I have three now. I've come to appreciate the internal design (but not so much the external) as well as the upgradability the G5 has.
I wish Apple had put as much thought in the thermal design of the G4 as it did the G5.
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Favorite PowerPC Mac for it's aesthetics?
- Thread starter timidpimpin
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I wish Apple had put as much thought in the thermal design of the G4 as it did the G5.
I agree. The G5 is a great piece of industrial design, but it's a bit brutal. The iMac G4 was very clever but the slot-loading iMac G3 gets my vote.
PowerBook G4 12", iMac G4, and PowerMac G4 Quicksilver. There is a reason I can't let these machines go.
Most of the "NewWorld" Mac just looked liked they were supposed to be on sale at ToysRus so I'll pass on the G3/4 iMacs, G3/4 towers and G3 iBook.
And off course the Cube, never got all that craze bout that one...
G5 towers are o.k. but for sure no beauty. The MacMini and G5 iMacs are also o.k. but the mix of white plastics and aluminium looks a bit odd.
TiBooks looking modern?? Never got that either.....
AlBooks? Those Al keyboards just look wrong.
Which leaves what?
Some of the beige box 601-G3 actually look quite sleek (the pizza boxes are my favorite).
Top of the line is the 12" iBook G4 (14" just doesn't scale up that nice), simple, clean if it was a bit thinner it could be mistaken for something current.
And off course the Cube, never got all that craze bout that one...
G5 towers are o.k. but for sure no beauty. The MacMini and G5 iMacs are also o.k. but the mix of white plastics and aluminium looks a bit odd.
TiBooks looking modern?? Never got that either.....
AlBooks? Those Al keyboards just look wrong.
Which leaves what?
Some of the beige box 601-G3 actually look quite sleek (the pizza boxes are my favorite).
Top of the line is the 12" iBook G4 (14" just doesn't scale up that nice), simple, clean if it was a bit thinner it could be mistaken for something current.
TiBook could be a computer released today and still fell futuristic to me, one of the best laptop design and build ever, they were superthin back then, and still considered thin nowadays despite the DVD player.
I have top disagree, "NewWorld" Macs were, and to me still are the best computer design ever, they were not only looking good, but they were easy to open up and upgrade (G3 ang G4 were fantastic to open) they were cutting edge back then and still are today.
You could almost do any operation with 1 hand, the look is sujbective but i always loved that era, now everything gets thinner for the sake of it and they are carrying over old design over and over.
Bring back the G4-5 days
.
Wow 18. That's a collection! Any photos?
I have 4 of them myself
Yeah, I just have to unbury them. All my Thinkpads and core2 desktops are on top of them.
Agreed. Even the latest MacBook Pros still trace their general look to the TiBook.
I appreciate the engineering that went into the iMac G4 more than the looks of it. It is certainly pretty, but the engineering is mind blowing to me.
What about the engineering do you find interesting? Im not into the asthetics much of the imacg4 but I really like how maneuverable the chrome turkey neck is on them. It makes screen adjustment a very personalized, smooth affair. No other ppc imac has matched that imo.
At the time when we lived in a world of beige technology... The G3 B&W with matching CRT was a breathtaking! Im a sucker for colored plastics. 1998-2003 was a fun time in mac land.
Yep, the PM-G3 B&W is 'special' - one of it's kind!
Searching for a B&W I happened to pick up a combo of that machine and it's CRT-monitor on the last weekend,
but I have to admit that I was both overwhelmed and first time afraid of the sheer size and weight of that 20" CRT monitor! As for me I need a hand to move that huge heavy blueberry-egg around ...
Well, just now I'm really sure to be a notebook-person!
The main things that impress me are the CPU cooling heat-pipe system and the monitor arm. Not only is the arm tech amazing, but it really holds up over time also. I just really appreciate well made quality things.
PowerMac G5 - surprised there’s not more love for it. The sheer engineering that went into the thermal zones, plus it’s just an incredibly beautiful machine. My set up from 5-6 years ago, I still own a DC 2.0 late model.
The internal design of the cheese graters was indeed amazing mechanically, great designs for all the cooling, covers etc all worked so smoothly. I never liked the exterior as much as the G4s and it always felt too large physically for me. Sold the G5 and kept the G4!
I always loved the G3/4 opening panel, the motherboard lied flat and you could work on it easily, might not have been as efficent as the G5 for cooling, but it was a dream to work on them.
The MDD (Dual 867) was my first Desktop Mac, I still have one of those, wich I bought just for nostalgia (It came with the box and it was as new
.)
A tough one. I love all my PPCs for different reasons. A bit hard to say what's more beautiful out of a e.g. QS G4 and a Titanium G4, as the form factors are so different. I suppose if I could only keep one, it would be the Cube, as it's so unique and looks good on a shelf. OTOH, the Titanium also looks great, is portable, and is usable as both an OS 9 and OS X machine (especially the 1GHz model), making it everything you'd need in one compact retro Mac.
The iMac G4 is still a fantastic piece of design, though its lead-alloy base makes it surprisingly heavy (at least the 20" is), so not quite as convenient to put on a shelf. The Pismo is also cool in its own way. Very thick by todays standards, but ergonomic and so expandable.
The only machines I'd still be interested in buying are a TAM (though pure unobtainium, especially for any money I'd pay), and a 12" G4 Aluminium. The problem with laptops is the batteries, which are always dead, and hard to come by / usually expensive, though you can get lucky.
I'm not really interested in any of the later PPCs e.g. G5's, 15" PB G4s, as the Intel versions look just as good, have more modern interfaces / ports (e.g. MagSafe), and can run modern OS's, especially with an SSD. They're also not that much more expensive. And in turn, those are too new to be a novelty. Also, if we're talking Intel laptops, I prefer the unibodies, for being much easier to work on, as well as more rigid. I have a 2012 13" MBA, and aside from the bezels, is pretty much the perfect laptop (in terms of value and lightness).
The iMac G4 is still a fantastic piece of design, though its lead-alloy base makes it surprisingly heavy (at least the 20" is), so not quite as convenient to put on a shelf. The Pismo is also cool in its own way. Very thick by todays standards, but ergonomic and so expandable.
The only machines I'd still be interested in buying are a TAM (though pure unobtainium, especially for any money I'd pay), and a 12" G4 Aluminium. The problem with laptops is the batteries, which are always dead, and hard to come by / usually expensive, though you can get lucky.
I'm not really interested in any of the later PPCs e.g. G5's, 15" PB G4s, as the Intel versions look just as good, have more modern interfaces / ports (e.g. MagSafe), and can run modern OS's, especially with an SSD. They're also not that much more expensive. And in turn, those are too new to be a novelty. Also, if we're talking Intel laptops, I prefer the unibodies, for being much easier to work on, as well as more rigid. I have a 2012 13" MBA, and aside from the bezels, is pretty much the perfect laptop (in terms of value and lightness).
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Early Intel systems are in almost all cases cheaper than their PPC counterparts. Only exception I can think of is the Mac Pro, and in rare cases the polycarbonate MacBooks.
All the more reason to go Intel for those then. The only problem (and it's a big one) with the pre-unibody MBPs is that the GPUs are all ticking time bombs. Personally, i prefer the unibodies anyway, as the back unscrews right off with everything neatly laid out underneath. The older machines need the top to be carefully prised off without bending the thin shell or breaking anything.
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Certainly was.
That's quite a sweeping statement. They may be so in Arizona, but I'm pretty sure it's not the case globally. Here older Intel Macs generally go higher than PPC's, I follow both on a daily basis and have done so for a few years now. Of course even in Europe there are exceptions to the rule. I have paid what one may consider a silly price for a very nice early 13" MacBook, but I must add that disassembly of the later unibody MacBooks is more of a pleasure.