If I understand what you are saying, the answer is no, Gateway hasn't tried to make a direct copy of the iMac G4. The computer they were comparing to the iMac G4 looked like this:
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Why Have No PC Makers Copied The iMac?
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If I understand what you are saying, the answer is no, Gateway hasn't tried to make a direct copy of the iMac G4. The computer they were comparing to the iMac G4 looked like this:
Apple very likely has "design patents" for the iMac. That means, nobody can make computers that look like an iMac without a license from Apple. Apple won a court case against eMachines a few years ago, when eMachines built a machine that looked too similar to the first iMacs with CRT screen.
That doesn't prevent anyone from building a computer that looks like an LCD screen, just a bit bigger. It just mustn't look like an iMac. (In the past, companies have claimed that any product that does X must necessary look the same as product Y which also does X, which would make it necessary to copy the looks of X. This is very dangerous if the company being copied has good designers. )
And the LCD-based twentieth anniversary mac all-in-one was introduced introduced in May 1997.
The current iMac is just a continuation of the all-in-one Macs that go all the way back to the original.
And the expandability of the all-in-one really haven't changed too much in 20+ years of these Macs either.
They did copy the G3... so much that it caused a lawsuit (I believe)
The eMachines' "iMac"
Although I have to admit, If I were gonna buy another PC, it would be one of these
The eMachines' "iMac"
Although I have to admit, If I were gonna buy another PC, it would be one of these
A big appeal of the Imac is its asthetics as with most apple products. Apple specializes in it and their customers (us) want it. PC customers don't care about that though for the most part. They care about either price or performance so the PC companies don't have a big incentive to make a good all-in-one PC like the Imac.
I had one of these when they first came out:
http://www.monorailcomputer.org/
I used it as a portable.
http://www.monorailcomputer.org/
I used it as a portable.
They did copy the G3... so much that it caused a lawsuit (I believe)
The eMachines' "iMac"
Although I have to admit, If I were gonna buy another PC, it would be one of these
... That was my first personal computer...
Oh my! That is hideous. It appears that they're getting progressively uglier. Not that the computer at the top of this page is lovely, but it's considerably more attractive than the new, "innovative design" of the Profile 6.
Personally, I like the Gateway Profile series.
One area that the Gateway Profile 6 series is much better than the iMac, is access to the innards.
I am hoping that for the next iteration of the iMac, Apple makes a similar design to the current iMac but with an easy to open case. Something similar to the PowerMac G4 Quicksilver models. That would be sweet.
The profile 6's make me want to rip something up. It looks like a teenage techie wanted to make his system an all in one, so he half a**ed everything together. Awful.
My family has a NetVista X41 (the all-in-one at home, and it's pretty sweet. We had an x40 for about two years, and then had(have) the X41 for five. But now XP is slowing to a crawl and I've been trying to convince my parents to replace it with an iMac. We're just going to clean-install it instead (for now).
We've never had a tower, but when I was growing up there was always a computer in the house (and always IBM). And the X41 is pretty sweet-
Sorry for the large image!
Keep in mind the first generation (x40) was out before the 2G iMac. I think this computer is pretty awesome, expecially considering they came out May 2000/Nov. 2001 and the 2G iMac came out in Jan. 2002.
The drive is in the angled horizontal piece: it drops down flat at the push of a button.
Oh, and they discontinued it about two years ago.
-=|Mgkwho
Had a netvista too... those were so cool!
Yeah, I actually laughed out loud when I saw that view from the side where they show how they did it. It's on par with the MS iPod packaging spoof, but this one is actually for real
Man, four grand could get me a couple iMacs.... Sometimes PC makers/users crack me up.
Ugly, but not as bad as the profile six.
Can still get 'em...
Averatec has all-in-ones in addition to their MacBook rip-offs:
http://www.averatec.com/products/inhomeoffice/allinone/All-in-One.asp
http://www.averatec.com/products/portable/thinlight/4100Series.asp
Averatec has all-in-ones in addition to their MacBook rip-offs:
http://www.averatec.com/products/inhomeoffice/allinone/All-in-One.asp
http://www.averatec.com/products/portable/thinlight/4100Series.asp
The all in one isn't too bad. Except for the ugly speakers on top, and the fact that it's more boxy and bulky then the iMac.
The laptop though, I have seen this around school, made me do a double take the first time I saw it. Can't say much about it, they copied the MB pretty well.
The laptop though, I have seen this around school, made me do a double take the first time I saw it. Can't say much about it, they copied the MB pretty well.
i think the lampshade imac made a great Point of Sale computer. ie, when Apple retail used it in their stores. I would love to have one of those for our point of sale in our showroom. But then I need it to run UPS Worldship which is Windows only, and the lampshade iMac is G4. I don't want to bother with emulation.
You can run all your UPS online, it's a bigger pain (its what I do for the company I work for), but would be worth it for an awesome computer... right?
Yes, it would be a **pain** to do UPS online. I would rather just keep it on a PC honestly or if it were an intel mac, just run parallels.
Did we forget the Disney all-in-one PC? Raise your hand if you want one!!
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2004-12-08-baig_x.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2004-12-08-baig_x.htm
Let's not forget about HP's new flagship!
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/computers/desktops/IQ770_series/rts/4/computer_store/RN635AA%2523ABA
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/computers/desktops/IQ770_series/rts/4/computer_store/RN635AA%2523ABA
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What you guys need to understand, is that corporate America does not care about asthetics like we Mac users do.The profile 6's make me want to rip something up. It looks like a teenage techie wanted to make his system an all in one, so he half a**ed everything together. Awful.
Yeah, I actually laughed out loud when I saw that view from the side where they show how they did it. It's on par with the MS iPod packaging spoof, but this one is actually for real
Personally, I really like the current iMac design. Others prefer the flower design. Some prefer the original design. Everyone's taste is different. That is to be expected.
Gateway's Profile 6 is a wonderful solution for IT folks. All-in-One convenience, easy to maintain, small footprint, easy to upgrade display, runs all standard PC compatable software.
If Apple wants to increase their market share, they need to get into corporate America, the Government and DoD. Asthetics will not get you far. Other considerations are more important. My bet is that until Apple chooses to make some designs specifically for corporate America their market share will not increase significantly.