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Topic |
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danamania
Official 68k Muse
Australia
1193 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 20:07:40
Question for the day :D. Y'all know macs have some kind of 'extra' when it comes to design - they're a bit more than a box with a hole for a floppy and cdrom. Do you think you'd be as obsessed about (for people like me) or admire (for those who aren't as addicted!) the 68k's if it weren't for the physical design? What if a Quadra 610 looked like this, or an original mac looked like this. Does a Q840AV do it all for you because of the pure speed on the inside, or does a Colour Classic or Quadra 605 make you just as happy because of the shape, feel, the little coloured apple logo, the solid feel... 200 words or less, assignment due in whenever. :D dana |
~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 20:21:21
Well, it's probably the biggest sole difference between mac and PC... even in the beige times we always have had much better design! Although I'd like to see a Mac in one of those HP tower cases like this:
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I'll try to get some info and a pic later... It'd be fun to transplant a Quadra into it! ~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army
00014 Macs liberated. |
Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 20:27:19
quote:
Question for the day :D.
yay, danamaniac's really back!the design of macs is very pretty in form at the expense of function to a deplorable degree. the clones kicked cupertino's tuschie with generic PC components in terms of speed, function and sales to such a degree that macworld magazine even took note of it. but for the loyalists of the 68kMLA, i'll wager that the design is a major factor in the love affair, it is for me even though i detest most of the tradeoffs that others seem to take in stride. and there's nothing wrong with the box in the first link as long as it's not running mordorsoft, but i like my microquadras a lot more! jt  jt
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~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 20:38:34
Found it! Top left image on this page:http://images.google.com/images?q=%22HP+server%22&svnum=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&start=20&sa=N (the image link is broken, tho, so you can only go as far as the google thumbnail.)~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army
00014 Macs liberated. |
danamania
Official 68k Muse
Australia
1193 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 20:58:25
quote:
yay, danamaniac's really back!
yay me! quote:
it is for me even though i detest most of the tradeoffs that others seem to take in stride. and there's nothing wrong with the box in the first link as long as it's not running mordorsoft, but i like my microquadras a lot more!
Eeeee. Well. I'll have to agree with you in some models, but not in others. Some that are spot on are the original macs, LC's, 605's and imacs...they're meant to be small appliancelike boxies... and their designs works for that. Especially the pizza's - I don't know anything simpler to work on. 6x0/6x00's are a mishmashed mess at the front when it comes to expandability - which their design almost wants to hint at, but doesn't quite allow. The rear however... I like that motherboard idea. The 950, from a practicality idea is a mess too - all that drive space, and -one- bay (the lower) accessible to the rest of the world if you want to keep the floppy. And that bay has the HD bolted into it by default. IIcx/ci/Q700's were worse... although at the time those boxies came out, PC's had bays for multiple 5.25" floppies as well as 3.5"... so in a machine that was unlikely to ever see a cdrom, it probably worked 'well enough'. On the positive side however - The quality of most models' design is stunning. It's possible to make a 605 the same shape, but have it out of cheap squeaky plastic, not-quite-all-there components that just don't fit together as solidly as they could. Half of the Dells at work for example, had things like drive bay covers slightly different colours/textures, that would fall out, badges that dropped off... cases that squeaked when the desk moved. Working machines otherwise, but carrying an air of Ford Escort instead of BMW. dana (and I choose to make that quality something in a machine I buy :D
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Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2002 : 21:28:15
quote:
Half of the Dells at work for example, had things like drive bay covers slightly different colours/textures, that would fall out, badges that dropped off... cases that squeaked when the desk moved. Working machines otherwise, but carrying an air of Ford Escort instead of BMW. dana (and I choose to make that quality something in a machine I buy :D
IMHO, you are mislabeling high quality fit and finish as good design. the materials choices and execution of visible parts were all spot-on, granted. but under the hood was an entirely different mess. and flashy sports cars are the ones that end up with really ugly luggage racks on TOP of the trunk because of form over function B.S. mac power supplies are an excellent example of horrific compromises and choosing sleek over even adequate functionality.if i'm not mistaken, you never really had to do any work thru the 9" periscope on compact mac. check out the LEM articles on the part time smoke and mirrors trick-circuitry video on those systems. the lack of provision for a grayscale upgrade for those monitors is unforgiveable, especially in the case of the classics, but i still love my first mac, pooter the SE. Mac people love to think in terms of bmw and ford, but unfortunately, in a low margin consumer item like a computer in this era, the comparison is closer to betamax and vhs. jt
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Rexzilla
Junior Member
132 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2002 : 10:59:28
I would have to agree that "form" takes over from substance on most Apples. But I get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I look at my Mac SE. I have it perched on top of a cabinet full of my collectables. I just like looking at it. I really don't get that feeling from the "pizzaboxes". I like my Quadra 610 because it is an "honest" computer and I like that front switch. It also has a decent power supply in it unlike the "pizzaboxes", even compared to the Quadra 605. I still hate the Q636. The example I have is falling apart...it reminds me of a poor fitting lego toy. The chasis underneath is solid but the plastic panels just don't fit right. A lot of the feel to an Apple is the operating system. You can just walk up to a Mac and start getting things done right away. I do think there are some future canadates for that "fuzzy feeling" category. One which I will get is an old Blue& White G3. I like the design and color. You still have access to legacy devices with that ADB port. The Bondi Imacs I would have to nominate too, if any survive meltdown in the coming years. They get quite hot and should have been designed with a fan. The Apple "Cube" is a collectable but a bit pricey still and many have cracks in the "cyrstal" casing. That is an example waaay over the form side of things. It should have never been released...great for an electronics show but not for "consumers" who need a workable computer. The Lcd display that came with those is to die for though...but I would have to sell a child to pay for it. But if you really want a computer that has style over substance get one of them all black NEXT computers a Job's original...lol. Do you remember the WORM drive in it? It was suppose to replace hard drives, cds, etc. What got me was it was marketed to corporate execs as a do all machine.
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Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2002 : 11:20:21
quote:
I would have to agree that "form" takes over from substance on most Apples. But I get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I look at my Mac SE. I have it perched on top of a cabinet full of my collectables. I just like looking at it.But if you really want a computer that has style over substance get one of them all black NEXT computers a Job's original...lol. Do you remember the WORM drive in it? It was suppose to replace hard drives, cds, etc. What got me was it was marketed to corporate execs as a do all machine.
agreed the SE is a work of art and my only complaint about it is the legacy video circuitry from the wring every last cycle out of every single i.c. kluge on the lobotomized beta forbear of the 512k. all that is forgiveable considering the price of RAM at the time, but to bring out the calssic as a less capable machine than the SE is unforgiveable, IMHO.Your other picks are excellent, btw! i should find a blue & white tower for a plotter server when the price bottoms out and i just gotta get a bondi baby! better find a couple of the Griffin mezzanine cards first tho! jt
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~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2002 : 18:26:27
quote:
The Bondi Imacs I would have to nominate too, if any survive meltdown in the coming years. They get quite hot and should have been designed with a fan.
They did have a fan... Oh, and I found out that wierd computer is called the HP Apollo:
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/tech68k/apollo.html ~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army
00014 Macs liberated. |
maclover5
LC Doctor/Hot Rodder
Australia
5830 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2002 : 20:57:00
quote:
quote:
The Bondi Imacs I would have to nominate too, if any survive meltdown in the coming years. They get quite hot and should have been designed with a fan.
They did have a fan...
Yeah. All iMacs with tray loading CD ROM drives have a fan. It was the slot loaders that came without a fan. Those are the ones which will have to survive meltdown. All Bondis and fruity tray loaders (like mine) should live on to become veterans of the iMac revolution.  -------------------------- Pizzabox LCs RULE!!!!!!! Warrior maclover5
68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Number of 68ks Liberated: 5 |
Rexzilla
Junior Member
132 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2002 : 23:23:58
I stand corrected...about the fan...another Apple tidbit that I did not know. I learn more things about Apple each day coming over from the "darkside". I use my Apples to calm down after hashing for hours on a windows machine. It is amazing how much performance that you can "squeeze" out of old iron.
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AnubisTTP
Junior Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2002 : 07:08:38
quote:
The Bondi Imacs I would have to nominate too, if any survive meltdown in the coming years. They get quite hot and should have been designed with a fan.
I have a Bondi Imac, and it did melt down.It got very, very hot when it was running. And it had a fan inside. AnubisTTP
68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Macs Liberated:15 |
More on the mac 'look'...
68k of the Week: kastegir's PowerBook 180.