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Pictures: evolution of all-in-one Macs

nagromme

nagromme

macrumors G5
Original poster
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Haven't seen one of these evolution threads updated for the new G5, so here you go :) Some great designs... some not so great...


Apple Lisa and Mac XL:

apple_mac_xl.jpg


Macintosh:

apple_mac_128k.gif


Mac SE:

apple_mac_se.jpg


Mac Classic:

apple_mac_classic.jpg


Color Classic:

apple_mac_colorclassic.jpg


LC 520:

apple_performa_500.gif


Mac TV:

apple_mac_tv.jpg


Power Mac 5200:

apple_powermac_5200.gif


20th Anniversary Mac:

apple_20th_mac.jpg


Power Mac G3 All-In-One:

apple_powermac_g3aio.jpg


iMac:

apple_imac.jpg


apple_imac_colors.jpg


Revised:

apple_imac_bluedalmation.gif


apple_imac_snow.gif


eMac:

apple_emac.jpg


iMac G4:

apple_imac_fp_17.jpg


iMac G5:

apple_imac_g5.jpg

​

See:
http://everymac.com
http://www.apple-history.com
http://www.lowendmac.com
 
What always gets me thinking when I see these is what would the original designers of the first all in one Mac say if they saw the latest one....

And its also interesting to realize that Apple has been the most successful in providing an all in one computer from the very beginning.....there aren't that many others out there, and none that have last as long.

D
 
And people say All-in-ones won't sell. Well... for PCs, I guess. Some people like the ease of use. That's why they use Macs. :D
 
I think they only real cringes are the LC520 and, of course, Flower Power :)

Note that the iMac wasn't Apple's first use of translucency, or even Bondi blue. Aside from the translucent eMate (Newton) subnotebook, that PowerMac G3 All-In-One is half beige and half translucent white (the whole top and back). And the beige PowerMac G3 towers used a translucent Bondi blue triangular blob on top that you pressed to open the case. Well before the first iMac. I always thought the big blob of toothpaste seemed out of place...

http://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac/media/easytower_movie.html
 
It seems like the Mac started out cool, had some ugly years and then had a nice renascence with the iMacs. I still like the classic Mac design. It brings back memories of working on English papers in college oh and playing oregon trail! ahah
 
nagromme said:
I think they only real cringes are the LC520 and, of course, Flower Power :)

Note that the iMac wasn't Apple's first use of translucency, or even Bondi blue. Aside from the translucent eMate (Newton) subnotebook, that PowerMac G3 All-In-One is half beige and half translucent white (the whole top and back). And the beige PowerMac G3 towers used a translucent Bondi blue triangular blob on top that you pressed to open the case. Well before the first iMac. I always thought the big blob of toothpaste seemed out of place...

http://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac/media/easytower_movie.html
Click to expand...

Oh, come on...The LC520 is not that bad. Compared to Flower Power it is awesome. Good timeline. I love All-In-One's and to me, Apple is the ONLY one that can make them...

And how could post this thread without including any mention of this little creation...

eone_ad.jpg
 
jet3004 said:
Oh, come on...The LC520 is not that bad. Compared to Flower Power it is awesome. Good timeline. I love All-In-One's and to me, Apple is the ONLY one that can make them...

And how could post this thread without including any mention of this little creation...

eone_ad.jpg
Click to expand...

That LC520 is just way too boxy. No wonder why it didn't last.

The Mac down memory lane photo's are awesome, thank you.
 
History in the making

Nice job nagromme! It's history-in-one post! Remind me there is a bunch of these "antique" sitting somewhere in the company storage too...
 
I still run into people using PRE-SE original Macs sometimes. Just for word processing and basic office stuff on a LAN. It's amazing how long Macs keep on going.
 
We got an LC 520 at school when they first came out. It was the first Macintosh on campus and the whole school shared that one computer!
 
But its interesting to see that the PowerMac 5200 was Black :D

It would be nice to see some others that color once in a while.


D
 
Of the more recent ones, i still prefer the Snow iMac (G3)

The color classic and original Mac looks awesome, too. I'm still not totally sold on the new iMac - it's nice, but i didn't have the same feeling of 'want' as i did the g4 one
 
Actually, the Mac TV was the black one. I bet we'll see more black Macs some day in the distant future. White, silver, clear, chrome and black are about the only simple, minimalist colors that fit with Apple's general approach. So some day, when Apple is ready for a big shift, I bet black will show up in desktops. Probably around the time that PCs finally start going mostly white :D (And if colors come back to Mac, maybe primaries. I think the new iMac would look great in primary red, yellow, etc., painted behind the clear plastic the way the white ones are for that super-glossy effect.)

I also think it's ironic that people (including me) used to call Macs "white," starting with the Mac SE. Biege computers back then were often either a hideous yellow (like the original Mac) or a nasty gray-brown. So by comparison, when Macs came out in Apple's lighter-beige "platinum" (SE through G3), it seemed like white or light grey!

Then PCs started to copy the Mac's color and to this day, Mac "platinum" is still the standard color for PCs. But Mac abandoned that color and now we see it for what it was all along... just another beige. Macs are at last TRULY white. Or silver as the case may be...
 
Mr. Anderson said:
What always gets me thinking when I see these is what would the original designers of the first all in one Mac say if they saw the latest one....D
Click to expand...

I can tell you:

we wouldn't design something so ugly
 
jet3004 said:
And how could post this thread without including any mention of this little creation...

eone_ad.jpg
Click to expand...

Haha, I have one of those! It's the worst computer ever!!! I can't get it working at all. I think its time to drop it off my roof! :) :cool: :p
 
The app Mactracker is great for memory lane trips, too. Pictures, history, start-up and death chimes, the whole deal. :)

My assistant director has an SE/30 in her office. She didn't want me to toss all the old manuals and stuff because hey, she might still need it one day. Man... And you should see her office. It's nothing short of a clinical disorder.
 
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