i is for irony

[WebHead]

Apple's success has been built on simplicity, on insulating the user from the complexity going on beneath the surface, with a smooth, sleek outer shell for hardware and software.

So "isn't it ironic" that the iMac, which heralded their break away from beige boxes and back into innovation, was designed around exposing its messy innards in all their glory?

I personally loved the design, but more recently it's occurred to me it runs counter to Apple's philosophy.

(I did also like how the "pinstripes" of the original iMac blended in with the same in Mac OS X)

 

[darkpaw]

The "i" in "iMac" stood for "internet". Steve Jobs said on stage that people wanted an easy way to get online.

Seeing into the computer's innards was a selling point, and he made a big deal of showing it off, getting the mobile cameraman to circle the iMac twice.

Apple's later success - after the introduction of the iMac - is based on simplicity, yes, and that was built on Mac OS X, then iOS, macOS etc. The iMac didn't ship with Mac OS X.

 

[WebHead]

The "i" in "iMac" stood for "internet". Steve Jobs said on stage that people wanted an easy way to get online.

Seeing into the computer's innards was a selling point, and he made a big deal of showing it off, getting the mobile cameraman to circle the iMac twice.

Apple's later success - after the introduction of the iMac - is based on simplicity, yes, and that was built on Mac OS X, then iOS, macOS etc. The iMac didn't ship with Mac OS X.

Yes, I know the "i" stood for "internet", was just making another point.

I'd also argue that Apple's design philosophy was simplicity from the start, not just since the iMac. Classic Mac OS was always more user-friendly than Windows, and the Mac was always "the computer for the rest of us".