Aesthetic appreciation: The G5 Chassis - Good? Bad? Ugly?
 

How do you feel about the aesthetic appeal of the new G5 Chassis? Come on, don't be ashamed!
(This is not a comment on functionality.)

It's a perfectly 'cromulent' poll. *grins at tlarkin*

Isn't a rhombus by definition not a rectangle?

Something like (forgive the bad ascii art)
perhaps? Or am I misremembering?

LOL, yes. It was me that was mis-remembering. Geometry.. nearly 20 years will haze the mind.

*sigh* I could try to insert some analagous phrase to cover the mistake, but I don't really care. :)

Like everyone else I've mulled over what I think of the appearance of the new G5, and have concluded that it looks pretty cool ... in a utilitarian sort of way. But then I got to wondering why we're all so bothered. My machine sits at the side of my desk under a shelf, and if I glance down now, I can't see it at all.

So, my guess would be that most of us don't have to stare at our machines too often, so why is it so important how they look? I would guess that in part this is because PCs are traditionally, well, just plain ugly, and the aesthetic appeal of the Mac is just one more justification for owning machines that are more expensive ... any thoughts?

Looks like it would match those brushed metal desk accessories (paper trays, pencil/pen holder, etc) that you find at Target. Sort of Art Deco wannabe.

I don't know. From a utilitarian point of view, it's perfect. Why have all the curves if the drives, Mo-board, etc. are all rectangular? On the other hand, the old cement building they put up during the 70's energy crunch are pretty fugly, though utlilitarian. This seems like a nice "in-between" to me.

I know it's not really applicable, but I look at my flat panel iMac every day.

And if I really didn't care what my computer looked like, I'd enjoy the PC boxes more. But I do care -- I want to be able to have it on my desk (if necessary) and have people go "oooo". :)

Here's a little side bet: when people see the G5 tower sitting by someone's desk, their first reaction will not be yukko!

LOL, you're on!! :)

I just watched the Apple Video and I have to say that they've convinced me. If you haven't checked it out - it's worth watching.

[edit - if you've got the bandwidth view the large one, though be warned that it's 75.5MB /edit]

geometric sidetrack
 

rhombus is a figure whos opposite sides must be parallel, angle of adjacent sides not important, length of sides not important (though by having opposite sides parallel, those opposite sides end up being of equal length)

rectangle is a rhombus with adjacent sides at 90 degrees, length of sides not important

square is both a rhombus and a rectangle, with constraints of both and added contraint that all sides are equal in length

Right, there you go. I was just working from a hazy memory...

i drive a box. i think the aesthetics of the rig has a refined elegance. personally, i think jonathan ive can do no wrong. he's the type who can drop a sack-load of garbage on the floor, and it'll magically land in an appealing configuration :D

mr. ive, can the next endeavor involve wood, perhaps a nice birdseye maple?

I've always thought a wood case would be a nifty thing beyond belief -- but I'm not particularly good with building things like this. I've seen some wood enclosures on the net, but they were usually plywood or something else hideous...

My own preference - especially since the internals of this machine are so attractive - would be to have them distributed under a glass desk; i.e. visible while I worked. Totally impractical, but it would certainly be eye-catching.

if you live in the US, and you watch any TV (as my wife is wont to do), you might have seen the wood computer on the show "Will and Grace". It was in Will's office, as I recall, and looked like cherry wood (or a red oak).

Personally, I like the "nouveau industrial" look of the new G5. Something approaching the Bauhaus of early 20th-century Central Europe.

My two, unsolicited, 2¢.

darin

I personally really like the most recent G4 design. What was that code name... "silver bullet"... heh. Anyway, the new design is a bit on the boxy side, but as long as you have a black backdrop, a soft spot light, and a semi-reflective surface on which to place it, it should be alright. ;) Actually the shape is fine, and I don't really mind the holes (as long as you look at it sideways). The 'vacuum' concept does concern me though. All-in-all I think that if I had it sitting on my desk, I would probably enjoy looking at it. It would be cooler though if the apple on the side(s) glowed like the apple on the back of the TiBook screens.

I voted for Cool design, very retro, very hip. *snap snap* [good] because I couldn't help reading it in a Dr. Evil voice :D

BTW - where does everyone get the 'code names'? I have never seen them mentioned anywhere. Wallstreet, Blue and White, TiBook, AlumiBook... :confused: What do they call this one?

let's name it!

vacuusuck

girls!

volvo

VAX

dr. evil's wardrobe

el toro

"suckblow"

"4 more years."

[Been away... just returned...]

MervTormel: LOL :D :D

Yellow: LOL :D :D

Craig R Arko: ... uh what?? :confused:

Toastgrater.

LOL I think Cheesegrater is better! :D

"The Philishave"

(Dang, I need one of those puppies like my wife says I need a shave)

bzzzzzzzzzz.......

:D

Well, my birthday is in August, at least you all know what to get me! :) I might think it's ugly, but I still want one (gumby) damnit!

Good design makes you want to touch the product. This case is a good example, we're tactile and we touch what we crave. I just hope people don't lick the chassis in those Apple stores, my what a sight that would be.

Name: Bandwidth

Names: Zippo, the Radiator, Braun

Sorry Zeb, I'd just come from one of those 'the only way for Apple to survive is to port to x86' threads. ;)

I kinda like the comparison to an electric razor.

Have you guys seen this EE Times article that says the 970's (I assume the 2 gigs) dissipate 97 watts each? No wonder there are 9 fans. :eek:

Rusto, I like "The Radiator"..

Kinda sounds like a goofy super hero; The Radiator, able to heat your room to uncomfortable temperatures in 10 minutes!

Which given Craig's post above isn't so ha-ha funny. (Well it wasn't ha-ha funny to begin with)

Scene from a Minnesota winter:

"Honey, it's getting a little chilly in here. Turn up the thermostat."

"Don't worry, sweetie, I'll just go run that Mathematica benchmark suite again."

From the EE Times article:

Such computing power, however, comes with a price in terms of heat dissipation. Each G5 dissipates 97 watts, which generates so much heat that Apple had to design a new enclosure with four independently controlled thermal zones, each with its own fan. Even so, Apple says it makes half as much noise as its earlier G4 systems

9 fans?

9 fans.

Each of the four thermal zones is equipped with its own dedicated, low-speed fans. Apple engineered seven of the nine fans to spin at very low speeds for minimum acoustic output. And Mac OS X constantly monitors component temperatures in each zone, dynamically adjusting individual fan speeds to the appropriate levels for the quietest possible operation. As a result, the Power Mac G5 runs three times quieter than the previous Power Mac G4 enclosure.

I bet we can guess which two fans don't spin at very low speeds.

But, I'm guessing with Panther it will be easy to remotely monitor the state of each fan. :)

The more I look at the design, the better I like it. One thing I noticed, though, is that I don't believe this machine exists yet in its final physical form. Check the images on the website, watch the intro video, watch the keynote. I can't find a single image of a person and the computer in the same shot. I think everything we've seen so far is a (very nice) 3D rendering (courtesy of Pixar!? :-) of the final form factor.

Also, just as a note of interest ... in looking at the specs, this is a physically larger box than the current machines:

PowerMac G4: 17.0" High x 8.9" Wide x 18.4" Deep (2,784 cubic inches)
PowerMac G5: 20.1" High x 8.1" Wide x 18.7" Deep (3,045 cubic inches)

So it's taller by a few inches, a bit narrower, and a bit deeper. I think that will also help the aesthetic -- make it look a little less blob-like :-).

-rob.

I thought I saw Steve standing by it in the broadcast, but maybe he was just a rendering as well. Gotta love that Pixlet. :D

Heh, could be -- I didn't have time to watch the whole keynote, but thought I caught all of the roll-out G5 stuff ... maybe I need to re-visit it...

-rob.

Here's some.

Hmm, yeah - my gut reaction was "They haven't got one RUNNING in a case yet". I wasn't there, so I don't know, but has anyone actually SEEN a G5 case hooked up to a power supply/monitor/keyboard yet?

One word - mockup.

Notice that they didn't have any of the machines on display during the bakeoffs, and Steve just had a monitor on his desk during the keynote.

I suspect they'd have been running Panther on a G5, so they wouldn't want to give the game away early, but I find it hard to believe they'd miss the opportunity to indulge in a little "aesthetic bakeoff" between the Dell and the ol' Spaceheater.

Also, the big "G5" boxes inside look a bit suss to me... If I write "G5" on the side of my quicksilver, it ain't gonna start mowing through Mathematica like it wasn't there ;)

the new machines dont look all that good for a desktop, but it looks real cool for a G5. that is, it looks industrial strength. Kinda like a miniture renderman.

hubby:"honey, apple just released the new G5 can we get one?"
wife:" first why dont you build those model cars you got 4 years ago that are lying under the bed then we might talk about it. and flying that kyte you got would be something nice to see."

P.S where did they put the little speaker, and if you put two hard drives or a zip drive i guess you have to get a new front grill. ( i seemed to see only 1 narrow opening at the top.)

Zip drives would be external, and it only supports 1 optical bay, any others would also have to be external.


So, has anyone been to an Apple store yet to see if they have any on display?

They didn't at the Mall of America store, and weren't expecting any anytime soon either. I don't think there will be any demo models until the thing is finished and ready to ship.

djn1: I think I can stand by my original statement, at least based on those photos. I see two shots where you can see the machine, and in neither case, does it appear to actually be a functional unit. The clear-glass-side version is clearly a demo, and the one Steve is standing next to could easily be a production mock-up.

All the on-the-floor pictures just show monitors; the real interesting shot would be the "under the drape" shot to see what's powering them!

:-)

-rob.

Yeah, I think you're right. I've had another look round and there don't appear to be any pictures of any 'actual' working machines.

Pay no attention to the G4s with G4 crossed out and G5 markered in behind the curtains.. :D

Re: geometric sidetrack
 

Almost. What you claim to be a rhombus is a parallelogram.

A rhombus is a parallelogram with all sides equal, but not necessarily right angles.

A rectangle is a parallelogram with right angles, but not necessarily all sides equal.

A square is both a rhombus and a rectangle.

Working G5 sidetrack
 

Check out this assessment. If I can find the time this weekend I'm going to check it out myself.

As a once and still-current owner of a 7100, quite possibly the ugliest Mac chassis ever released, I have to say the G5 isn't bad, although it isn't going to win any industrial design awards.

And the aesthetics sure wouldn't dissuade me from owning one

;)

(I'm holding out for another year in hopes of a dual-processor G5 PowerBook though)

Looks Great, Less Filling or was that nicely sweet
 

RE: Looks Great, Less Filling or was that nicely sweet, er Cerial and Beer:)

I wish it were about 3 inches Taller so At least Four 3.5 Drives would have fit in side.

People spending 2 to 4k on rocking computer might want to Jam more then two drives on the inside.

http://www.idsa.org/whatis/seewhat/i...3/computer.htm

given the one-eyed-terror-vulture-monster "logitech quickCam" perched stoically waiting for you to expire, me thinks the G5 is a shoe-in :D

hmm..
 

I think it looks like a metal suitcase with extra handles... like something you'd find in a banks' safe deposit room.

I voted.. What happened to the curves man? [bad]. The attraction to Mac, for me, is the adorable bubbly-ness of the G4. I think it's all that lucite-like wrapping.

Of course, this comes from someone who loves smiley faces, bell-bottoms, and the new VW Beetle Convertible.

Yeah, that's kind of what the G4 reminds me of.. the cute new Beetles. The G5 is too Tonka Toy-ish for me (if that makes any sense..?).

I agree with the wood idea mentioned earlier. That would be pretty spiffy.

~Brandie

My opinion: if i had the cash I would've ordered a dual 2gig already. So I'm with the opinion that said "4 more years", meaning in 4 years maybe I can afford one off ebay : )

In the meantime i'll continue to look for a used g4 for cheap, it's amazing how expensive these things still are.

v