Apple coffee table book...
Anyone else like to see a large, snazzily-designed "coffee table" book showcasing Apple's iEra hardware designs? Both real, final versions AND concept sketches and initial physical mockups?
I'd pay half a gazillion clams for something like this.
Any thoughts as to why this hasn't been done? Even the most diehard Apple hater/Mac basher can't deny that their stuff looks COOL.
A large hardcover book with large, gorgeous photography and informative captions would keep me occupied and starry-eyed for MONTHS!
If you go to Barnes & Noble, you see all those "Spaceships of Star Wars" and "Gadgetry of 007" books, not to mention "The History of Fender Guitars" and that type of thing.
The same sort of book, just with Macs.
I'd love Ive to open up his sketchbook and talk, in depth, about the design and challenges of all this stuff. Hell, things like the Cube and the toilet seat iBook alone would be worth the price! I'd love to see little handdrawn sketches of this stuff when it was first dreamed up!
And to see some of the original prototypes.
Sigh...I wish I worked at Apple, or otherwise had Steve's ear. I'd insist he make this happen.
I'd pay half a gazillion clams for something like this.
Any thoughts as to why this hasn't been done? Even the most diehard Apple hater/Mac basher can't deny that their stuff looks COOL.
A large hardcover book with large, gorgeous photography and informative captions would keep me occupied and starry-eyed for MONTHS!
If you go to Barnes & Noble, you see all those "Spaceships of Star Wars" and "Gadgetry of 007" books, not to mention "The History of Fender Guitars" and that type of thing.
The same sort of book, just with Macs.
I'd love Ive to open up his sketchbook and talk, in depth, about the design and challenges of all this stuff. Hell, things like the Cube and the toilet seat iBook alone would be worth the price! I'd love to see little handdrawn sketches of this stuff when it was first dreamed up!
And to see some of the original prototypes.
Sigh...I wish I worked at Apple, or otherwise had Steve's ear. I'd insist he make this happen.
Comments
Not interested in an Apple history lesson, couldn't care less about the "garage days", Sculley or Gil, Lisa, etc. There are TONS of that stuff out there already.
I'm talking strictly hardware design here...and more specifically, the cool stuff, from the Bondi iMac to present day. Basically, the book could pretty much be about Ive and his crew, for the most part.
I want to know/see that initial spark of "hey, let's make this all-in-one that's geared toward the Internet, and...".
Include, of course, the iPod, iSight, the displays, mouse, keyboards, etc. in addition to the computers too. Kinda like that REALLY cool book about Industrial Light and Magic that's been out for years. Anyone seen that?
The hardcore, behind-the-scenes DESIGN angle.
If someone started putting it together right now (and allowing for anything new that might pop up for the remainder of 2003), do you truly not think most Macheads would be THRILLED beyond words to read about the origins of the iMac, iBook, Cube, G4 tower, Cinema Display, iPod, LCD iMac, eMac, and see photos and renderings of rejected ideas, "not quite there" prototypes, cool handdrawn sketches, stories related by Ive, Jobs and others in the loop, etc.
They could sell it for $99 (and since it's Apple, they probably would), and everyone here would probably buy one. Or ask for it for Christmas or their birthday! You know it!
No reason whatsoever "waiting 5 more years" should be the case. They've got enough stuff right now (including the G5, the iSight and the aluminum PowerBooks of 2003) to fill pages and make for some gorgeous photography/artwork (combined, of course, with photos of prototypes and initial sketches.
What's this "wait 5 years..." nonsense? We wait ENOUGH on chips and updates and Motorola...we damn sure shouldn't have to wait on a BOOK too!
Apple. Wait different.
Nope. I want it NOW.
don't think it will happen soon.
the current Apple likes to hide it's design process way too much. some of the prototype designs may still come to light some day. they don;t want to give the competititon a heads up.
Yep, do it at same size as the 17" aluminum PowerBook and the cover kinda echoes the look with the metal (even though it's more GUI brushed metal) and the white logo. Just add a title in the Apple corporate font.
The book LOOKS like a PowerBook!
It SINGS, baby! Green light it and watch the money pour in.
BTW, I got my first up-close and alone time with the 17" PowerBook yesterday at the Atlanta Apple Store.
I think I'm in love!
i mean the idea alone that it would look like a powerbook, is as genius as kramer's coffee table book that turns into a coffee table!
It is, isn't it?
Wasn't necessarily going for the Kramer angle, but hey...
Thing is, it would almost HAVE to be an "inside job" (or done with participation/cooperation of Apple, Jobs, Ive, etc.). Otherwise, what's the point? Needs to be more than just a pretty picture book to have any weight or meaning, you know?
The access to interviews, thoughts, sketches, prototypes, etc. are what would set it apart and make it truly a "wow!" kinda project.
I can sit here and, in my head, imagine the pages...and it's delicious!
BTW, I saw a REALLY cool/nice "Finding Nemo" book at Barnes & Noble this weekend, with all the initial mockups, storyboards, preliminary character sketches, test animation frames, background mattes, production/art notes, etc.
So that's Pixar. Which is partly Jobs. Which means the whole idea of "opening up and giving the world a peak into the magic" isn't COMPLETELY out of the question or realm of possibility. I'm certain Jobs (being CEO and all) carries a bit of weight there, and if he didn't want this book about Nemo put out, he could've put the kibosh on it. But he didn't, and he's actually mentioned a few times throughout and thanked profusely in the foreward and the acknowledgements section.
I sat there and looked at every page, just cooing over the sketches of little fish and underwater scenes. That's from someone who hasn't even seen the movie!
Imagine how we'd react to a book done that way about Macs!
Amazon.com's editorial reviews:
"This oversized, coffee-table volume is devoted to the industrial design of every product made at Apple Computer over the course of 20 years. Lavishly illustrated with over 400 large color photographs by photographer Rick English, the book transforms the plastic cases, LCD displays, and disk drives from old Apple IIcs, Lisas, Macs, PowerBooks, and Newtons (and a few technologies that never made it to the street) into objects of fine art. The book's attention to detail, even in the small peripherals, such as the stylus of the Newton--the ubiquitous round stick-on microphone that ships with the Mac--contributes to the technological identity of the Apple brand."
too bad, it is not from "iEra". Concept products which didn't make it is shown too. "iEra Appledesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group" will be a good idea.
A coffee table book about PowerBooks that looks like a PowerBook and is itself a PowerBook! (for people taking cursory glances at least)
Write them nice people at 1 infinite loop a nice letter.
Go on... Go on... you know you want to... the iccle voices in your head agree with us...
And I'm not sure Jobs' is the one you want to speak to. Although his ego would certainly welcome a book about his "babies", I'm not sure if he'd give you the time of day.
Maybe the publisher of the first book would bite. You could always try them. They must have had some relationship with Apple.
P.S.
Pscates, you realize if Apple allowed you to go behind the scenes, you'd forever be banned from speaking on AI!
I'm not a writer in any sort of trained, schooled way.
I'm not the person to do this.
But the idea certainly has "legs" and kicks butt, huh?
And I think the market for this would be quite large. Hell, MUCH more than that original book! Just think about it: back THEN (the "beige" days), Apple truly was a "niche" company, making a "niche" product (the prices, the proprietary hardware/software, the focus on publishing, etc.).
These days? It's wide open! Macs play nice with Windows, they cater to ALL types of users (not just designers), the hardware is gorgeous and worthy of a dedicated book. I'm convinced there are enough diehard, hardcore Mac geeks out there who would buy this. Along with design students, fans of industrial design/product design, computer people in general, people who buy art/collector/coffee table books, etc.
I don't think it would be "limited appeal" at all! Quite the opposite. Sure, the bulk would, of course, be people like us. But it would probably end up being required reading in design schools and engineering programs!
Story of my life: too many ideas, no clue how to make them happen...
Originally posted by pscates
Anyone else like to see a large, snazzily-designed "coffee table" book showcasing Apple's iEra hardware designs? Both real, final versions AND concept sketches and initial physical mockups?
I'd pay half a gazillion clams for something like this.
Any thoughts as to why this hasn't been done? Even the most diehard Apple hater/Mac basher can't deny that their stuff looks COOL.
A large hardcover book with large, gorgeous photography and informative captions would keep me occupied and starry-eyed for MONTHS!
If you go to Barnes & Noble, you see all those "Spaceships of Star Wars" and "Gadgetry of 007" books, not to mention "The History of Fender Guitars" and that type of thing.
The same sort of book, just with Macs.
I'd love Ive to open up his sketchbook and talk, in depth, about the design and challenges of all this stuff. Hell, things like the Cube and the toilet seat iBook alone would be worth the price! I'd love to see little handdrawn sketches of this stuff when it was first dreamed up!
And to see some of the original prototypes.
Sigh...I wish I worked at Apple, or otherwise had Steve's ear. I'd insist he make this happen.
Lets list the computers we would like to see. Just a quick list to get started.
Cube
iMacs, Bondi, All 12 colors/flowers, Flat panels
iMac (Rev. A +
iMac (Revision C)
iMac (Revision D)
iMac (Slot Loading CD-ROM)
iMac (Summer 2000)
iMac (Early 2001)
iMac (Summer 2001)
iMac (Flat-Panel)
iMac (17-inch Flat-Panel)
iMac (17-inch 1 GHz)
eMac
All-in-One G3's
G3 powerbook, bronze & External CD drive
Ti Powerbook
Ai powerbooks of all sizes
Power Macintosh G3 All-In-One
Power Macintosh G3 Desktop
Power Macintosh G3 Minitower
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White)
Power Macintosh G4 El Capy, Yikes, Quicksilver
iBooks - 3 Colors, White
Studio Display 15"
Studio Display 17"
Studio Display 21"
Studio Display 17" (ADC)
Studio Display LCD
Studio Display 17" (LCD)
Cinema Display
Cinema HD Display
20" Cinema Display
Studio CRT
Xserve
Xserve (slot-loading)
Xserve RAID
Xserve (Cluster Node)
USB Mouse - Puck
Pro Mouse - Black Mouse
Apple Mouse - White Mouse
Pro Speakers - iSub
iPod - ver. 1,2,3
Airport Base and Wireless Cards
Apple Stores
Video Adapters
iSight
Originally posted by pscates
BTW, I got my first up-close and alone time with the 17" PowerBook yesterday at the Atlanta Apple Store.
I think I'm in love!
I like this idea pscates, certainly a lot of mac-heads would buy 4
as for the 17 inch powerbook, I saw one for the first time on a plane a couple days ago. In person, It doesn't even look THAT big, I was amazed, I thought it was the 15 inch at first, then I realized wait a second, those keys are glowing. The size looked perfect for someone that loves portability but also loves desktops. I was very impressed, that thing is awesome.
that would be so neat.