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Which iMac design do you prefer?

Which is your favorite iMac Design?

  • iMac G3

    Votes: 8 4.6%

  • iMac G4

    Votes: 79 45.4%

  • iMac G5/Intel

    Votes: 87 50.0%
  • Total voters
    174
dynamicv said:
The G4s were a nice design, but I thought they sacrificed too much to get the shape. iMacs are meant as all in ones, yet the G4s had separate speakers. And tray loading drives are just not right.

I prefer the G5. Clean design, great sound, and doesn't take up too much footprint.
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We must remember this was a few years ago, I doubt they could have squeezed speakers in then (they probably still can't now). It would have been amazing if they gave the iMac G4 built-in speakers..somehow and a slot-loading drive instead of a tray POOPING out the cd. The iMac G5/Intel is also very well designed, but it has no flexibility, I can only move it up and down, unlike the G4 iMac were I can just move it with ease to show someone a video I'm making
 
I specify the 20" model because I don't particularly like the 17", I feel as if something is wrong in its proportions.
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I love my 17" intel iMac. The 20" ones looked cool in the store of course, but the size of the screen and proportions of mine are just fine to me.
 
The G4 looked cool, but in my opinion the G5 is much more impressive.

With the G4, it was really obvious where the computer was, and where the screen was (nothing wrong with it, I'm just stating reality). That isn't true with the G5, it truly is an all-in-one.

I love to hear the PC users say, "Where's the computer?!" ...Then I make up a whole stupid story about how my entire house is networked to a supercomputer in the basement, and this is just one of the screens I have for it. ...Then I say "GOTCHA!" and prove why Apple is better than any other PC manufacturer on earth. :cool:

:D :p
 
G5

G3 - Nice and compact, but still used CRT display and mucho desk space.
G4 - LCD display, but not as compact as I'd like. More striking than functional.
G5 - Thank you, Apple. I don't have to have a big ass box taking up precious desk space.

G3 - Historically Wonderful.
G4 - Ascetically Wonderful.
G5 - Day to Day Wonderful. My vote.

All of them beat any uninspired, militaristic, and drab PC box any day of the week.
 
technicolor said:
You better be glad, you're hot. :p

or is that my bad taste too? ;)
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Haha - nice... :D

I thought I included enough emoticons in my post to adequately imply I was just joking, but I'll try using more of them next time... ;) :)
 
G4. I still miss it but I'm happy with my PB.

I loved my little bondi blue G3 but, but the G4 was much more elegant.

My G3 doubled as a room heater!
 
I like both the G4 and G5/Intel equally. The G4 was beautiful because that type of design in a computer was practically unheard of. When the G5 came out I was kinda disappointed but that was because they had so much to live up to. But then I saw the G5 in person and have loved it ever sense.

My vote goes to the G4 because it was more innovative.
 
I love the iLamp, don't get me wrong...but the newer G5/Intel iMac is so simple and elegant. It's just a thing of beauty, IMHO. I'd still love to have an iMac G4 sitting in my office...so much character! :)
 
technicolor said:
I think the g4s are ugly.

I voted g5.
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Me too, I have *NEVER* understood why anyone would ever think those things were good looking. Really gangly, odd, and all out of proportion. I can see how the monitor adjustment could be handy but please! The current models are the epitome of style and function coming together, real Bauhas style (no not the group...).

Isaac
 
I very much appreciate the great design of the G4, but the G5/Intel iMac is just so damn sexy. It is truly an all in one machine that just looks fantastic with a very minimalist design.
 
mkrishnan said:
I think the G4 was the most aggressive, courageous design Apple did, but I think the implementation fell a little short...particularly in needing external speakers and a tray-loading drive, as previously mentioned.... I think the current design is perhaps less edgy, but I personally think it's very elegant, has clean lines, and fits in with my decorative tastes at home. So I'm really happy with my G5. Not to mention that it has only one cable (for power). Just the way I like it. :)
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It's hard to argue with someone that has great taste ;) I as well like the G5/Intel design and that would be why I own one. However anytime someone has looked at either the same question has been asked...where's the rest of the computer, is it on, because I can't hear it running :rolleyes: Silly folk that thinks a big box was the only way.
 
I find it quite interesting, actually. Steve Jobs noted that the G5 iMac and its Intel brother was the "picture of perfection" and did not need any changes, yet during his intro of the G4 iMac, he lambasted the EXACT notion of the G5 iMac's design. "The optical drive would have to be vertical, which means we'd have to reduce the speed of the drive, resulting in a lower performance computer." I should dig that intro video up again, I was so flabbergasted when watching it recently that I burst out laughing.

Then again, that's Steve. Design-wise, I love the G4, but I'll never give up my snow G3 iMac. It's a toss up. The G5, while a great feat of engineering, is not as beautifully designed as the G4 or the G3. That's my opinion anyway. I voted G3 out of loyal devotion.
 
FF_productions said:
We must remember this was a few years ago, I doubt they could have squeezed speakers in then (they probably still can't now). It would have been amazing if they gave the iMac G4 built-in speakers..somehow and a slot-loading drive instead of a tray POOPING out the cd. The iMac G5/Intel is also very well designed, but it has no flexibility, I can only move it up and down, unlike the G4 iMac were I can just move it with ease to show someone a video I'm making
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I owned a G3 and G4 iMac and now have a MBP. I must say the G4 iMac is still at the top in terms of presentation. Even the packaging was cooler, it came with a special cloth to polish the chrome, and a bunch of other goodies, including awesome external speakers. The G4 iMac did have a built in speaker , but it was about as bad as the mini's. I preferred the external speakers, they gave much better sound then anything they could have squeezed inside. They Intel / G5 iMac has grown on me, but that gut just seems awkward, especially on the 17". The flexibility of the G4 monitor was awesome and came in handy. I also liked the tray drive instead of the slot loading, it can handle smaller discs and is less problematic. The only thing that bugged me was that if you had the monitor all the way down and ejected a CD, the tray would nail the back of the monitor and then shut.
 
I have been a fan of the G4 Sunflower look since it came out. And I still wish they had kept it. I mean, they made a HUGE deal about how easy the screen could be adjusted. And how the optical drive was better to be flat instead of vertical. Then they totally threw it all away and said how much better the new G5 design was. WTF?

Wrong. I like the G5 design, but the G4 design is FAR better. I miss it so much.

Also, I actually did get the "Where's the computer?" question from the wife of a HUGE Windows zealot. When I showed her, she said "I want one!" The look on her husbands face was priceless.

Side note: I firmly believe the G4 iMac design is a direct design descendant of the "Tizio" Twentieth Anniversary Mac concept. And the Tizio was always my favorite Apple design, even if it didn't actually get used. (It was still far cooler than what the TAM turned out to be.) When Apple dug into their past to resurrect such a cool concept, it made me very happy.
 
technicolor said:
I think the g4s are ugly.

I voted g5.
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When the iMac G4 first came out, I heard that from a few people. One of my friends in particular said it... until the day he bought one.

Definitely G4. G5/Intel design is just too plain.
 
The big thing that bugs me about the Intel/G5 design, and is gonna make me seriously rethink my setup here, is the height of the actual screen. The bezel below it and all the space below the edge is so huge. Right now my 20" Apple Cinnamon Display screen is just outside comfortable height. There are times I want to grab the screen and adjust it lower like I could my G4 iMac, but can't. I can only tilt it. And the iMac G5's screen is going to be even higher.

I'm really not looking forward to that.

But I'll still be very happy the day I bring one home. :D
 
Well, the G4's had a really interesting design, and I liked it, but nothing can beat the slim, semi-curved design of the new Intels.
 
I liked the fun and brightness of the G3s. And in my opinion was one of the reasons forthe success Apple has enjoyed this last decade.

At very first I didn't like the G4 - it was too radical a departure from the G3.
But my scepticism didn't last long - and I think its one of the best looking computers ever designed.

Again - when the G5 was released i thought it was a step back in terms of design.
To me the G5s look like giant iPods.

I love the G5 design, but think the G4 is still better.
 
I never was a fan of the G4 iMacs. I had an indigo G3 iMac myself, and I loved it. I wish I could have kept it *and* gotten an iBook, but sadly, I couldn't and I had to sell the iMac. :(

To me, the G4 iMac looked like a lamp, with half a basketball for a base. ;) The rest of it was fine...if the base had been different I think I would have liked it better. I've used one at the library here on campus (which still has some G3 iMacs going strong and running Tiger...woohoo!) and I didn't find it as offensive as I once did, but I really love the G5 design. It seems like the most minimalist package yet, which is really the concept of the iMac...get everything in as small of space as possible and make it look really good too. ;)
 
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