A Tale of 3 Macs
Tue. Feb, 2009 by Amy
Boxes in dimly lit basement mere hours before they were completely deconstructed.
We recently cleaned up an attic space to possibly make a kid playroom- the space is located behind a bookcase and has a cool Scooby Doo/Narnia secret feel about it. I found I had saved every Mac box I’ve owned which may seem a little odd but was an interesting study in the Mac brand over time.
The kids have been using the boxes to play with more than any toy they’ve ever received in their lives, so they are a little beat up but I took a picture. I started using Macs in 1995 when I worked at Alaska Airlines Magazine, and I no longer remember which one I had. When I began freelancing in 1999 or so I started with the beige nondescript Power Mac G3. It worked well and never had any real problems but Mac had to upgrade their OS system to OSX (which is better) and it became too hard to make it work with the new platform and software. In 2003 or so I got my G4 which was so much more beautiful in it’s sleek pinstripe grey case standing upright rather than a chunky block on my desk. Jonathan begrudgingly converted to Mac soon after and got the G4 laptop which still works, but just barely due to some physical abuse.
Finally, just last year in 2008 I got my G5 iMac. This iMac bears no comparison to the groovy flower power models that were their original look. I love it and while I still use my G4 at home, the G5 is a huge improvement.
I found it interesting, and if you are still reading you may be as much of a geek as I am about design, how the Macintosh brand and packaging has evolved over time. Mac Force has a full collection of them. Mine only represent the last decade. Their logo started as a colorful rainbow-striped apple, and on the G3 box, it is solid, large and sturdy just like the product and the name is spelled out completely “Power Macintosh”. The next generation G4, has the apple in a smaller size, with a 3D photoshoppy transparent effect popular at the time. The name is shortened to just Mac, and while the box is a bit larger, it is much more in the modern minimal look of the brand. Finally, the G5 has a sleek white box without the name on the side, an even smaller apple logo and the confidence of it’s popularity with the iPod and iPhone and unique shape to know that the consumer knows exactly who and what it is. I love how Apple has evolved and redesigned throughout the years but retained their original logo and brand: Different. Cool.
Jonathan has long chided me for my loyalty to Apple. “They’re overpriced” is the main argument. Could be true, but you’ll notice he also has a sleek iMac on his desk as well.
I am including some photos showing iMacs own evolution in the last decade or so as well. Interesting to think that a few years or more form now, we will look back at this sleek computer as a dinosaur or hideous….
The original "Bondi Blue" iMac introduced in 1998.
The G4 iMac was the first major case redesign of the iMac line.
The G5 iMac