Hi Sig: I don't know about you, but I prefer my Dell to a lime green iMac! But I'm just a little biased. Leigh
Monday July 17 10:15 AM EDT
How iMac reshaped the PC industry
By Jason D. O'Grady, Go2Mac.com, Special to ZDNet
Can the iMac's mark on industrial design endure? Should it?
Last week, Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) discontinued its WebPC line of curvy desktop PCs a mere seven months after their introduction. Although the company claimed that the decision was the result of component shortages, some observers have interpreted the move as a reaction to a change in consumer demand for overstyled PCs.
This discussion seems especially apt on the eve of Macworld Expo/New York, where the company that invented curvy consumer PCs is expected to refresh its line of consumer Macs.
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After riding a wave of popularity with the introduction of the iMac, Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) is now facing the daunting task of maintaining the momentum it first generated back in 1998 even as a formidable pack of hungry Windows competitors nips at its heels.
The good news is that Apple -- or should I say CEO Steve Jobs? -- has a propensity for pulling off miracles at the twice-annual U.S. gathering of the Mac faithful. Judging from past performances, this week's festivities should be no exception.
iMac's design sense
The iMac has made a lasting mark on the decade's industrial design -- so indelible a mark, in fact, that Apple filed (and prevailed in) lawsuits against companies (such as eMachines Inc. and Future Power Inc.) that made PC clones that bore a striking resemblance to the iMac.
There's no denying that the iMac has wrought profound changes on the industrial design of computers and peripherals.
Indeed, the iMac's influence goes much deeper than just computers: It has already trickled down to touch all things consumer and has become part of the mainstream.
It's easy to dismiss the iMac influence as a passing fad, but it's shaping up to be more than that; it marks a transition in consumer electronics from dull, beige monotony to racy, translucent sex appeal. The gauntlet has been laid down, and consumers will no longer blindly purchase beige boxes of any stripe.
One example of Apple's influence far beyond the PC industry: Witness the Rowenta steam iron, one of the first translucent blue products to hit the streets after the original Bondi-blue iMac was announced.
Since then, there have been innumerable examples of iMac-inspired design in products great and small. (In fact, my Web site NoBeige.com tried to keep on top of the growing list of iMac-alike gadgets, but we eventually stopped because there were simply too many colorful translucent consumer wares being announced.)
And that's a good thing. It is about time manufacturers paid attention to industrial design -- most people don't like tan Honda Civics (note that I said "most"), so why would you expect them to buy a $1,500 tower computer that looks like it was carved from a block of feta cheese?
That attention to detail serves a valuable function as a means of differentiating products, but it also allows manufacturers to charge a premium for the new hardware, which is often hidden amid other value-added features.
Remember the neon craze?
On the other hand, too much design can be a bad thing; there comes a time when the lime keyboards, purple speakers and orange mice become a little much.
Now, don't get me wrong: I believe in color-coordinating my computer accessories with everything else on my desk -- like I do with my belt and shoes each day -- but enough already! We are approaching a rainbow backlash; soon people will absolutely avoid the translucent, Smurf-colored hardware, just like we used to avoid beige.
It has all gone a little too far for my liking. While translucent plastics can make for very dramatic-looking accents against other solid colors, it can look equally hideous when multiple accent colors are stacked on top of each other.
At World PC Expo in Chiba, Japan, last September, I had an opportunity to see the iMac influence at its worst. Aisle after aisle of the show floor was crowded with PC-clone manufacturers hawking every manner of desktop and minitower enclosure, each sporting translucent, colored panels or entire chassis.
And most of it wasn't pretty. Some of the designs were actually quite unique and well-thought-out, but for every one of those, there were at least 25 horrendous examples of PC styling run amok. I'm sure that Jonathan Ive (Apple's industrial-design guru) would have shuddered if he'd walked the aisles.
Party gone out of bounds
Besides the colorful peripherals on the show floor, every floor of the major computer shops in Tokyo's Akihabara (a k a Electric Town) were similarly riotous.
Fruit-flavored Macintosh peripherals are de rigeur; I mean, you have to have a Grape printer to go with your Grape iMac, right? The thing that surprised me most, however, were the colored accessories: Everything from desks to printer stands to magneto-optical and MiniDisc blank media were available in the five iMac colors. In fact, many were available in colors that Apple passed on, such as yellow (errr, Banana).
The problem with third-party iMac accessories is that often the colors don't exactly match, leaving the buyer with a lamp that just doesn't look right sitting next to that Tangerine iMac.
Another problem with multiple colors of the same product is inventory. Manufacturers are forced to stock five (or more) color variations, and then they are subject to the whims of the market. What happens when there is a run on Grape MO media?
Finally, there's something to be said for subtlety. Apple initiated the whole translucent craze with the iMac, and the company is still managing to do a good job of walking the fine line between attractive and atrocious. In the process, it's managed to stay a step ahead of the polychrome tidal wave of copycat devices.
Apple's pro-level Power Mac G4 systems, for example, are among the best-executed industrial designs in the world. The Graphite-and-Ice combination screams high tech, but it is still professional enough to avoid embarrassment when the chairman walks into your cube to discuss that big project you are working on.
The monitor pets are your own problem.
Jason D. O'Grady is editor in chief of Go2Mac.com and Palm Lounge.com.
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