Apple still has the exact same problem, they just hide it. You may just buy an "iMac" from the store, but you could have purchased an A1224 (EMC 2210) or an A1

Apple still has the exact same problem, they just hide it. You may just buy an "iMac" from the store, but you could have purchased an A1224 (EMC 2210) or an A1224 (EMC 2266). If anything, I prefer model numbers as the model name. This gives me easy strings to google, whereas with Apple products I have to type queries like "Late 2008 Macbook Pro" just to find the actual model number. This is even worse with MBP's. The A1226 MBP had the same EMC code, but the order number denoted the 160GB vs the 120GB HDD. (MA895LL vs MA896LL)