Which do you prefer, old Apple or new Apple?

[neiltc13]

I've been quite vocal here about Apple's 'new direction' for its hardware designs. I think the first time we saw this was at MacWorld 2007 when the iPhone was unveiled - Apple moved to black and silver. I don't like it. I think it makes the computers look generic and in some cases, ugly.

In particular, I don't like the new MacBook designs. As an owner, I think that the construction is great but I don't see any reason for the black to be there. They could have coupled this great construction with an all-silver design, including a silver keyboard, display rim and hinge.

But as I've been here, I've noticed that very few seem to share my opinion and I have a suspicion that some people like things because they're new or simply because they're from Apple.

Which do you prefer?

 

[Sky Blue]

New.

New iMac is soooo good.

 

[dukebound85]

i for one, am glad the consumer laptop is not made of kiddy looking plastic anymore

such as

or

or even

but now thankfully the new models look more professional

 

[neiltc13]

i for one, am glad the consumer laptop is not made of kiddy looking plastic

I don't mean the material, I mean the appearance.

 

[Blue Velvet]

i for one, am glad the consumer laptop is not made of kiddy looking plastic

BlackBook looked anything but kiddy. Matte finish and had firewire 400. Sad to see mine go.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Awww, man...
That's a very tough one.

I adore the new iMac, and I own a MacBook Pro Unibody, and that is awesome too.
But, I am typing this response on a Mac Pro '08 with 23" ACD (the discontinued one) and I love this setup too!

So, I dunno really. Maybe I like the differences in style. I look at my Mac Pro, then my iPhone then my MacBook Pro and back to my Mac Pro... and think what a wonderful world I live in

 

[NT1440]

I love the look of the new stuff.

Don't get me wrong the older models are stunning, yet seem so....dated at this point.

 

[liquidtrend]

im very mix-match on the topic.

i do not care for the black rims on any model except the imac itself.
as for the laptops and the monitors...i very much prefer the older models.

 

[dukebound85]

BlackBook looked anything but kiddy. Matte finish and had firewire 400. Sad to see mine go.

i agree that the blackbook looks very nice as i have one as well

just that imo, white plastic looks kiddy to me. i guess i should have originally wrote "white plastic or any design that uses translucent materials in the body"

i guess i have a hard time thinking this is professional lol

I don't mean the material, I mean the appearance.

the material certainly plays a role in the appearance

 

[Theophany]

White plastic was awesome when Apple first started doing it. Everything was as one - iPod, iMac, Macbook, docks and IR remotes. Then every consumer-level electronic peripheral and device seemed to be made of white plastic and it was no longer cool. (Except for my white MB, but that's because it's MY white MB )

I just get the feeling the design transition is not complete yet. The white IR remote sticks out like a sore thumb and the white docks look out of place with all the black, glass and anodised aluminium. Even the mighty mouse looks like it's aged now that it is still white plastic.

On the whole, I like the new designs. I was skeptical of the MB and MBP to begin with, but they've grown on me. I wouldn't go so far as to compare the old and the new though. They're designs befitting different times and essentially different machines now.

 

[nick9191]

New iMac
17" Macbook Pro

= Gorgeous, far better than predecessor.

Macbook
15" Macbook Pro
ACD

= Nice, but need slimmer bezel.

The white iMac G5 was just, ugh, yuck. iMac G4 was so much nicer than the white G5/Intel (and still one of Apple's crowning achievements).

 

[NT1440]

I'm SO glad the clear plastic keyboards/mice are dead.

MUCH sexier:

 

[nick9191]

Yeah the aluminium Apple keyboard is the most beautiful keyboard I have ever seen.

 

[curtmm1]

Old Apple

now this was stylin'

 

[j26]

I don't like the black keyboard on aluminium at all.

Apart from that I like the new looks.

 

[OllyW]

Which do you prefer?

To be honest, I think they all look good.

 

[lloydh]

Voted old.

In their time, I think the old machines were more revolutionary/stunning.

Not that I don't prefer my current Mac

 

[bobfitz14]

i like both the old and new Apple Cinema Display's, other than that i like newer stuff better.

 

[iObama]

I like the new stuff because it looks a lot more professional and sturdy. While the BlackBook was very nice, the WhiteBook and the old MBP looked and felt flimsy to me. The new iMac is a stunning piece of hot beauty!

However, I am FLAMING mad that FireWire 400 was removed.

 

[coupdetat]

I liked the goofy Toilet Seat iBook/Flower Power iMac/original iPod era. It was a hell of a lot more interesting than things are now.

*is typing on a Snow iMac G3 *

 

[andreab35]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

In my opinion, I think the iMac looks gorgeous in black and aluminum.
For the MacBook and MacBook Pro... I gotta pass. I really do not care for their new looks.
But in October when they revamped their laptop line, I was so happy they didn't touch the MacBook Air's design.
Now, I sit here with a wonderful and beautiful MacBook Air. I couldn't be happier.

 

[Stuart in Oz]

My Blackbook looked great... until the plastic cover started cracking around the palm rest area.

My wife's whitebook was exactly the same.

So my vote goes for non-cracking aluminium.

 

[edgew8]

I hate pics of the white iMac G5's but I have one in front of me now and I love it to death. It looks better in person imo. The alum iMacs are more photogenic and look just as sexy in real life on your desk .

The silver macbooks where the only ones I thought looked good. I had a silver Viao laptop and loved the look of that and miss it despite that it had XP on it. All the whitebooks and clamshells and new alums have no appeal to me at all.

Call me crazy but the black plastic keyboards Mac made still look good, they had a sort of timeless design to me. The new Chiclet keyboard has a nice shell, but white keys?? yuck.

The apple mice can rot in a landfill for all I care. Microsoft and logitech make a great variety of mice that actually match any mac you have and are waaaaayyyy more comfortable and useful,, and cheaper.

 

[stevo8]

I'm split. There's no option I could really vote for. I like the new iMac and MacBook over the plastic white stuff but the old MacBook pro and aluminum housing display over the current mbp and LCD backlit. Personally I think they should have done a unibody lineup that looked similar to the old mbp(no visable hardware, but no big black bezal) and gone with that and the new iMac for a bit.

 

[ghall]

I was never a fan of the shiny white plastic, so I'd say I'm all for the aluminum.