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The Macintosh Neue

bradl

bradl

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 16, 2008
5,952
17,447
There isn't a separate Mac Hardware section to post this to, but since this came from an MBA, I'll throw it here.

I Found this from Curved Labs, via Gizmodo.

I love my MBA, but if I ever wanted a desktop again, this would be it.

Curved Labs: A Facelift for the Macintosh

The Macintosh is a computer with history: with its first desktop computer "Lisa" Apple showed more than 30 years ago not only what was technically possible - the design of the iMac & Co. regularly causes stir. For CURVED/labs a good reason to develop a pioneering anniversary model for Apple that can not deny its origin.

With the new iMac, launched in late 2014, Apple was able to inspire again. In particular, the sleek shape and extremely high-resolution display inspired - even in our test. It is a computer design from the future, one which many other hardware manufacturers are trying to follow. However, when building new technology Apple often unfortunately neglected their own design history. For us a reason to go back to the future for a tribute to the first Apple computer.

Futuristic design

The technological basis for the CURVED/labs-Mac are components of a current Macbook Air with an 11-inch screen. However, we have transformed it into a touchscreen: You can choose whether to control it via mouse and keyboard or directly type directly on the 11.6 inch touchscreen.

An SSD flash memory with 128 gigabytes of storage is build in, either 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory are available. The CPU is the latest i7 chip from Intel. The casing is of course made of the same high quality as used for the aluminum Macbooks, iPhones and iPads. The back of the Mac features an illuminated Apple logo.

Complete equipment with small size

30 years ago Steve Jobs wanted to make computers more user-friendly, so he gave the original Macintosh a face. In the new Macintosh much of the original elements are resumed. However, at the spot located under the screen, where the drive for 3.5-inch disk sat, you will now find a slot for SD cards, the FaceTime camera, speakers and a microphone.

The Mac supports all popular WiFi standards and Bluetooth. You find already the new USB 3.0 port and a Lightning port. A built-in battery allows you to set up the Mac at different work locations on the fly. Like the current iPhones and iPads the Mac would be available in silver, gray and gold - including color-matched keyboards and mice.
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BL.
 
The major problem with this design is, it's being retro solely for the sake of being retro. Seriously, what's even the point of the spot below the screen, that's presumably meant to harken back to the floppy drive on the original mac? The SD slot takes up less than a quarter of that dark space. Does the rest even serve a legitimate purpose other than being just for looks?

It's a neat gimmick, but other than that, it just reminds me of why the original Mac models were so boxy, and how current technology doesn't necessitate that anymore. The design takes up a lot of space that doesn't need to be taken anymore, and that pushes it off the cliff from being a good "back to your roots" design, to just being a bad replication of the problems of older technology.

Lastly: Lighting up the Apple logo on a laptop that others will see is kind of neat. Lighting up an Apple logo that will only serve to illuminate the back wall you've got this desktop system up against is just obnoxious. Few real-world workstations mimic Apple Store retail displays.
 
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scaredpoet said:
The major problem with this design is, it's being retro solely for the sake of being retro. ...
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A lot of stuff is retro solely for the sake of being retro.

I love the design. I won't get one but I love that somebody made it.
 
Why bother with that curve? The curve was there for a reason before but now it seems unnecessary.
 
Its certainly a neat homage, but nothing more. Its simply not functional. The old Mac was designed this way because of technical limitations of that time. I see no point simulating them on a modern machine.
 
motrek said:
A lot of stuff is retro solely for the sake of being retro.
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You're right about that, and a lot of that stuff ends up not moving much of anything forward. I would rather have enhanced features and improved functionality, over being able to wax nostalgic when I sit in front of what's supposed to be a more modern, more advanced computer.

I won't get one
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and there we go.
 
scaredpoet said:
You're right about that, and a lot of that stuff ends up not moving much of anything forward. I would rather have enhanced features and improved functionality, over being able to wax nostalgic when I sit in front of what's supposed to be a more modern, more advanced computer.



and there we go.
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It's not supposed to be more modern or more advanced than a current Mac. Where are you getting these ideas from?
 
scaredpoet said:
My bad, I was not aware that the definition of "futuristic design" (as referenced in the description) had changed recently to mean not modern or more advanced.
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Nope, the definition didn't change. Futuristic design has always meant stuff that (visually) looks like it's from the future, like from a science fiction comic book or something.

Just do a Google image search for "futuristic design" and it'll become immediately clear that this company nailed it.
 
motrek said:
A lot of stuff is retro solely for the sake of being retro.

I love the design. I won't get one but I love that somebody made it.
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This is not meant to be practical, it's just made to look cool.

BTW, having a room full of PPC Macs means I couldn't care less about this wannabe.
 
motrek said:
Nope, the definition didn't change. Futuristic design has always meant stuff that (visually) looks like it's from the future, like from a science fiction comic book or something.
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There's fantastical futurism and practical futurism. And then there's stuff that attempts to evoke futurism but makes little sense. This design is in the third category. It's a paradox: they're trying to achieve a "futuristic" design, but by forcing a design language that made sense 31 years ago and doesn't age well.

There's retrofuturism, but this design even seems out of place there, too. Perhaps if they tried to mimic the original iMac, they'd nail retrofuturism. But this clearly isn't that.

So I'm left with the one category where it does fit: just plain bad design, even for a fantastical concept.

To be fair: bad design happens all the time. Apple has managed to churn out some pretty bad clunkers, too.

Just do a Google image search for "futuristic design" and it'll become immediately clear that this company nailed it.
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I did. All of the designs depicted are pretty accurately futuristic, and none that I could see tried to fit within a mold that was forced upon engineering and design teams over 3 decades ago. And an image of this "Macintosh Neue" sure didn't make the cut.
 
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I'm not too sure why this is getting so much flack :p .

It's purely an exercise in styling. Basically what would a 20th anniversary Mac look like if it was built today. While it doesn't push technology like the technology forward like the 20th did it's a decent work of styling. It's reminiscent of older macs while keeping up current Mac style. Obviously, it's quite pointless as it's not practical at all...
 
It's stupid as ****, but I'd order one in a heartbeat - it's a great reminder of my first Mac Plus and SE/30 years (without the crappy 9 inch b&w tube screen).
 
paolo- said:
I'm not too sure why this is getting so much flack :p .

It's purely an exercise in styling. Basically what would a 20th anniversary Mac look like if it was built today. While it doesn't push technology like the technology forward like the 20th did it's a decent work of styling. It's reminiscent of older macs while keeping up current Mac style. Obviously, it's quite pointless as it's not practical at all...
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Yeah, and not sure how this company is supposed to push the technology forward. They don't make the computer guts after all.
 
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