February 21, 2001

7:29 PM

Woah.Apple dropped the price of the Cube to $1300, released iTunes 1.1, and just started selling the strangest looking iMac you've ever seen.

Now I want a Cube, a G4 Powerbook, a G4 tower, *and* an iMac.
posted by jragon (43 comments total)

Flower power? Blue dalmation? Why god, why!?! (side question, is this supposed to make imacs more female friendly?)
posted by mathowie at 7:31 PM on February 21, 2001

Wow, that's an ugly machine. I'm glad to see they've finally included a way to get files off the machine without using a network.
posted by dogwelder at 8:02 PM on February 21, 2001

strangest looking .... Why god, why!?! .... Wow, that's an ugly machine

Sounds suspiciously like the comments I saw (and made) when the first iMac came out...

I like it better than the "snow" iMac, anyway.
posted by daveadams at 8:20 PM on February 21, 2001

It's a machine aimed at those difficult, awkward years when you're into both My Little Pony figurines and acid.

Next: Plaid.
posted by lileks at 8:22 PM on February 21, 2001

I bet the new iMac will be popular in Japan and perhaps here in Taiwan. Everyone in my office thinks they look great but I think I would stick with graphite - flowers and dalmations are a bit cute for me.

They might prove to be quite the collectors item in the future - unless they actually sell a great deal of them.
posted by cmacleod at 8:29 PM on February 21, 2001

That has got to be the wackiest looking computer I've ever seen. I laughed out loud quite a lot when I saw it.

But you know what? I like it. I never thought I'd admit it, but I do.

OTOH, a $1300 cube is pretty darned nice.
posted by hijinx at 8:45 PM on February 21, 2001

random thoughts:
1. I think Apple's trying to separate each of their product lines into definite user categories.
2. The more I hate the new patterns, the more I want one (!)
3. Now that I think about it, they remind me of the designs molded into a bunch of plastic chairs I've seen on retromodern.com, and some of my old italian ottagono magazines...

So, while at first, I hated them to death, now I'm starting to grow to them...
posted by premiumpolar at 8:49 PM on February 21, 2001

I didn't notice this until now, but nVidia's GeForce 3 chip is coming (first) to the Mac also. When it comes to gaming cards, it's all Greek to me, but it sounds as if this is bigger news than anything else in the show.
posted by jragon at 9:00 PM on February 21, 2001

The NV-20 may be coming to the Mac, but it's not coming there first. There should be NV-20 cards available for the PC in about three weeks.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:19 PM on February 21, 2001

While it appears that Steve may have just puffed on too much dope, this might just sell a few thousand units. I'm still waiting for a Buzz Lightyear edition with pop-out wings and blinking lights on the tips.
posted by Brilliantcrank at 9:20 PM on February 21, 2001

You know, Apple is saying that OS X works best on machines with 128MB of RAM. What I don't understand is why the new iMacs aren't *all* shipping with that much. (Only the high-end model does.) It seems like a pretty dumb move one month before the OS X release, especially with RAM as cheap as it is now.

But yeah, this keynote was awfully disappointing, besides the GeForce 3. (Truly sweet... I hope I can get a PCI one for my old beige G3. I was gonna get a Radeon, but now I think I'll wait.)

The patterned iMacs fail to impress--I think Apple's pretty much run their course as far as the current iMac case goes. I kinda hope the rumored new iMac design is as big a step above the current one as the original was from beige boxes. Not likely, considering the market's saturated with Apple-influenced case designs nowadays.
posted by darukaru at 9:20 PM on February 21, 2001

Putting an NV-20 on a PCI card would be like putting 6-inch wheels on a race car. The NV-20 would be choked by the PCI bus. The only way the NV-20 can shine is at AGP4X or higher (i.e. 8 times the speed of the PCI bus). Someone might offer such a beast (PCI version), but you'd have to be a fool to buy one.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:29 PM on February 21, 2001

I will not say nasty things about the Steve or the Mac.
I will not say nasty things about the Steve or the Mac.
I will not say nasty things about the Steve or the Mac.
I will go to the court house tomorrow and change my first name.
I will not say nasty things about the Steve or the Mac.
I will not say nasty...
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:32 PM on February 21, 2001

Sigh. Maybe next year, then. Can't afford a brand new AGP-enabled Mac yet.
posted by darukaru at 9:35 PM on February 21, 2001

I was at the computer store tonight to replace the Ethernet card IBM STOLE from me whilst replacing the backlight on one of my companies thinkpads, and I finally got to play with one of those new Titanium Powerbooks I have been seeing pictures of. I did not think much of the pictures, but in person that machine shines like a beacon! So light, and yet heavy enough to convey quality. Still not the Sandbenders machine Gibson made me lust after in Idoru, but a thing to appreciate owning. The screen is freaking huge. I really have no need for a laptop, but I want one.

This is unrelated, and I don't have the URL handy, but have any of you seen those new "Hard Disk" keychains? They are really clever, a USB connection, connected to a memory stick that supposedly mounts under any OS. Maybe I can stop walking around with zip disks falling out of my pockets.

I appreciate your restrain here SDB, close your eyes, and think of Holgate.
posted by thirteen at 9:40 PM on February 21, 2001

Here is one of the many companies making the USB Keychain that you mentioned.

http://www.thumbdrive.com/
posted by mike0 at 10:03 PM on February 21, 2001

I will not mention the TiBook CD ejection problem.
I will not mention the TiBook CD ejection problem.
I will not mention...

Actually, this evening I saw something I never thought I'd see. Whenever I want to observe cultish behavior, I always go to MacCentral and read the comments about any announcement made by Apple. Invariably there's tons of cheers, even for the most trivial of occasions.

But not tonight. Tonight there's utter disbelief and disillusionment -- and it's the Mac true believers tonight who are complaining, not the occasional PC weenie. Here are some of the best: A B C
posted by Steven Den Beste at 10:12 PM on February 21, 2001

Thanks Mike0. One of many companies? Is this old news? I just heard about them, and I get every magazine known to man. The one you linked to, is not the one I saw tho, it was show attached to keys, which for me really drove home the take it with you aspect.
posted by thirteen at 10:40 PM on February 21, 2001

thirteen - here's something similar that I saw in T3 magazine, the ZiO!. You can get one to read either Multimedia/Secure Digital, SmartMedia, and Compact Flash, including that cool IBM 1GB microdrive... It looks pretty sweet to me, although it doesn't come on a keychain...
posted by premiumpolar at 11:05 PM on February 21, 2001

Oh no. It's everywhere.
posted by darukaru at 11:19 PM on February 21, 2001

I'll never understand the sadistic pleasure certain Wintel users seem to take in tormenting a small subculture of users who seem a little bitter but overall probably don't care what they think.

Personally I'll stick to my Tandy, but at least I can see why people like Macs, and why they're not meant for everyone.
posted by chaz at 11:37 PM on February 21, 2001

I think these new iMacs would look pretty good with one of these (in the blue color) sitting on the desk next to it. (Substitute "pretty good" with "butt ugly" if you're not into the whole psychadelic decor thing...)
posted by Potsy at 12:05 AM on February 22, 2001

Boy howdy, but that new psychedelic iMac sure looks like the tie-dye shirts Bare Bones Software was giving out a couple years ago at Macworld.
posted by kindall at 2:33 AM on February 22, 2001

Remember when Kottke said something about "my.metafilter.com" with a filtering system?

Ignore post if subject contains Mac or Apple and poster name contains Steven Den Beste.

Yeesh.
posted by jragon at 7:33 AM on February 22, 2001

Slightly off topic on two points: Titanium Powerbook CD ejection problems are not universal. Caveat emptor, though, to be sure.

And dammit, am I the only one who noted that the link in the original post was a misspelled word??? Whoa. Not woah. I see this all the time, and it drives me mad.
posted by Dreama at 7:52 AM on February 22, 2001

You know, some of us do have PC's with colored cases.

And matching lava lamps, for that matter.
posted by harmful at 8:05 AM on February 22, 2001

It's a machine aimed at those difficult, awkward years when you're into both My Little Pony figurines and acid.

Next: Plaid.

If it's plaid, I hope it Burberry.

But I'd rather see a removable shell that would let me customize it myself (a la Nokia).


posted by silusGROK at 8:08 AM on February 22, 2001

I'm not a Mac user (This is more by circumstance than actual conscious decision; I have nothing against them.) but I like the colors. I think the creepy grey-ish beige, or even worse, white (I like candles so white plastic anything always ends of kind of sooty looking after awhile) that most PCs come in is mind-bendingly dull.

Now, that particular flower pattern is not to my personal liking, but the trend towards color is good. I painted my old monitor, and now that I've seen this, I think I might do something pretty to my new one.
posted by jennyb at 8:26 AM on February 22, 2001

I wonder when they're going to make them true "Macs" and start allowing scottish people to buy the cases in their family tartans. :-)
posted by cCranium at 8:55 AM on February 22, 2001

Three words to save Apple: Hello Kitty iMac.
posted by holgate at 9:38 AM on February 22, 2001

No, we need a Pokemon Yellow iMac. Better yet, when will iMac case carts pop-up next to custom cell phone cover carts?
posted by Brilliantcrank at 9:50 AM on February 22, 2001

Better yet, have the Apple Store offer custom painting and airbrushing services (for a small fee, of course.) You too can have a dead black iMac with flaming skulls on the sides!
posted by darukaru at 10:05 AM on February 22, 2001

Even better, offer a licensing course so independant artists can offer custom painting and airbrushing services for a fee, small or large, with a percentage of it going to Apple as "yearly dues"

And when are they going to come out with an all red one with the handle on top green, anyway? Dammit, I wanna buy an Apple!
posted by cCranium at 11:06 AM on February 22, 2001

You too can have a dead black iMac with flaming skulls on the sides!

That would turn me into a Mac person.
posted by jennyb at 11:14 AM on February 22, 2001

And dammit, am I the only one who noted that the link in the original post was a misspelled word??? Whoa. Not woah. I see this all the time, and it drives me mad.

I noticed too, but my pet peeve is the "PIN number" acronym expansion problem, so I'm (ahem) Saving My Political Capital.

Regarding the painted iMacs: I used to attend Macworld Expo every year, and one of the regular attendees was a company that would paint custom designs on your Mac case. They had faux granite, woodgrain, odd 3-d jellybean effects, etc. They had an entire booth full of wacky looking Macs back when Apple's change from "beige" to "platinum" was heralded as a major design statement.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 12:06 PM on February 22, 2001

You mean the kind of PIN Number that people punch into ATM machines?
posted by harmful at 12:42 PM on February 22, 2001

Not this again.
posted by rodii at 12:45 PM on February 22, 2001

I try to control myself. I really do. But I'm weak.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 1:21 PM on February 22, 2001

I think Apple is simply copy-proofing their designs. They were understandably dismayed by the scores of copyright infringements that occurred as the result of the popularity of the translucent iMacs. A lot of their time, money, and collective energy was soaked up by drawn-out legal efforts to combat and right these injustices. This design should attract none of those problems.
posted by lucien at 12:31 AM on February 23, 2001

(I try to control myself.) One way to make sure no-one copies you is to do something no one else would want to copy. (I really do. But I'm weak.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 6:15 AM on February 23, 2001