“That loud crashing sound you heard on Monday was the sound of thousands of Mac users smashing their piggy banks needed to pre-order Apple Computer Inc.’s new Power Mac G5 towers,” writes David Zeiler for The Baltimore Sun. “Confirming weeks of increasingly frenzied rumors on Mac Web sites, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs delivered the news during his keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Jobs declared the top-of-the-line model, sporting two IBM-made G5 processors running at 2 gigahertz, ‘the world’s fastest personal computer.'”
Zeiler writes, “The Power Mac G5 is a totally redesigned tower with an internal architecture crafted to take maximum advantage of the new chip’s power. While the casual Mac user may wonder what the fuss is about, the new G5 Power Mac is the machine for which pro users (as well as home users with a penchant for power) have waited for more than a year. And almost every advance in technology introduced in Apple’s pro lines eventually migrates to its consumer lines.”
“The arrival of the G5s, to start shipping on Sept. 2, should reverse the declining sales trend Apple’s pro desktop line has experienced in recent quarters. Even with the general economy still struggling, demand for these new Macs should be strong,” writes Zeiler.
Zeiler fails to appreciate the minimalist design (perfect in every way, we say) of the Power Mac G5’s case, writing, “The Power Mac G5 tower’s only negative is its case, which lacks the grace and beauty typical of Apple hardware. Some already have dubbed the machine the “cheese grater” after the aluminum screen grille on the front face. The squarish aluminum case looks more like a high-tech miniature refrigerator than a computer, and in some ways it is. No less than nine fans cool the innards of the machine, with the internal case divided into four separate cooling zones. Apparently, heat dissipation took priority in the design of the G5. So it may not win any design awards, but for the pro crowd clamoring for speed, speed — and still more speed, the Power Mac G5 delivers.”
MacDailyNews Take: The Power Mac G5’s case is perhaps Apple’s greatest triumph ever in industrial design. And those who give design awards will prove Zeiler totally wrong. The Power Mac G5 will win every design award for which it is considered.
Yes, this design will be heralded soon enough. The fact you can pop off the side panel, leave the clear plastic cover in place and gawk at the work of art inside is something all these commentatros seem to be forgetting about.
Not that it matters. The Powerbooks we’re called boring at first too, then people began to appreciate it’s design. Much like everything else Apple does it’s design is ahead of it’s time, both internally and externally.
I’ve had occasion to open the side of my 867 Quicksilver and poke around in it. I appreciate the ease of access, and my knuckles appreciate the space too. From the pictures of the G5 that I’ve seen on the web, it looks like it is a much more crowded space. I hope it will be as easy to work on as the PowerMac G4s are.
The PC ripoff look-alikes will be out before Christmas…
Well, the RAM is hidden behind the processor fans, but they’ve thought of this. The fans do not have cables attached. They plug into fixed pwer outlet directly.
The drives should be easy to upgrade too. They supply rails to attach to the drives and then they just slide into place.
Remember tht the iMac was dubbed the iLamp and ridiculed for its looks when it was announced. The new enclosure is not as nice to look at as a Quicksilver, but if it’s half as quiet as a current G4, then the design has been a success.
Tryue, it may not win style awards, but it has a shot at design awards.
“it may not win style awards, but it has a shot at design awards.”
Style or Design. Same difference if you ask me.
-Zack
http://www.macpulse.com/
the test is: take a look at Apple’s old desktop boxes, suddenly they begin to look a bit dated, tired, twee even. Take a look at the ‘leaked’ (so-called) designs from last week – see how ridiculously ‘old-hat’ they look compared with the real G5. Apple has not only lead-frogged the competition – it has leap-frogged its user base too! This will be seen as a hard-working yet stylish classic. It has a slight hint of industrial retro (drawing inspiration from a 1950’s valve amp, maybe), yet uses modern materials to their maximum advantange. What’s new, the new philosophy these boxes convey so sleekly, is ‘real power has no need to pretend’.
It doesn’t look like a computer. Since when did Apple care if it looked like other computers ie. pc boxes. He totally misses the point Apple make beautifull things not the usual beige shit. I for one think this G5 will win many top awards. It’s design its awesome.
“MacDailyNews Take” LOL, stop being such a blind Mac zealot. The case might be “simplistic, minimalistic design”… whatever, the case is UGLY and looks REALLY outdated. The holes in the front will prove to be a major problem with a lot of people, when dust, liquid and other extraneous objects make it inside the case. This is the worst design ever by Apple, Ive and co.
No problem with the styling for me except why did they have to make it 3 inches taller than the than the G4s. Most of the added height seems to be in the handles. I’m gonna have a real problem getting these in my crowded server closet without sawing off those handles.
To CV: I could point you to some dealers in my city if you need some new crack to smoke…
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The G5 is the best looking tower Mac I’ve seen so far. Besides, if it is indeed quieter than the current generation of Tower Macs, who cares how it looks!?!?!?
You were hoping for a clear plastic butterfly or something? Apple is making a statement with a design that is industrial, sleek and functional. I have a quicksilver, and it feels like a really expensive Transformer toy. Vive Aluminum, just release the second generation, I was hoping for dual 3.0ghz.
I think the design is simply ugly. It looks OK from the side, but the front looks awful. One of those ‘leaked’ (er…I mean ‘faked’) cases was done better in that it put the ports on the side towards the front. If they need 9 flippin fans to cool the processors, how are they ever going to get the G5 into a powerbook? The answer is that they shouldn’t need that many fans. They should design towers using some of the same principles as laptops–(1) make them thin to reduce heat transfer length scales and (2) let the walls get hot. Geez–it doesn’t matter if the wall of your G5 tower gets really, really hot. It does matter if your laptop bottom gets really really hot. But they let the G4 laptops get hot but not the G4 case walls. Makes no sense to me. I’m sure Jonathan Ive is a real nice guy, but I’m sick of him overstating the simplicity of the Apple designs. Apple botched the G5 in a number of ways. They’re still fighting the megahertz-myth, they raised their prices instead of lowering them (hey, wasn’t the 970 chip supposed to be cheaper than the G4?), and they made an enclosure which is butt-ugly. Sorry, I’m an Apple zealot for the most part. But even I am not so blind as to think they pulled off another brilliant piece of design and engineering. The good news is that the G4’s are cheaper than ever and still booting in OS 9!
Stop arguing – beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some like it, some don’t.
‘Nuff said.
From what I’ve read, the G5 probably won’t make it into the Powerbook until the 980 series is available. By that time they’re supposed to be running much cooler and be much smaller. I think that may coincide with the 3gig chips too, but I’m not sure. At any rate, the 15″ PB is going to have to be updated soon because the current inventory is just about gone, so maybe they’ll go up to 1.42 ghz?
As for the G5 cases, personally I like them. I don’t love them, but I really like the aluminum, and I think the face will grow on me. One thing I do like about them is that they look very industrial, and I remember when the original B/W G3s came out, and the G/W G4s after that, a lot of “business” people complained because they looked too funky. I think this minimalist approach may help that out a little. But regardless, it’s all subjective, to each his own.
Yeah, yeah, and the original PowerMac G3 was ugly because it had rounded plastics and COLOR! Opinions are like bung holes, everyone has one. Besides, who cares what the box looks like? With this kind of power, if it was ugly (which it ain’t to me) I’d hide the thing under my desk and rely on the beauty of OS X.
Non-issue, nothing to see here, move along.
I think the design is quite cool. (Literally).
Its obvious that the speed of the system took presidence in the design of the case and the new chips need the most advanced cooling system possible in order to provide the APPLE RELIABILITY/DURABILITY all of us expect.
My response to anyone whining about the appearance is simple:
If you buy computers based on the look of the case, this machine is totally out of your league anyway, Stick to the consumer level stuff and leave the pro systems like the G5 to those of us who earn our living creating things on our Macs.
On our professional priority list, the look of the case falls somewhere down around #27 next to the color of the powercord.
Firstly, and not really meant as a slam but just a correction to Way Off’s first sentence: “Yeah, yeah, and the original PowerMac G3 was ugly because it had rounded plastics and COLOR!” The first G3 PowerMac’s were beige minitowers, desktops, and the Molar (G3 AIO).
Secondly, and this is a slam to MacDailyNews and all of the other websites that do the same… Why do I have to scroll all of the way to the bottom of the comments to view the first one. This is so stupid it boggles the mind. Here in the western hemisphere we read things from left to right, top to bottom, not left to right bottom to top. One should be able to go right from reading the article to reading the first comment.
It looks like a “Cheese Grater” and not a computer? Since when is this guy the authority on how a computer should look? Who dictates what a computer should look like? Dell? IBM? HP? Oh, please, spare me the self righteous, shallow-minded crap!
Woz built and designed his own computer, its sequel, the Apple II, was even better…did anyone bash him for NOT making it look like a toaster oven?
What a stupid remark you made!
Its nice to see a computer company place case design on equal R&D billing with Motherboard architecture. Unlike Dull(Dell) and some other CHEAP PC manufacturers.
Rediculous!
definitely a let-down in the looks department is the G5.
i am a proud owner of both beige and b&w g3 macs. the only real gripe i had with the case design (and it is a minor one… one that i only started noticing after years of use) was that opening the sides to add or upgrade parts took up a little bit of workspace. i had to move stuff around before i could open the case, which i did often for a while when i was tweeking and upgrading the machines like a mad man due to g4 envy. it really isn’t that big of an inconvenience but i bring it up only because the new side door on the g5 takes care of this problem in an almost obvious and simple way. and i am a great fan of simple and efficient solutions.
the modular cooling fans, the clear internal plastic cover that channels air efficiently over parts, drives, and heat sinks, and the so-called “cheese-grater” front and rear grilles tells me that jonathan ive and his design team went to great lengths to create this product. it is something designers will truly appreciate… the typical mac users.
i highly recommend reading wired news’ impromptu interview of jonathan ive. i think my brother put it best when he said mr. ive sounded like a formula 1 car designer as he explained every thought and detail that went into the design of the case. how many pc case designers can explain the reasoning behind every inch of their handiworks, other than saying “well, it looked cool?”
personally, i love the design. the g5 case is a far cry from the original iMacs, which nearly everyone likened to a kid’s toy. the g5’s case is a great example of form following function. the powermac g5 is a tool, a cold metallic weapon that means serious business. it is apple’s response to those who still think that macs aren’t serious machines.
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,59381,00.html
… my two cents. (^_^;;)
This is one of the best looking PowerMacs I’ve ever seen… I like brushed aluminium and “minimalistic” design. My guess is that this design won’t get very quick dated and people will start to love it!
IT’S THE GREATEST LOOKING POWERMAC DESIGN EVER period!
Hmmm…. at first glance, it does seem to have a boring “cheese grater” look to it. But hey, who cares, that’s no big deal. But better functionality _IS_ a big deal. Does this G5 deliver?
It has some front panel access, which is good. It looks more crowded inside, though. Someone else commented it was _bigger_ than the G4…. that’d be bad, bad.
It needs to be smaller, cooler, lighter, quieter, faster, more accessible and more durable, inside and out. Form follows function. Style follows design.
Well, we know it’s faster. Is it otherwise a good design, efficient and effective? If yes, then I expect the look of it will grow on us rather well.
All this whining, including the benchmark debate is just a smokescreen from the PC weenies in the press because they got their butts kicked by the G5 in the real world tests run during the keynote. That Photoshop comparison was hilarious! Not that any serious graphics professional would use a Windows machine to run PS anyway, it was still amusing to watch.
As far as the looks go…Notice that the same jokers in the press who were bashing the first iMAC/G3 and G4 because of the style and color are now bashing the G5 because it looks TOO FUNCTIONAL! ??
Apple will never win with these people and frankly, I don’t think they (Apple) care what the PC zealots think. Those folks have their heads buried so far up MS and Intel’s backside that they wouldn’t know a better choice in computing if their nerdy lives depended on it. Its too bad that they sell their readship down the virus infested, cluged river along with them.
For the rest of us, I am sure most Mac users who truly need the power of the G5 will buy one whether they like the new look or not. Power Windows users who are fed up with the PC platform and seriously looking for a more rewarding computing experience should find a lot to like in the G5.
I think it ROCKS and I wouldn’t doubt the suggestion that it will likely grow on most of those complaining right now.
Just you wait..Three years from now all the PC makers will be copying the G5 case, just like they are copying the G4 case today.
What is a computer suppost to look like?!!
(lead and never follow)
the g5 powermac is a solid beautifully designed piece of machinery. you just know some dumbass pc compnay like dill or hewlett picknard will come out with a copied mesh casing crap plastic wannabe piece of garbage. i say screw them and their hideous os.