DetroitArtist.org

The year 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of the iMac, the computer that changed everything at Apple, hailing a new design era spearheaded by design genius Jonathan Ive. What most people don’t know is that there’s another man whose products are at the heart of Ive’s design philosophy, an influence that permeates every single product at Apple, from hardware to user-interface design. That man is Dieter Rams, and his old designs for Braun during the ’50s and ’60s hold all the clues not only for past and present Apple products, but their future as well:

When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Rams—many of them at New York’s MoMA—and compare them to Ive’s work at Apple, you can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design “honest.”This passion for “simplicity” and “honest design” that is always declared by Ive whenever he’s interviewed or appears in a promo video, is at the core of Dieter Rams’ 10 principles for good design:• Good design is innovative.• Good design makes a product useful.• Good design is aesthetic.• Good design helps us to understand a product.• Good design is unobtrusive.• Good design is honest.• Good design is durable.• Good design is consequent to the last detail.• Good design is concerned with the environment.•Good design is as little design as possible.Ive’s inspiration on Rams’ design principles goes beyond the philosophy and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh, true classics that have survived the test of time.The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes uncanny, others more subtle, but there’s always a common root that provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but also with a close familiarity.

Braun Atelier TV and latest iMac 24

[via Gizmodo.com]

Axiotron, Inc., together with distribution partner Other World Computing, is drawing huge crowds at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco this week, as attendees flock to take its new Mac OS X-based “ModBook” tablet computer for a test run.

…Each ModBook starts off as a MacBook Core 2 Duo but undergoes a surgical operation where its original display and keyboard are severed, then replaced with a new 13.3-inch Wacom pen enabled widescreen display set in a chrome-plated magnesium top shell.

…Meanwhile, the tablet retains all of the hardware features of the current Apple MacBook line, such as a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an integrated camera and CD/DVD combo drive.

…Additional configurations include such options as: an Axiotron ModBook GPS Module, 2 year warranty extension plans, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, up to 160GB (5400-RPM) or 200GB (4200-RPM) hard drive, 6x or 8x DVD±RW and CD-RW slot-load combo drive.

…During Macworld and until January 31st, Other World Computing is offering the complete ModBook base configuration plus the built-in Axiotron GPS Module at a Special Introductory Price of $2,199.

[summarized from an article via AppleInsider]

I’ll let this pedophile give you a brief overview:

My honest opinion, this is worth it to the digital artist. Axiotron has masterfully encased all the horse power into a rugged, responsive tablet that will make it possible for a designer on the go to effectively implement their concepts. Think efficiency when it comes to work group and quick input/output; you can slide it across the table to your mate and they can quickly jot down adjustments or additional comments with speed and precision. The addition of the Inkwell keyboard free software that comes installed makes the package an undeniable competitor against the macbook line up.

The price isn’t disputable, in fact it’s relatively cheap for an after market mac modification. I’m guessing they have good channel for the base system parts, or they resale the scrap to apple or even ebay.

Axiotron Modbook Homepage

Be the first on your project block: Buy One from macsales

Elgebar Studios’s DockColor is an application that allows you to change the color of Leopard’s new shelf dock. It’s fresh and simple

Or perhaps if you’re not a fan of the 10.5 shelf dock, you can remove the dock all together.