iMac blasts
beige-box boredom

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Cars, forget it. If it's not a Jeep or a Bug or a Miata, I can't tell them apart. We live in an age when four-door coupes are committee-designed to look as anonymous as possible. Really -- can you tell a Tercel from a Camry from a Saturn from a Civic from a Sentra?

There was a time when the new year's car designs were a big deal. Fins! Chrome! Woody panels! Oldsmobiles looked like heavy Detroit iron; Chevrolets had that cookie-cutter utilitarian feel; Volkswagens were obviously tooled by gnomish Black Forest craftsmen. Each manufacturer had a "look."

Which brings us to the introduction this week of the redesigned Apple iMac. Alone of all the computer makers cranking out plastic beige boxes, Apple understands that design isn't just about looks, it's about functionality. The new iMac is brilliant because it interfaces with the user in way that's comfortably ergonomic. It's an old slipper.

The new iMac bends to us, instead of us accommodating to the design. There's hope in beige-box design after all. And it looks cool.

Burl Burlingame

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