Which do you prefer, old Apple or new Apple?

[Patrick327]

I like the old notebooks a lot more than the new ones. I have a 2007 MBP and I think it looks a lot cooler. I like how it has a button under the trackpad, how it doesn't have a black bezel, how sturdy the display is (it can stay up at any angle), and how the keyboard matches the aluminum finish. The only things I like about the new one are its magnetic latch and its lack of that plastic rim.

I think the plastic consumer level notebooks had their own charm. Now they just look like little, firewire-less MPBs.

I like the new iMacs way more than the older white ones, though. I think the bezel actually looks good on them and the aluminum construction looks far better than the plastic did.

 

[suburbia]

Love, love, love the retro-space age look and vibe of the shiny all-white plastic and the sleek minimalism of the all-aluminum design. So older Mac all the way.

 

[garybUK]

I believe Apple changing their name from 'Apple Computer' to 'Apple Inc' has gone deeper than just a name change.

The 'New' 24" monitor just looks like any from HP, the notebooks don't stand out as much as they used to, with the silver base and black keys / black screen they look like a lot of other nokebooks out there.

Not that standing out is anything to base a decision on but i think they have gone a lot more consumer and the price premium is getting harder and harder to justify, and OSX isn't worth that much imho. (Especially with Windows 7 just around the corner).

 

[TheReef]

I never liked white…it only worked for the early pearl iBook G3s and iMac G4 IMO (favorite design).

I saw the new macbooks the other day in store, not fond of the thick black bezel. However I think the new iMac looks better in alu/black.


My favorite design has been the full aluminum look, eg PowerBook G4 and PowerMac G5/Mac Pro.

+ Blackbook
+ PowerBook G3 (bring back swappable bays)
+ Black Performa 5420 (PCI in a consumer product! )

 

[Melrose]

The 'New' 24" monitor just looks like any from HP, the notebooks don't stand out as much as they used to, with the silver base and black keys / black screen they look like a lot of other nokebooks out there.

Not that standing out is anything to base a decision on but i think they have gone a lot more consumer and the price premium is getting harder and harder to justify, and OSX isn't worth that much imho. (Especially with Windows 7 just around the corner).

I can at least agree with the first statement about the notebooks not being as distinct as they once were - I really like the look of my previous-gen MBP: The squarish, all-silver look. It's distinctive, it's Mac. I disagree about the price point not being worth the OS, but that's another story..

I read yesterday about the difference between Win7b and OS X. It was interesting, really.

 

[LordOfTheMacs]

I do like the new designs,but the G3 clamshell I am typing on is really nice to me. White, Black, Aluminum and Titanium (plus any colorful 98-03 translucent macs) tend to capture my iSight (hehe,corny pun) better than a new MBP. When I boot into a clamshell or see a Cube or MDD or the older macs at school, they remind me that computers are more than tools,but beautiful aesthetic masterpieces that make computing fun. The new designs are like Toyotas Camry. They are great and sleek cars, but the timeless and eye-catching look of the VW beetle is way nicer to look at. When my mom looks at my iBookClamshell she says things like ,''Genius,a handle. Wish my MBP had that.'' and ''That is so cool looking''. Just my 2 cents

 

[Hartel]

The new designs really seem to tie all of Apple's products together. Before it seemed there was a mixture of transparency, polycarbonate, and aluminum. But now with the aluminum and black it seems Apple is on a track toward unity in its line up.

However, the one thing I do not like is the cables, and accessories. My Time Capsule and Cords to connect my MacBook are still Polycarbonate white and look so out of place with my aluminum setup. Make the cords black and we will be gold.

 

[student_trap]

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?

with you all of the way. I thought I was on my own in not looking forward to keynotes as they only seemed to bring about the replacement of better-for-worse design.

Cases in point...

- glossy screen will make products a no go for me, the eyestrain I get from glossy is awful
- lack of firewire on the macbooks...i mean really
- black + silver = clutter, for some reason this combo reminds me of PC's

What I particularly enjoyed...

- All silver design (i'd like to note that the one update to apple products that i have really enjoyed is the new keyboards, the silver and white a re great as they match my desk and 23" ACD), like my mac pro, ACD, MBP or Powerbook
- The all white designs. In my opinion, the imac has got steadily worse since its G4 iteration, with the silver/black far worse than the G5/early intel versions

 

[Benguitar]

I like the new Apple, I think their products look more professional and they are built better (unibody).

I personally love the Silver/Black look.

 

[ChristophK]

The newer ones just seem alot more sexy to me. I have allways though macs were really sexy. But, tahts just me.

 

[DiamondMac]

New bar none

Older ones were fine but the newer, slicker models fit me so much better and feel a lot "cooler"

 

[Doctorzongo]

I like the aluminum ones (beside the old Mac, with the swivel head.) That said, I wish we still had the clamshell

 

[Project Alice]

the only thing i have to say about the macbooks is that apple needs to be slapped really hard for taking firewire off the macbook, otherwhise i love the design.

i really miss the clear plastic keyboards and the mouse even more.

 

[harry20larry]

I prefer the aluminium styling.
There has got to be a point when a design company has gotto change tacks, apple had basically done all they could with the white plastic, and needed to change this about. Not only do i think the new alu body's make their products look more aesthetically pleasing, i think it makes them look more professional too, and more structurally sound. Apple always said that their pro products were made out of alluminium.

 

[SFStateStudent]

I'm torn b/c the MBP Classic is pretty awesome, while the Aluminum unibody looks great except for the cheeezzzyy black bezel and the horrible glossy screen...

 

[Denholm]

Aluminium and Glass

Such attractive design has never been seen in the PC universe. Jon Ive is an amazing industrial designer.