My parents had one of these, and it was a genuinely awesome little machine (and still in my garage).
The thing that most impressed me about the design--which has not to this day been replicated by any computer or display I've seen, from any manufacturer--was that it genuinely made the experience of using a desktop computer both more tactile and more "social" when someone else was looking over your shoulder.
Explanation: it was so easy and pleasant to reposition the display, and the display had such complete freedom of motion, that when sitting at the computer you would instinctively move it around as you shifted position in your chair. You didn't think about it, you just reached over and moved the screen to line up with your head. It encouraged moving around in your workspace instead of encouraging you to lock yourself into one position, and the screen was always in the right place for where you were sitting.
Likewise, if someone was looking over your shoulder or sitting beside you, the instinct was to just move the screen over to them as a "here, check this out" gesture. When in the same situation now, I usually find myself rolling my chair back and to the side to let the other person move in front of the screen; swinging the screen toward them was much easier and just felt more friendly.
You can, theoretically, get something like this experience with a monitor arm, but none of the arms I've ever used have the same precise balance and pleasantly effortless motion to replicate the experience. They just don't feel like they encourage you to move the screen around.
Tablets have some of this same functionality now, but that only goes so far since they're a very "single user" device, and with today's much larger screens it would be very hard to replicate this kind of experience. Still, if someone managed to do it with a monitor, I'd seriously consider one of their screens with a Mini over a new iMac when the time came.
The thing that most impressed me about the design--which has not to this day been replicated by any computer or display I've seen, from any manufacturer--was that it genuinely made the experience of using a desktop computer both more tactile and more "social" when someone else was looking over your shoulder.
Explanation: it was so easy and pleasant to reposition the display, and the display had such complete freedom of motion, that when sitting at the computer you would instinctively move it around as you shifted position in your chair. You didn't think about it, you just reached over and moved the screen to line up with your head. It encouraged moving around in your workspace instead of encouraging you to lock yourself into one position, and the screen was always in the right place for where you were sitting.
Likewise, if someone was looking over your shoulder or sitting beside you, the instinct was to just move the screen over to them as a "here, check this out" gesture. When in the same situation now, I usually find myself rolling my chair back and to the side to let the other person move in front of the screen; swinging the screen toward them was much easier and just felt more friendly.
You can, theoretically, get something like this experience with a monitor arm, but none of the arms I've ever used have the same precise balance and pleasantly effortless motion to replicate the experience. They just don't feel like they encourage you to move the screen around.
Tablets have some of this same functionality now, but that only goes so far since they're a very "single user" device, and with today's much larger screens it would be very hard to replicate this kind of experience. Still, if someone managed to do it with a monitor, I'd seriously consider one of their screens with a Mini over a new iMac when the time came.
