Design a better iMac - if you can!
Well, I have to admit that the design looked funny to me when I first saw it, but over time it's come to grow on me.
Look at what it gives you - very small footprint, a mobile monitor (15" flatscreen). Elegant design. The only improvements I can think of after a day would be to make the keyboard/mouse wireless (infrared, I think would be best). I would put a firewire/usb port on them for charging a small battery once in a while.
Besides that, I can't really think of any improvements in form factor at all. Eventually as time goes on prices on the 17" will fall, but there will most likely have to be a lead base to support it on the swing. The ability to go portrait with the monitor and perhaps 360 degrees of flexibility would be nice (eventually). And maybe a widescreen aspect ratio would be nice.
So, all you complainers or creatives out there - what would you do (in three years, today, whatever) to improve this design.
I think Apple did a kick-ass job, myself. Here's my personal round of applause to all the hard work they put in.
ps. As a test, I showed my wife a picture of it from the expo yesterday - prefaced with the "take a look at the weirdest computer ever". Her INSTANT reponse - "I like it!"...
Look at what it gives you - very small footprint, a mobile monitor (15" flatscreen). Elegant design. The only improvements I can think of after a day would be to make the keyboard/mouse wireless (infrared, I think would be best). I would put a firewire/usb port on them for charging a small battery once in a while.
Besides that, I can't really think of any improvements in form factor at all. Eventually as time goes on prices on the 17" will fall, but there will most likely have to be a lead base to support it on the swing. The ability to go portrait with the monitor and perhaps 360 degrees of flexibility would be nice (eventually). And maybe a widescreen aspect ratio would be nice.
So, all you complainers or creatives out there - what would you do (in three years, today, whatever) to improve this design.
I think Apple did a kick-ass job, myself. Here's my personal round of applause to all the hard work they put in.
ps. As a test, I showed my wife a picture of it from the expo yesterday - prefaced with the "take a look at the weirdest computer ever". Her INSTANT reponse - "I like it!"...
Comments
I reserve ultimate judgement of course until I see how robust that screen is. On an armature like that I wonder if it will always look a little bit unlevel.
PCs will look the same, that's for sure, but the Mac may as well look like a Teddybear or a pull-over, you never know
G-News
For me the contrast between the rounded base and arm and the more solid/angular/*square* monitor is too much to process.
Still not accepting this as what an "iMac" should be. It's not cute enough to be loved, but too silly-looking to look "pro."
-S
They nailed it, as far as I'm concerned. I can't top it...don't even have any interest in trying.
I really like the free-motion of the monitor. I think it would be great for the business world, actually. I can't tell you the number of times I've been in my bosses office and had to walk around the desk or he's had to slide his big clunky CRT around.
For myself, I can't envision the cube-base connecting gracefully with the neck. There hemisphere has a natural point for the neck to extend from, but a cube would just look like a stick sticking out of a box. Sure, you could round it a little on the edges, but if you completely rounded the top you're pretty much back to a hemisphere...
<strong>I don't have a problem with letting "each element be true to itself," but there has got to be a way to have more agreement amongst the elements.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Agreement???They could not have pulled this design off any better. This is just what they needed something that friendly and open. You don't know much about design.....This design will draw people in and put them face to face with X. Then they will fall in love with the OS, step back and have that second look at the iMac. That second look that it took for me to fall in love with it.
Hands down, this is a brilliant design.
I wish they had made some kind of touch-sensitive surface for a power button, like the G4 Cube had. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
That, and the wireless keyboard, are about all I can think of to improve the iMac.
Oh.. and where's the microphone!?
I absolutely love the new iMac and I do have a G4 on my desk right now, thats why I just bought a new 800 Mhz G4 iMac with Superdrive for a grand total of $1,951 on education discount. A perfect blend of features and price not to mention looks. The Cube just doesnt compare anymore.
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: Macintosh ]</p>
Well said.
Also I still think they should have a cube version with same specs, and cheaper, since it wouldn't have monitor.
I mean, sure, we associate the ports as going on the back, and with a power cable sticking out it would seem that way. But who's to say that you could'nt rotate it so that the ports are on the side if that fits your needs.
This design, while shocking at first, does really, simply make sense.
<strong>I feel that one of the coolest things about the round base is that there isn't exactly a defined front, back and side.
I mean, sure, we associate the ports as going on the back, and with a power cable sticking out it would seem that way. But who's to say that you could'nt rotate it so that the ports are on the side if that fits your needs.
This design, while shocking at first, does really, simply make sense.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well stated!
Still, I am ordering the top model, so I cannot complain too much.
Fish