[Gizzer]

OMG! Pre the iMac G5 announcement, several people (myself included) all highlighted that Apple for once were copying rather than innovating with the new AIO design that we were all speculating on at the time. This was because Sony (plus others) had already created AIO Media PC's.

Well take a look at this BRAND NEW Vaio...

Sony VAIO Link

When you first look at it I actually like the design and instantly thought it was an iMac response. BUT look at the side view! it's 20cms thick!!!

The front view makes it look like the iMac (ie a couple of inches) but side-on it's the size of a house

All of the Mac Faithful that said "They might be copying, but they'll do it better", can sit back, relax, and take a puff of the cigars I've left for you below....
:smokey: :smokey: :smokey: :smokey:

[psmith2.0]

This is the clincher shot right here:





Why even go with an LCD at that point? Just make it a CRT, throw the guts inside the rear bubble (like the jellybean iMac) and shave some money off the final selling price?

Yes, stuff like that makes the iMac G5 look even nicer and more thought-out and agonized over. I agree.

[Kickaha]

Not to mention that the keyboard is integrated.

Wow, that's so... ][e.

Please, someone tell me it detaches for wireless use. Even cabled.

[kscherer]

Uhhh . . . did someone tip over the base of a blender?

[murbot]

That's like a G5 iMac glued to the front of an eMac.

Jesus H.

[psmith2.0]

So glad I'm a Mac user...should go without saying, but what the hell.

Murbot's description of it is pretty dead-on!

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by murbot That's like a G5 iMac glued to the front of an eMac. Jesus H.

He's right! That thing is horrible.

[Powerdoc]

I have seen in real life the Vaio : it's not cute at all, and the grey color is ugly.

In comparison the Imac G5 is gorgious.

[counterculture]

my god. and they're actually quite proud that it's only 20cm. front view? it looks to me like one of those hospital heart monitors, partially covered by a meal tray, lying on...yet another meal tray. who actually buys these things?

[utsava]

Do you really think Sony couldnt make a "desktop" thats 2 inches thick? They have laptops that are better spec'd than the iMac that are under 2 inches, some under 1 inch. It wouldn't be that difficult to put a hinged stand on it and call it "the worlds thinnest desktop". That title is so bogusly lame.

I don't think Sony, or other manufacturers have done so because they don't think theres a market for it. But damned if Apple cares what the market demands. Watch in amazement as Apples market share stays exactly the same.

Apple made an interesting looking tablet PC on a stand. A tablet that has to plug into the wall and offers no other advantage other than a few inches of desk space. Woopdie doo...

[JagSeal]

I havn't seen any 1.8 GHz 64-bit processors, DDR400 RAM, SATA drive capability, and a 20 inch screen in a Sony laptop that is less than 2 inches thick. Stop talking out of your six.

[curiousuburb]

It's the mutant offspring of these two.

Introducing the Vaio Toaster Oven!

[MacUsers]

[DMBand0026]

Ha! No people aren't just stealing Apple's current designs, rather, their designs from 20 years ago!

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by MacUsers *images of new Sony and old-ass Apple*

So? It's no point of pride that a new offering from Sony is uglier than a 20-plus year old Apple machine.



At this rate, in 2024, Sony - and others - will offer something approaching the iMac G4 design, while Apple will be doing goodness-knows-what!

[utsava]

Originally Posted by JagSeal I havn't seen any 1.8 GHz 64-bit processors, DDR400 RAM, SATA drive capability, and a 20 inch screen in a Sony laptop that is less than 2 inches thick. Stop talking out of your six.

The bigger the size of the screen, the easier it is to make it thinner.

Take a look at the Sony Viao A170. Its 1.8 inches thick. This includes a keyboard, which is not built into the 2 inches of the iMac. 17 inch widescreen. Runs on batteries. PCMCIA slot, DVD recordable, integrated bluetooth, WiFi, yada yada. Is the 1.8 G5 faster than the 1.8 Pentium M? Yes, but my point is any reputable player in the laptop business can make something comperable in size to the iMac. It is not "revolutionary" in design.

My point is not to say the Sony is "better". We all know those who value Mac OS X will get the iMac. Its just that im sick of hearing the over zealous fanboys proclaim this new iMac as an amazing feat. That whole "thinnest desktop" claim, while maybe true, is just stupid to be. Thats like bragging about being the "smallest SUV". If you wanted a small vehicle, get a friggin sedan.

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by utsava That whole "thinnest desktop" claim, while maybe true, is just stupid to be. Thats like bragging about being the "smallest SUV". If you wanted a small vehicle, get a friggin sedan.

Well, it's official...worst car analogy EVER!

The iMac is an amazing feat. The engineering is incredible, hands down. Mac OS X or not, I'm really impressed by that computer.

Even if it was a Sony, a Dell, a HP, anything else, I'd still be impressed. You fit a processor that's that fast, a quick HDD, a decent graphics chip, a stunning display, great I/O, and a top quality system (bandwidth, bus speeds...ect) into an enclosure that small, I'll call your engineers bloody geniuses.

It takes a lot more than luck, and a huge amount of R&D to do what Apple has done. It's an awesome machine, hands down, I don't care who built it.

[Moogs]

Ugh! I take back what I said last week about Sony's industrial designers being better than Dell's. Think the ole standards have taken a bit of a slide there....

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Moogs Ugh! I take back what I said last week about Sony's industrial designers being better than Dell's. Think the ole standards have taken a bit of a slide there....

Sony designs their computers to look good (occasionally) from that point at which you percieve it: the front. Although the keyboard-up thing (and the cutsie little screen clock idea) are !

[nowayout11]

I don't really think the iMac G5 form factor is a giant feat either. When you have complete control of your own standards and limit upgrade/replacement options by design, you're afforded greater opportunity to create results like the latest iMac and the earlier Cube.

The Jadetec Micro System

The above example is a very small PC that could run on a Pentium 4. It's also 2 years old. Granted, its size is partly attributed to it basically being a laptop without a battery, monitor, and keyboard, but the *point* is that great things can be done in terms of form factor and size when expandability and legacy are low on your priorities, like Apple when engineering their consumer-end products.

So I don't consider it an engineering feat. I think their success was more in the end-product package and presentation (the case), which is separate from the engineering.

[johnq]

"The trend, though, has finally broken out of the stable: PC systems are getting more compact, and the final goodbye to the 8-by-15 gray box is just waiting to happen." October 9, 2002 "The Jadetec Micro System"

LOL. 2002.

I haven't had a "8-by-15 gray box" since. hmmmm, oh, about August 1998. Never looked back.



Gotta love the Wintel PC industry. Those brave cutting edge souls are just about saying goodbye to the floppy disk. Sad, people.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by johnq Gotta love the Wintel PC industry. Those brave cutting edge souls are just about saying goodbye to the floppy disk. Sad, people.

Uhhh . . . No they're not. When I walk into any computer reseller, EVERY PC on the shelf still has a floppy. To the PC industry, a floppy is like a cigarette: they know its bad for you, but they're gonna keep shoving 'em down your throat (no car analogy here )!

[nowayout11]

Originally Posted by johnq I haven't had a "8-by-15 gray box" since. hmmmm, oh, about August 1998. Never looked back.

That's about 5 inches shorter than, say, your typical 8-by-20.

[MacUsers]

Originally Posted by nowayout11 That's about 5 inches shorter than, say, your typical 8-by-20.

But it's engineered for the creative class. Duh.

[johnq]

I meant more that we routinely see the PC pundits writing articles about "the death of the floppy has arrived" etc. so many years after Apple bit the bullet and actually did it instead of talking about it. You're right, in reality they are still shoved down some people's throats in places, which makes the pundits seem even more out of touch (and envious of Apple's having actually gone through with it).

As far as the G5 being a gray box, well, Apple doesn't need to prove anything anymore Jobs is working his way back to beige, if anyone can spin it into something cool, he can.

Beige iPods anyone?

[kscherer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah! The PC world talks about lots of stuff like that. For instance, getting rid of all the cables and such. The only thing they have gotten rid of, that Apple hasen't, is the price.

And aluminum is not grey! It's . . . aluminum.

[psmith2.0]

Someone should design/mock-up what an iPod would look like if a) Apple didn't exist, b) the iEra never existed (in other words, everything was still opaque beige) and/or c) another company beat Apple to the punch.

It wouldn't:

- have soft, pretty curved edges
- a novel, easy-to-use scroll/button wheel
- FireWire connectivity

Of those three things, I'm sure.

I picture more of a chunky thing, laden with buttons/dials, putty in color with finger-hurting sharp edges, serial connection ( ) and a manual nearly 1-inch thick.

[Luca]

Left is the input panel (instead of keyboard + mouse), middle is the iPod, and the thing on the right is the computer itself. Remember, Apple not only popularized non-beige computer equipment (iMac), they also were the first to have a mouse on their computer (Macintosh), and they were one of the first to sell a computer in a beige, plastic case instead of a big metal or wooden one (the original Apple II).

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Someone should design/mock-up what an iPod would look like if a) Apple didn't exist, b) the iEra never existed (in other words, everything was still opaque beige) and/or c) another company beat Apple to the punch.

I can save everyone a lot of time:

If Apple didn't exist (that is, if Apple never existed), we would all still be using DOS and the entire notion of MP3 players would be considered ubsurd!

However, if Apple simply went out of business prior to the iPod, Microsoft, being a monopoly, would have been forced to split in two and both companies (Micro and Soft) would consider the notion of supporting MP3 players as ubsurd, so they would never get off the ground!

[Luca]

Nah, I think Microsoft would have eventually come out with a GUI. Either them or Xerox. But it would be a lot worse, it would take a lot longer to actually come out (maybe 1990 instead of 1984), and it wouldn't have advanced so quickly. As bad as Windows is, today it's pretty good, and I think that's largely due to them copying Apple.