The Devil's Advocate - The Pyramid iMac [TMO Scoop]
by
- August 26th, 2004
Today a little something new, and old, from Apple. On August 24, 2004, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) issued United States Patent Number D494,971 to Apple Computer, Inc. for a "Display device with a moveable assembly," which was filed on October 3, 2003. This is a division of an application first filed on November 8, 2001. Steven Jobs was the first named inventor along with Jonathan Ive and multitude of others.
This is a design patent for "[t]he ornamental design for a display device with a moveable assembly." We've seen some of the wacky iMac versions Apple considered before. There were the snake and double-hinged iMacs. This latest design combines the double-hinged design with a pyramid base:
Figures from Apple's pyramid iMac patent application
Perhaps Apple thought going with the snake neck on the pyramid would be too thematic? It's not clear what the late October 3, 2003 division filing suggests (i.e., this application was filed significantly after the "sunflower" iMac was released in January of 2002). Does it mean this is a design that's being considered for the next iMac? Doubtful. At least I hope not; it seems rather homely.
Of less fanciful note, Apple also received design patents on its "nose cone" eMac and Aluminum PowerBook designs:
Figures from the eMac and Aluminum PowerBook patent applications
So what relevance does this pyramid filing have? Probably none. I, mostly, like this stuff just to get an idea of how wild Apple is willing to dream these days. And the good news is that they're willing to dream pretty big and wild things. In some ways, Apple is like the Wonka candy factory of the tech world. They develop designs that border on magic and inspire fun, curiosity and interest in what would otherwise be a really boring-as-all-hell industry.
is an attorney. Please don't hold that against him. This work does not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of The Mac Observer, any third parties, or even John for that matter. No assertions of fact are being made, but rather the reader is simply asked to consider the possibilities.
You can send your comments directly to me, or you can also post your comments below.
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The Devil's Advocate Archives
Observer Comments
Thu Aug 26, 2004 6:17 pm Subject: long thought it would be
They pyramid was the next deductable shape Apple would choose. It's not a stretch to think they've found a way to do it.
I just hope, whatever they turn out, they have LOTS of them. The neverending back orders have now worn my patience extremely thin. 4 months waiting for a computer is totally unacceptable. Don't announce the damn things if they're not ready to ship within 2 weeks!
Thu Aug 26, 2004 10:46 pm Subject: make up your mind
QuoteTiger wrote:
They pyramid was the next deductable shape Apple would choose. It's not a stretch to think they've found a way to do it.
I just hope, whatever they turn out, they have LOTS of them. The neverending back orders have now worn my patience extremely thin. 4 months waiting for a computer is totally unacceptable. Don't announce the damn things if they're not ready to ship within 2 weeks!
And then when they do that, people bitch endlessly about ow Apple never talks about stuff in advance. Can't have it both ways.
Nothing Apple does will ever satisfy unreasonable people
Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:55 am Subject: ...and probably still...
...and probably still no "Pivot Screen" iMac.
Yeah, a 16:9 is what you want for watching Pixar movies, but 9:16 is what you want when working on a document.
Especially if you're even thinking about making any inroad back into business...most bosses secretaries aren't editing iMovie files, but are chugging a memo in MS-Word.
-hh
Fri Aug 27, 2004 10:24 am Subject: Expensive arm
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