of horses on paper, i created interactive hypercard stacks about them. besides, they're cute and oh so easily collected!
  • Reply 13 of 13
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    MINE
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