Poll: Do you think the PowerMac Photo is Real or Fake?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: Do you think the PowerMac Photo is Real or Fake? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=206&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[canadianmacguy]

I'm sticking to my mantra "I'll believe all of these rumors when I see them on Monday morning at the keynote".

[iWantAMac]

Fake, without a doubt.

[MrMacMan]

Besides that the image looks fake and looks insanily bad quality and looks like it was scanned to begin with.

I say FAKE.

[Freg3000]

Unfortunately and fortunately I believe it is fake.

Unfortunately because if it were real, it would be an absolute confirmation that Power Macs would be released at WWDC.

Fortunately because if it were real, I think it might be the ugliest thing Apple has ever made!

[QCassidy352]

I voted real, though I hope fake.

[rogueimage]

I think that particular image is a fake, but I wouldn't be surprised if the real thing looks very similar to it.

[Doctor Q]

I voted fake. I hope it is fake.

[Krizoitz]

Can you say ugly? I can't think with all the good designers Apple has that they'd come up with something like that...
It reminds me of some PC cases I've seen. ewwwwww

[Panda Genma]

If it is real, then it is no powermac, it's the XStation.

[toekook]

If it's real, then I'll be no longer able to tell the difference between my desktop wintel and my powermac.

There must be a God to prevent this from happening.......:confused:

[cb911]

FAKE!!

that isn't in keeping with Apple's style. it's got nothing in common with the iMacs, PowerBooks or anything... except maybe a very vague resemblance with the xServe.

i hope the new PowerMacs look better than that.

[tribalogical]

I think we can depend on the Apple design team to do one better than that...

Whether I think this photo is a fake or not (and I think it is, I mean, where'd that come from with no background, and that weird blurred out part), I certainly HOPE it is... usually I feel like having my Quicksilver tower visible, cos it's just so cool to look at... this one I'd be hiding under my desk! bleh....

tlc

[dimboo]

Apple legal would be all over MacRumors by now ...

[ewinemiller]

I think it's fake, but I do like it. Looks aggressive, like it might growl at you, hopefully not in a 1st rev MDD kind of way.

I'm not really fond of any of the cases Apple has used in the last few years and think the MDD is downright tacky. All the stupid plastic facades strapped to the outside of the current boxes and the weird shape of the metal shell I think are just silly. People complain about Mac prices, an elaborate case is the kind of thing that adds to it. A simple square metal shell could help and make it easier to work on. If the materials are nice, this looks like it would have a nice heavy duty feel to it.

I really liked the xserve style mock up I saw in the big thread. I think that kind of look would be great.

[Stella]

I think its ugly enough to be real.

Remember when some1 posted the news about 12" and 17" powerbooks the night before the keynote, everyone had a laugh - especially at the 17" PB.

Last years macworld bought the same thing - a pic of a powermac and turned out to be true.

On balance, i think its true.l.. unfortunately.


That box is sooooo ugly.

[safXmal]

Fake,

It looks like the front of a truck or a Hummer. Not at all the Apple style.
This design makes me think of a computer that can crunch big numbers but is very user unfriendly - like a winbox :) -

[safXmal]

Fake,

It looks like the front of a truck or a Hummer. Not at all the Apple style.
This design makes me think of a computer that can crunch big numbers but is very user unfriendly - like a winbox :) -

[xelterran]

i think its fake, simple because we have not seen apple legal letters flying around.
I dont mind the design really.. simplicity rules!

[Spock]

I agree, Apple Legal would be going nuts. And what is behind the blur?? Fake

[iriejedi]

The modified grill of a Jeep is totally fake (I pray) - but the one on the thread that looked awesome and really plausable was where I'd place my vote for real (based solely on optimism)

I think it looks like the Startship Andromeda!

And isn't Keven Sorbo doing a switch add?

Iriejedi

[Flickta]

Ugly, ugly, ugly!
Fake, fake, fake!
Please?..

[sickrobot]

As fake as most boobs in california.

[yzedf]

Originally posted by Krizoitz
Can you say ugly? I can't think with all the good designers Apple has that they'd come up with something like that...
It reminds me of some PC cases I've seen. ewwwwww
PM case reminds me of PC cases. It is just a rectangular box after all. I would rather Apple spent the money on what goes inside the case than making it look pretty. Pretty obviously doesn't increase sales much (Cube anyone, current PM sales also).

Parity. If Apple had it, they would sell more.

[wdlove]

I just had a thought, maybe the real new design is inside the fake. Just a fake skin of the current Power Mac to throw us off. That would also prevent Apple's legal from complaining!:cool:

[krafix]

The whole premise is wrong. It IS a fake PowerMac, but might resemble a coming PM-SERVER. Remember this is a developer event... THEY won't be disapointed, but WE will!

[Mustafa Monde]

Considering the general good taste and refined design sensibility Mac has championed over the years, I'm surprised anyone buys this two bit PhotoShop effort as Apple's cutting edge pro desktop machine. The Frankenmac presented here looks like some amateur cobbled together the husk of a Wintel box with the front end of a Studebaker. Apple's designs are as integrated as it's software and technology. I cannot for a second believe that somebody lobotomized Apple's award winning design team so that they could come up with this? Try again!

[solvs]

Maybe Apple released this on purpose so we could talk about how ugly it is. Then when they release the real thing, it won't look so bad. Hopefully it's not a G4.

Okay, I know, just being paranoid. As if they'd bother. Maybe someone elses idea of a joke.

Whatever, I just hope they release a new 970 I can afford. Then I'll be happy. I still think the MDDs are ugly.

[gteehan]

It seems much of this discussion is around the way the "new" design looks...so I'll keep it that way.

It ain't pretty but it looks far better than the current desktops with it's ridiculous ornate clear plastic handles, outrageously gaudy chrome (read: cheap silver plastic) face plate, HUGE beveled apple logo, inaccessible ports and over-styling from the original Blue G3 box that was designed when George was invading Iraq–The first time.

Don't get me wrong, I DO own a quicksilver and I DON'T particularly like the looks (no matter how fake/real/rudimentary it is) of this supposed new design. It's been awhile, as the "quick"silver was hardly a major update. Any update is eagerly anticipated. However, if the new box has so much as a hint of the current G4's design I'll be leaving it in the box and punching holes for the cables. I always did like apple’s packaging.

[pimentoLoaf]

I certainly hope that Apple would have better sense than that image implies -- if it's a real image -- and it won't win any design awards.

<gagging sound>

[Eniregnat]

Wow, that is the ugliest fake I have ever seen.
Neat, but ...
I think I saw a similar styled PC tower once.
It’s just not apple, though the new PBs and iBook are as equally uninspired.
But hey, I'm writing this on a fruit colored iBook.

[-hh]

Originally posted by safXmal
...It looks like the front of a truck or a Hummer...makes me think of a computer that can crunch big numbers...


SafXmal said 'fake' when writing the above. I voted 'real'.

I agree that its not particulary beautiful, but it would be a design shift for Apple: this is a macho"SUV" design, and Apple looks to now have the horsepower (DP 970's, etc) to back up that macho look with performance. So I see it as a possibility.

Also, I see affirmational elements to the design that remind me of the design exercise I crudely put together on the now-deleted MacRumors 970 thread (click here (http://www.webspan.net/~hummer/pic/wtc_mac.jpg) to see old image).

One thing I find interesting is in the greater depth of the box versus my off-the-cuff layout. The reason I find this interesting is that one reason that this would be done would be to add more PCI slots. If we recall those Mac affectionado's who have been complaining about insufficient slots ever since the 9500/9600 was discontinued, this design is a logical extension of what I sketched out, with the distinction being many more PCI slots. IMO, if this design were real and laid out similarly to what I was playing around with, it would be easy to have 6 PCI slots in it.


Finally, one other possibility that I'm not sure if I've mentioned here or not is the idea of "What about a Home Blade Server?"

Consider a plain tower-like box that's designed to hold 1-4 blades for the small business and home market.

With one blade, its pretty much a normal PC/Mac, and not really any different in price (eg, its affordable). As the customer needs/wants more power, instead of throwing out the entire desktop system and buying what's new, he installs a second (or third) blade in it, thereby creating a small cluster which now has the additional horsepower to get his work down.

This design allows these small users an affordable approach to letting them "rheostatically" grow their desktop performance over time: as they need more power (and as faster stuff comes along), you just add a blade to your own personal mini-cluster.

Why do this?

Well, upgrading performance by adding a blade is going to be cheaper than replacing the entire desktop unit, if for no other reason than you're not going to have to provide hard drives, DVD drives, I/O ports, a physical case, etc. This helps Apple become more price-competitive.

Another advantage is that you don't have to throw out your old blade (until you've run out of slots): the old one stays in the tower and continues to contribute to the system's total performance. So not only do you get some "free" extra performance, but this approach also extends the useful life of the blades, which when you look at total cost-of-ownership, since this is equal to "Cost/Time", results in lower lifecycle costs.

Interesting, eh? :D

-hh