“Gary Ian Reich remembers his first time in lurid detail: The struggle to get home, how he fumbled with the outer layers, his delight with what was concealed, the many lingering caresses in the ecstatic aftermath,” Pete Mortensen writes for Wired News. “Seven years later, it’s hard to describe the 34-year-old photographer from Annapolis, Maryland, as anything but an addict.”
“OK, you could call him a geek, too. Since that first primal moment, Reich has had many more ‘packaging experiences.’ He’s one of the legions of Macintosh and iPod users for whom the elegance of the user interface begins with the bold graphics and sleek texture of the box the new machine comes in. It’s in the smell and the way the box logically reveals each new component just as the user needs it. And, like the famously long-lived Apple Computer products they carry, these aesthetic outer wrappings have a habit of sticking around,” Mortensen writes.
“Legions of Mac users take pictures. Apple users have a particular fascination with online photo galleries of other users unwrapping the latest company products, often with a smiling model performing the geek striptease one USB cable at a time,” Mortensen writes. “Such galleries occasionally pop up for other tech products, but with less staying power. Photos of an iBook opening, on the other hand, can circulate on the net for years.”
Full article here.
Uh, oh. We just glanced around our palatial headquarters and see several boxes that are what could only really be termed “on display.” There are multiple boxes for multiple versions on Mac OS X, of course, many Apple software boxes, at least three iPod boxes for various models, a couple of Mighty Mouse boxes (why we need duplicates is beyond us, but we do – and, no, we’re not throwing them out), Airport Base Stations, Apple displays, and boxes for Power Macs, iMacs, and PowerBooks, to name just a sample. Curiously, the packaging for the likes of Samsung monitors, Epson scanners, HP printers, Belkin USB hubs, etc. are nowhere to be found. Yikes! Do you have an Apple packaging fetish, too?
I still have my iMac and both iPod boxes. My LCII box disappeared though. (I’ll have to talk to my wife about that)
It’s crazy… but I have to confess, yup it’s true… I am a closet Apple Carton-a-holic. There I said it, it’s the first step to recovery they say…
Jb
granted it isn’t anything like the boxes now.
GO MACCPLE!
they aren’t on display, but they are the only packaging boxes that I save. But that’s because unlike most computer electronics, Apple products hold their value, and I know that there’s a good chance I can sell them on ebay if I need too.
whilst waiting for my new powerbook to be delivered i would trawl the net looking for galleries of ‘powerbook unwrapping’ – and they were out there!!!
when it finally arrived i got a couple of friends over and unboxed it very very very very slowly…
its cr-rr-r-r-r-r-rrr–r-r-r-rrr-azy!!
Yes, I do
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So where’s my 12-step help program and support group?
Nothing quite beats the packaging for the 3rd generation iPod. It was the most complete package ever.
iPod
dock
charger
belt clip case
black carrying bag
earbuds
firewire cable
Too bad they’ve had to cut corners… It was a complete user experience opening up that box. The nano bag is a nice touch though…
I still have my powermac G3 and G4 packages along with 3 generations of iPods. And my Aluminum Powerbook G4 box is a JEWEL, of which I shall never part.
/I need to get out more.
Hi, my name is Shawn *pause for group retort* and I, too, am an Apple packaging addict.
I have two mouse boxes (one white Apple pro, one black Mighty Mouse) attached to my corkboard next to my design station.
They just look like they should be on display. They deserve the attention and affection. Who am I to deny them a proper presentation?
I get the same rush opening a new pack of toilet paper.
Ecspecially my favorite brand, iPoop.
Mr. Powers, with all those -r’s I think you need to check your disk permissions!!!
c´mon, who doesn´t have the boxes for all their electronic equipment? you keep it in case you have to take it back and then you forget it.
and then you continue to keep it so that when you sell it on ebay you can say it has its original box…and easier to pack and ship that way.
this is not special for apple packaging.
For Christ’s sake! Unplug and get a life, it’s just a freaking box. I cut mine up and used it for kindling in the wood stove.
Yes, I to keep my Apple boxes and have just taken pictures and loaded them onto my ipod nano. The Apple packaging is just very classy. I cant see myself keeping and taking pictures of a Dell box (or the computer either).
A year ago someone posted unwrapping photos of his G5 on the web, and he included a picture of the Fed Ex guy taking it off the truck!
rob
I work for a small publishing company that’s been around since 1970. They have most of the packaging from all the Apple/Mac products they’ve ever bought (a bunch) sitting in various closets and such around the place. I’ve always wanted to gather it all together and take some pics.
I still hav the packaging from all of the stuff I’ve personally bought. I hate to say it, but the iPod and iSight boxes are on display, so are the software boxes. I had some empty shelves, and they fill them nicely. Plus, I paid for it, so I might as well use it.
I still have the cool box my t-shirt came in at the Shadyside grand opening. It is a tall square box that opens kinda like a flower.
i just threw out my Mac OS 9.2 carton a couple of months ago. (eek!)
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I’ve still got the box my Performa came in.
Ted –
I agree – I was really impressed by the packaging of my 3G iPod. I kept the box for several months, but eventually put it in the recycling bin like I do for most other boxes.
I have kept the box for my PM G4 and my Powerbook (refurb) but that is mainly so I could ship or move them easily if needed.
“For Christ’s sake! Unplug and get a life, it’s just a freaking box. I cut mine up and used it for kindling in the wood stove.”
!!??… You sick bastard! … Oh my god, I think I am going to throw up…
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guilty.
guilty as charged also, I even have boxes of replacement battery packs and ac power adapters!!
Honestly, I still have the original box, packaging, books and disks that came with my SE. And yes, the SE still works after twenty years. I maxed it out with 4 mb of RAM! The 20 mb HD seemed vast when it was new.
:o)
MeaCulpa:
Well, I did wait a couple of months to make sure all parts were working ok, (’cause if you got to send something back they like the original box), but let’s face it, as much as I like my Mac, it’s not my freaking religon.
This topic is just way to easy to insert my usual sexual innuendo, so I’ll be silent.
Hey guys, you know how much the packaging costs right?
Think about it – an iPod costs $200, but really, it’s only $20, and the packaging is $180.
hehehehe
But we love your innuendo iDon’t, so don’t start holding back on us now…
I have to admit that I was a bit like that when I opened the iPod packaging for the first time. (Scary thought;)!) I still have the iPod box (20GB)
i put all my apple boxes on my bed, then get naked and roll around in them.
could i be a bit disturbed??? does anybody know a good box cleaner?
Apple product boxes shamelessly on my bookcase…10 GB iPod, 60 GB iPod, iSight, Tiger…I can take the geek heat
I think i have the box my free t shirt from the store opening came in. It wasn’t just a box, (altho many places would probably have just had them in bags). The box was sort of an origami affair, a longish rectangular cubey thing that unfolded into a circle with some flaps. No glue or staples or anything. Even the iPod shuffle packaging shows some thought.
MW -‘cars’ as in I can’t wait for pixar’s “Cars” movie
“but let’s face it, as much as I like my Mac, it’s not my freaking religon.”
BLASPHEMY!!!!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”shock” style=”border:0;” /> Who’s got a lighter?
Guilty here too. I’ve taken it further. I still have all the cellophane. And, to make matters worse, when I got my iMac G5 Rev B, I cut around (neatly) the cellophane on my keyboard to keep the back covered to prevent scratches. I did the same on the steel “foot” of the iMac.
Those of you who have the really old boxes, sell them on eBay and I’m sure you can get some good cash. Sell them with the computers, and watch the collectors flock
::: hugs his cellophane :::
But the only way you’ll get mine is if you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!
Sad but true…I feel the same way as the writer.
I felt bad cutting the UPC off the box of my new 60 gig iPod 1 month ago for the $179.00 student mail in rebate.
Lame it is…lame.
I have my G5 PowerMac box in that attic for when it needs to be moved.
I have a PowerComputing t-shirt (“fight back for the Mac”) I wear when I’m doing yard work. My Applet-shirt is now a paint rag.
The way some folks get all hot’n’bothered about Apple products, you figure if Apple put a solenoid in an iPod nano, it might be the fastest selling vibrator of all time.
Hmmm, a vibrating iPod nano playing Steely Dan…..
Somebody might think that’s something to get excited about!
I was playing some Steely Dan on my nano yesterday, but it doesn’t vibrate – it has no moving parts ; )
I bought a refurbished 15 inch Al PowerBook 1.25 GHZ Superdrive from Apple almost 2 years ago and it was shipped in a plain brown box. I am still bummed about that to this day. 1) I need a life if that bums me out and 2) If anyone has that box, I will buy it from you.
I bought tiger online and they sent it too me in an envelope without a box. I can’t express how disappointing that was.
Yep, I keep all the Apple product boxes iMac G5 rev B, Ipod G4, iPod nano, and iPod nano armband. Very very nice box indeedy!
Hey …. I still have an original Mac Plus Box with the OS box, Plus, Keyboard, Mouse, manual. Wonder what it’s worth now that I think about it. Am I sick for keeping this around?
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I am not a sick person. There is a perfectly good reason I still have my MacII box. Oh, and the iMac boxes… and the iBook box…
Oh,I see what you mean
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cheese” style=”border:0;” /> Jobs help me!
oh my, I’m caught… I’ve re-opened my empty ipod box a couple times to regain the wonder
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> ~ my iMac g5 box still takes up much needed room in my office
Aesthetics, man. It’s all in the aethetics! That’s the feel you get from anything Apple, the care and attention to detail. Not only the way the item is boxed but the design on the box, it’s the presentation that’s what I appreciate. It’s like getting a bottle of perfume from a boutique. It just reeks of quality.
My wife makes a comment almost weekly along these lines: “Why do we need all these boxes stacked in the closet?”
I just can’t bear to part with them… and to a certain extent the PowerMac G5 and Cinema Display boxes will be great to pack the computer up when we move.
What I can’t defend is the boxes of miscellaneous accessories… iPods, wireless keyboard, Base Station, etc. Yet they remain!