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> The colors screamed "I use a computer but am not a computer person" A huge part of the mac user base at that time were writers/editorial staff and graphic de

> The colors screamed "I use a computer but am not a computer person" A huge part of the mac user base at that time were writers/editorial staff and graphic designers. I don't know if we lump them in the "computer person" crowd as they basically spend their day in front of a computer, but yes, to them the colors were really well received, as a salvation from the beige world they had to deal with. The same way people covered their macbooks in stickers and skins to get away from the uniform metallic gray canvas.

Y-bar 3y ago
I look at all the rainbow RGB blinkenlight cases of your average PC gaming setup and conclude that they too tend to enjoy colourful computer. – "We're not so different you and I"
- TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
  The RGB features on PCs are glued on and honestly rather ridiculous. There's a difference between glued-on extras - which are more like car customisation - and stylish integrated design. A friend of mine used to joke about design-for-men being anything that was black and ribbed - which most PC cases are. If you add RGB to something black and ribbed, it's still black and ribbed - but now it has RGB stuck on it. The curves, colour wraparound, and white translucent plastic of the iMac were the opposite of that. Everything was integrated into a whole - which was actually a nice metaphor for where Apple were trying to go in general.
  - makeitdouble 3y ago
    I think at no time did we have as much choice as now for case styles. Classic and stylish wooden cases, colorful cubes, lab like half transparent white boxes, trapezoidal snow themed open cases [0], basically everything under the sun in a tower format. Ironically, except for macs. Macs only come in solid metalic colors, at best. [0] https://ja.aliexpress.com/item/1005003555409345.html https://ja.aliexpress.com/item/1005003555409345.html
- rsynnott 3y ago
  That’s a relatively new thing, and probably actually influenced by the old iMacs, by way of Alienware.
TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
The bright colours and curvy design were absolutely critical to the iMac. PCs and older Macs were boring, and so were the people who used them and talked about them. So what if it had 253 Megasnerds and an extra fast blibbyblop? It was boring and beige. No one cared. The iMac was exciting and fun, and so was anyone who bought one and used one. You could get a row of them in different colours for your design office, and they'd look stunning. Clients would walk in and literally say "Wow!" The magic worked in any SME office that wasn't trying to look boringly corporate - which turned out to be a lot of offices. Absolute marketing masterpiece to make the design a marketing statement - not just for Apple itself, but for any creative or service provider who bought one.
asdajksah2123 3y ago
Let's not ignore the stoner college kid demographic. You're sitting smoking up in a tiny dorm and the most dominant item almost certainly was your computer. Having it be Bondi Blue colored with beautiful curves made that experience much nicer.

Y-bar 3y ago

I look at all the rainbow RGB blinkenlight cases of your average PC gaming setup and conclude that they too tend to enjoy colourful computer. – "We're not so different you and I"

TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
The RGB features on PCs are glued on and honestly rather ridiculous. There's a difference between glued-on extras - which are more like car customisation - and stylish integrated design. A friend of mine used to joke about design-for-men being anything that was black and ribbed - which most PC cases are. If you add RGB to something black and ribbed, it's still black and ribbed - but now it has RGB stuck on it. The curves, colour wraparound, and white translucent plastic of the iMac were the opposite of that. Everything was integrated into a whole - which was actually a nice metaphor for where Apple were trying to go in general.
- makeitdouble 3y ago
  I think at no time did we have as much choice as now for case styles. Classic and stylish wooden cases, colorful cubes, lab like half transparent white boxes, trapezoidal snow themed open cases [0], basically everything under the sun in a tower format. Ironically, except for macs. Macs only come in solid metalic colors, at best. [0] https://ja.aliexpress.com/item/1005003555409345.html https://ja.aliexpress.com/item/1005003555409345.html
rsynnott 3y ago
That’s a relatively new thing, and probably actually influenced by the old iMacs, by way of Alienware.

TheOtherHobbes 3y ago

The bright colours and curvy design were absolutely critical to the iMac. PCs and older Macs were boring, and so were the people who used them and talked about them. So what if it had 253 Megasnerds and an extra fast blibbyblop? It was boring and beige. No one cared. The iMac was exciting and fun, and so was anyone who bought one and used one. You could get a row of them in different colours for your design office, and they'd look stunning. Clients would walk in and literally say "Wow!" The magic worked in any SME office that wasn't trying to look boringly corporate - which turned out to be a lot of offices. Absolute marketing masterpiece to make the design a marketing statement - not just for Apple itself, but for any creative or service provider who bought one.

asdajksah2123 3y ago

Let's not ignore the stoner college kid demographic. You're sitting smoking up in a tiny dorm and the most dominant item almost certainly was your computer. Having it be Bondi Blue colored with beautiful curves made that experience much nicer.