iMac Design Implications

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  • Reply 21 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sbl View Post






    You are a talented artist.



    However, I think that would be a backwards step to the current look, unlest the bottom case and keyboard were also black. Then it would be cool.



    I don't see Apple adding glass to the notebooks though - too much weight.
  • Reply 22 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gloss View Post


    You do realize that there is a genuine, non-aesthetic reason that black bezels are useful, right?



    There is no real usefulness for the black bezel. Some have argued that it helps to concentrate on the screen. I have a black Pc monitor that accomplishes the same thing. This is simply a preference. If it was so useful, everyone would make it mandatory. It's not. You do realize that?



    It is simply design. And if you see the iMac dissection, you will see why there is a black bezel. It's all about the glass.



    And I am not complaining about the bexel other than that it is round. It looks odd with the square screen, but at least it is thick enough to minimize that issue. On the iMac, it is tolerable, on a notebook, it would look just wrong. My notebook has a thin black line surrounding the screen. That looks nice. More would be a mistake.
  • Reply 23 of 32
    Regardless from what Steve "said" do I think the looks of the new iMac is primarely taken from the old iMac (generally the same Form factor) mixed with looks from the iPhone.



    The iMac and the iPhone looks very similar to me. There is two obvious differences but these is the only difference to talk about.

    1) The size.

    2) The iMac has a stand, the iPhone has not.
  • Reply 24 of 32
    glossgloss Posts: 506member
    Quote:

    There is no real usefulness for the black bezel. Some have argued that it helps to concentrate on the screen. I have a black Pc monitor that accomplishes the same thing. This is simply a preference. If it was so useful, everyone would make it mandatory. It's not. You do realize that?



    No real usefulness except for an increase in perceived visual contrast that a black border provides, which is...you know, useful. It improves the clarity of the screen.



    It's not mandatory, but neither are Magnetic Power adapters, despite their also being useful. Or, hell, dynamic irises, or LED backlights, or run-flat tires, or any number of other useful-but-not-required technologies.
  • Reply 25 of 32
    kareliakarelia Posts: 525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sbl View Post


    <MacBook mockup>



    I would shoot Ives in the face.
  • Reply 26 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gloss View Post


    No real usefulness except for an increase in perceived visual contrast that a black border provides, which is...you know, useful. It improves the clarity of the screen.



    It's not mandatory, but neither are Magnetic Power adapters, despite their also being useful. Or, hell, dynamic irises, or LED backlights, or run-flat tires, or any number of other useful-but-not-required technologies.



    The key word which you used is "perceived". In other words, an illusion. We don't need cheap parlor tricks. Just good design. Again, nothing truly useful here, just design preference. My two year old black PC Viewsonic monitor accomplishes the same purpose simply by being black. The inherent usefulness of the bezel in the new iMac is for the engineers to be able to cleanly hide the glass insertion points. If they left it aluminum colored, the bezel would look fairly thick on the new machine. I' guessing Apple likes the shiny glossy look a lot right now (look at the iMac Apple logo in front and back) and the black bezel increases the shiny looks really well.



    By the way, a bezel will never improve the clarity of the screen. Only a better screen will do that.



    There are already some notes on the web about the 20" screen not being as good as it could be.



    Comparing this to the magsafe adapter, LED backlights, or run-flat tires is laughable. Magsafe is useful because it protects your notebook if the cord is yanked out. The black bezel...well, it just looks black...and is a bezel. Not useful, just has a look that some like and some don't. It does not make the screen sharper or give it a higher resolution. If the bezel came off, it is not going to magically improve the quality of the LCD.



    LED backlights are useful because they maintain their life better than fluorescent lighting. Run flat tires are useful because they minimize accidents caused by blowouts.



    The black bezel... simply just looks black. That's all. If you like it, that's great, but don't pretend it is some sort of useful "feature." It is a design choice.
  • Reply 27 of 32
    glossgloss Posts: 506member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 9secondko View Post




    The black bezel... simply just looks black. That's all. If you like it, that's great, but don't pretend it is some sort of useful "feature." It is a design choice.



    And it's a design choice with a purpose. The increased visual contrast is perceived, but that doesn't make it any less real. No, it doesn't raise the actual contrast ratio of the screen, but yes, it DOES allow your eyes to see it more clearly. And in the end, that's all that matters, regardless of how the designers have gone about it.



    Regardless, we don't really seem to be going anywhere, so I'll stop.
  • Reply 28 of 32
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gloss View Post


    And it's a design choice with a purpose. The increased visual contrast is perceived, but that doesn't make it any less real. No, it doesn't raise the actual contrast ratio of the screen, but yes, it DOES allow your eyes to see it more clearly. And in the end, that's all that matters, regardless of how the designers have gone about it.



    Regardless, we don't really seem to be going anywhere, so I'll stop.



    Yah, there's a reason that Home Theaters (and real ones) mask the screen with a darker (often black) color. Perceived improvement in contrast.
  • Reply 29 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 9secondko View Post


    The key word which you used is "perceived". In other words, an illusion.



    Your brain processes perceived just as well as reality. It may be an illusion to some kind of objective sensor, but to your eye there is real benefit.





    I think it would have looked better had the bezel extended all the way to the edge; that is with no aluminium border at all. I do, however, still like the look a great deal. Perhaps, for a laptop, just make the entire thing flat black (i.e. the iMac's backside look) with a glowing black or white Apple logo on the back. I, personally, would love glowing orange keys but I imagine Apple would go with glowing white keys.



    As for those objecting to glass on a laptop, the Intel concept I referenced uses glass (at least according to Business Week, slide four). If they can do it, Apple should be able to do it.
  • Reply 30 of 32
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 9secondko View Post


    You are a talented artist.



    However, I think that would be a backwards step to the current look, unlest the bottom case and keyboard were also black. Then it would be cool.



    I don't see Apple adding glass to the notebooks though - too much weight.



    http://www.apple.com/mac/



    look at all the Macs



    Mac mini, iMac, Mac Pro, Cinema Dispaly, keyboard, Xserve, XServe RAID



    all has some Alu in it, except MacBook, i would not surprise if MacBook redesigned the above picture, white macbook may go away



    Alu the way to go!



  • Reply 31 of 32
    aimanaiman Posts: 5member
    The iMac's black border does conveniently camouflage the iSight...
  • Reply 32 of 32
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    I have given this further rumination. The new iMac has no design implications.



    Looking back at the Power Mac G4, how many iterations of the same enclosure did that go through? I remember the original design was taken from the blue and white G3 tower recast in graphite at Seybold in August 1999. Then came the Quicksilver design, and later the Mirrored Drive Door models. Each of them looked distinctly different, but were the same overall design.



    I think it's the lampshade model of the iMac that really never had a face lift in its life. And I think that was mainly because it was expensive to make and it got a wildly mixed reaction. Either you liked it or hated it. I think the same can be said about this new iMac too ? with the black frame around the LCD and the glossy glass in front of it. Yeah they may have "focus grouped" it, but that doesn't mean shit to real word reaction.
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