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The Apple iMac is the stuff that dreams are made of. When it was released in 2000 (iMacs were released in 1998, but the current ’slim’ form was introduced in 2002), it was hailed as the best innovation seen in the recent past, and won many accolades for the design innovation.
The original Intel iMac (24″) received CNET’s “Must-have desktop” in their 2006 Top 10 Holiday Gift Picks list. Technology columnist Walt Mossberg described it as the “gold standard of desktop computing”, and Forbes hailed it as “industry-altering success”. No wonder iMacs turn eyeballs wherever it is spotted.
iMac is Apple’s range of home desktop computers. Priced at $1200-1800, iMac is an affordable, yet powerful workhorse. Sporting a single-unit design and sleek finishing that Apple is famous for, it is only natural that you would wish to have an iMac.
iMac, the design marvel
To increase the temptation, I have collected a list of some of the most exquisite iMac setups that I could find, on Flickr. I started out with some ~30 images, but pruned it down to the top 10 for the sake of readability, and also because many of them contained unwanted clutter.
Preference was given to neatness, lack of clutter and any other extras (exquisite lights, backgrounds etc.). The image credit link (on the titles) and short descriptions about the setup (after the image) are also provided. Instead of wasting time with the slow Flickr search, I searched for the images on CompFight, which loads the results via AJAX (meaning no extra pageloads). Enjoy!
Quattro
Wood-panel wall background, classy lighting and a clean desk
dziner
The strong lighting from behind makes for an interesting visual effect
Nathan
A (slightly) older iMac (which is a good thing, since it doesn’t have the ugly black rim around the screen that current iMacs have)
Matt Brett
iMac for work, Xbox360 for gaming and a large, spacious desk – minimalist and clean
anh guan
PC(left) vs iMac(right) – literally
Daines
iMac, the desk and lighting look exquisite
Crouching Donkey
Leopard overload! The black-coloured desk surface is in good contrast with the Apple machines, which creates a beautiful effect
QuattroVageena
iMac, Macbook, and iBook make picture-perfect
Falling Sky
Sideview with near-silhoutte look
bigbold
Not the cleanest of desks, but a iMac, Dell LCD (Ubuntu/iTunes) and PC(runs Ubuntu) won me over
I am an avid surfer of beautiful Apple machines on Flickr. These were my favourites. So, which are your favourite setups? Share it with us in the comments. Would you like to see lists of more beautiful Apple setups? Tell us in the comments.
Awesome pics !…I need to know more about this iMac thing now
( stumbled too )
Look at all that wasted money on aesthetics…
What a shame…
Some of this photo’s are pretty sweet. We’d love to have them submitted to our flickr pool for our blog (see user name…
).
http://www.flickr.com/groups/macgasm
wasted? I can only wonder what type of car you drive if you are concerned about wasted aesthetics. Do you live in a card board box? Do you only wear a potato sack for clothes?
What’s wrong with having something that looks as good as it works?
Dude, that last one has a dell=works iMac set up.
Here is mine, a music setup with a DIY MIDI keyboard drawer and a custom background.
http://jordanbalagot.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/STP81223.jpg
http://jordanbalagot.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/STP81019.jpg
More photos via the website link above.
Absolutley,
If computers are more and more becoming the center pieces of modern homes for more than just computing but for home entertainment as well, they might as well look good.
And accuse me of being an apple fan boy, as much as enjoy the aesthetics, at the end of the day, i just enjoy a computer with a OS that just works.
yawn…. better going to http://www.rickrolling.com than reading this choss
aesthetics are lost on some.
let the aesthetically challenged drones build the bridges the artistically inclined design.
I expected to see some setups, not a computers on desks. I’m a design grad and I have a Mac (in fact my whole house has Macs), but I can’t appreciate something like this. Desk + Mac = Genius!? I don’t get it.
Crapple crapple crapple! Expensive pc with a big lcd.
So, if I turn off the lights in my room and turn the camera 10 degrees and take a shot I have a cook iMac setup?
yes it is beautiful! I watched some of them on marrymillionaire.com. there is a forum about these pics on that club.
if were to get these setups … it wouldn’t last a week …
i dont think i can keep the desk so clean … i dwell in clutter … hehe …
Whoever thinks these chunks of platic look good has no sense of aesthetic.
This is definitely an awesome picture, wish I could put up my setup on flickr to be discovered by this blog. Soon!
Here’s my “setup” it’s more like a dump, but I like it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myownbiggestfan/2397227835/
Sambo: Of course there is tons of wasted money on aesthetics. They’re Mac owners. Wish they actually had a reason to be elitists. Then maybe it wouldn’t piss me off so badly…
Proving once again that Mac owners are nucking futz for Ikea.
Ooooh! Cool masturbation portals, guys!
iWank.
This one’s cool too:
http://flickr.com/photos/sneeka2/4355306/
I prefer my iMac workspace to any of those you listed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekalb/444291503/
If fact now it is much better with the new small wireless keyboard and mouse. Just to the left outside the photo area. My two external drives and cable modem sit on the file drawer under the desk. Easy access and no clutter.
Any desktop machine would look cute in such surroundings. No big deal whether it is a Mac or a Dell.
Matt Brett’s desk is an Ikea ‘Jerker’ model for those who may be wondering. I own two, great desks!
Bob,
Obviously you missed his point. Aesthetics is the only sell point here. *pat*
I must admit, these were pretty nice, but I have definitely seen some amazing ones, quite a bit nicer than these. Keep looking!
Charlie – http://theapblog.com/
amazing collection!
Sorry, but i don’t see anything special on these pics except to little space on the tables. Maybe 1st picture is nice, but that has not anything to do with Mac, it’s just nice pick of colors together?!
What “setup”? You cannot set up an iMac. There is nothing to set up. It’s just an iMac on a desk. Why a Apple users so obnoxious?
“The Apple iMac is the stuff that dreams are made of.”
Dude catch a grip.
A $1200 computer – pretty or not – is NOT “the stuff that dreams are made of”.
Scarlett Johannson, winning a Grammy, becoming an astronaut: THAT’s “the stuff that dreams are made of”.
It’s just some nicely designed consumer electronics, you geek fanboy idiot.
I have the Altec Lansing speakers in photo number two (dziner) they are beautiful to listen to, catch all the highs and lows.
There are some really pretty setups here, I really like the iMac’s compack aesthetic.
i have seen many awesome setups….
here is my desk at work. just because i can.
http://trpublic.com/myspace/large.jpg
http://gallery.mac.com/trpublic#100269&bgcolor=black&view=grid
This is beautiful, some of the setups and desks are extraordinary, want some more
What is so special? Just a bunch of desks with an iMac on it.
The iMacs are nice, but the rest? not really stunning or creative.
@Bob, calm down fanboy. No need to defend yourself on a blog post dedicated to fanboys like you.
Bob,
The problem with having something ‘that looks as good as it works’ is in this case, the massive compromise in performance vs. cost.
Asthetics are fine, but should NEVER get in the way for functionality and performance.
Macs are simply not worth their cost, a PC of the same cost can easily outperform a Mac, and can look a whole lot better (users actually get to choose a style, not just accept the only one available).
Oh, and the right mouse button.
cOwMoO
money is never wasted on aesthetics
It wouldn’t be a problem if Macs worked properly, but unfortunately Macs are just overpriced hardware running an operating system that is terrible in comparison to GNU/Linux.
What are you talking about?? Money wasted on asthetics! If you know anything about productivity you would know how important it is to have a workplace like those shown here.
Good design is about productivity not just how something looks.
The first one is the best.
amazing pics, i would love to have such an inspiring set up – and a machine that is actually able to deliver the goods!
Nerds
Nice!
Are these for work or for decoration purposes? LOL
Glad to see your mac is a piece of furniture…silly mac boys (or girls).
$1200 to $1800 is affordable? On what budget? I didn’t even spend $1100 building my computer, and it has rougly three times the power of a Mac.
Wow…. half of them look like they were taken in shitty college apartments. SweEt SetUp DuDe!!111!111
lame…
Beautiful set up in each photo!
Man, I didn’t see anything special here. Just a total waist of time. Sigh!!!
Oh come on, where’s mine? :-p
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauliusg/407239555/
Wow, these photos are incredibly beautiful, and very inspiring.
The delicate poise of the composition and the dove-white sheen of a beautiful macintosh laptop, exudes an aura of dignified simplicity which has a profoundly emotional effect upon me.
I feel blessed to have found this blog post.
I love the people who think the Mighty Mouse doesn’t have a right button.
It’s like the most of modern architecture. It looks nice in the first place, but it sucks to work in those houses.
what an utter disappointment, I always thought mac users were retarded but this just proves it.
Ikea desks plus iMacs does not equal cool.
rubbish.
Don’t forget to stick your head up your ass first. That’s the second favorite point of perspective for most Mactards after “in Steve Job’s ass”.
like monet.
Seriously? Are you guys for real?
All I see is some furniture from Ikea with an IMac on top and some light effects.
You wana see “Beautiful setups” Check out some of the hottest PC desks. We’ve got ya beat HANDS down.
for example:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8093/cimg011786un4.jpg
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/766/cimg0119ft7.jpg
Gorgeous. But why are all of these sitdown stations? Yall, do yourselves a favor and work standing. Get vertical and do your spines a favor.
For cOwMoO:
I’ve got your right click right here… No really, the mouse that comes standard with every iMac has more functionality than you give it credit for.
http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
This post only reafirms my point that Mac users are such douchebags.
And gay , not that theres is something wrong with that.
Looks great.
Too bad they are macs, or else they would actually be functional!
Funny, more look to aesthetics to cover for our stupidity.
Only goes to show the intelligence of the average Mac user!
“Looks as good as it works”? I’d be impressed if the Mac WORKED as good as it looks, which it doesn’t!
Not to mention- anyone see much of a difference?
There doesnt seem to be much individuality, they are ALL THE SAME FRICKEN STYLE !
One style is not STYLE, its a sheep call!
Here are a couple of mine. I think at least one should have been included :p
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutematt/527382505/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutematt/236600596/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutematt/2111856619/
No doubt. Do you Mac fanboys just sit on a couch and stare at your computers from afar?
Man they just look beautiful.
GOAT……You are the type dude I want to bash in face. With that rickrolling bullshit…..asshat
Great setups!
Reminds me of my college setup before graduation.
Also….why the hell do all of you PC luvin machaters waste your time in here talkin shit? Move on…..I’m a switcher from PC to Mac and the reason was not the aesthetics but MacOS functionality. Go load up your PC’s with antispyware and antivirus and all that Kaka, and leave people alone!
I never understood the fascination with aesthetically pleasing desktop setups. Can’t we all admit we’re just trying to impress other people?
Whether it’s writing a research paper, perusing through facebook, or some light gaming, I want something that’s at the most extremely efficient and functional, and at the least aesthetically pleasing.
The gap between Macs and Windows-based PCs is driven by marketing targets and ridiculous arguments regarding the perceptual senses and their weight with the user. I personally have no desire to work with a “beautiful” PC, as I am more concerned with familiarity, comfort, and functionality. For me, the choice is the WBPC.
At the end of the day, you’ll be happy with what you get because you got it.
Am I missing something? Looks like a bunch of macs on desks? I see absolutely nothing in any of these pics that would call for their own website or collection of pictures. Idea for you guys, get lives…..
I love the people that call it “Mighty Mouse”.
Now if only wouldn’t have taken 20+ years for them to develope a mouse that has some use…
how is this interesting? look at this computer desk… now look at this one….
Yeah, but Bose speakers suck completely. Get some Dynaudio or ProAcs in there and you’d have something…
what a waste of money. wow look at my pretty plastic.
Funk macs.
>It wouldn’t be a problem if Macs worked properly, but unfortunately Macs are just overpriced hardware running an operating system that is terrible in comparison to GNU/Linux.
Yeah!!! Because 2008 is the year of the Linux desktop.
or was that 1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007..
Hell just wake me up with Linux is better than Win 95..
Also get a life nerd, and move out of your mom’s basement..come up and join us in the sunshine..but bring sunblock 3000 because that pasty white skin is going to burn.
So people are taking ordinary pictures of their computers to look at on computers?
Technology scares me sometimes.
anh guan
I assume thhe pc is for graphics, cause it can ACTUALLY display bit color….unlike the imac next to it….
Okay so you guys are commenting on the rooms housing the iMacs ? As if it were a piece of art in an exhibition ?
As much as I enjoy OS X, I always get the feeling I can’t get much real work done on a Mac. Now you folks have confirmed it.
A computer is supposed to be a functional tool, not something you hang on the wall and show off. Perhaps the fact, that Macs cost 3x as much as a like-powered PC, has led you to believe otherwise.
Mac’s are gay.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
Im sorry, but so what? Most of these just look like any other computer desk Ive ever seen but with a Mac thrown in.
I see a could of Apple fanboy Smug on the horizon…
LOL… I see Quake3World.
Nice workspaces.
Jealous?
These all look like mine to some degree… I have to yet to get a picture that does it justice.
Wait… are you serious? Because those are PCs sitting on ugly grey counters…
I think I’m more interested in some of the wallpapers. I like the first one. Can anyone find what/where to get that wallpaper?
As a fellow iMac owner I couldn’t help but notice how many of us opt to buy a Logitech mouse to replace the Mighty Mouse. Right on.
What’s up with everyone saying Mac’s cant perform? These are Imacs, yes, but what about the 8-core Mac pro’s? Do those suck too? The price is high, I agree, but the same goes for vehicles, furniture, food, etc. You pay for class.
And who ever says PC’s look as good as Mac’s because you can “choose” your style is absurd. 90% of PC casings are plastic, with too many hard lines on the front, creak when they move, and look better by the dumpster.
All of this PC support sounds like its coming from people who dont use the computer for design or creative purposes, ie people who care about aesthetic. Sure, your PC plays WoW. Terrific. Good for you.
Hahaha!! “Vageena”! How is it that no one else has noticed that the first guy’s last name is Vageena? Ease up on the peepee contests.
This is the coolest one I’ve seen: http://web.mac.com/shadowdetails.com/ShadowDetailsBlog/Blog/Entries/2008/2/7_What_a_strange_little_place….html
iMac Feng Shui
right mouse button?! are you still stuck in the 90s? as far as cost, macs generally have a lower cost over the life of the computer. they aren’t for everyone though.
Nice setups. Let’s see some Macbook Pro setups
Finally someone who agrees with me that the current iMacs (with the black rim around the screen) look ugly compared to the older white ones.
“the black trim which looks ugly”
I don’t think that is true. I personally like the trim a lot, which really frames the desktop and makes the screen look better visually.
Anyway, I like the first image a lot. Good choice of wallpaper too.
Top of my wish list…
All of them…
Sam
Love Macs…but the setup “Crouching Donkey”, he has three iPods! Since when is one not enough? Crap, why are humans so greedy and wasteful!!!
I only have an Apple Cinema Display hooked to a regular PC but for what it’s worth, here’s my setup
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/2281293826_822435b757_b.jpg
I’m not a Mac person. Nothing really wrong with them, but there’s software I use that they don’t have, and I find the interface a bit kludgy. (Not to say that Windows doesn’t have issues, but that’s for another time.)
That being said, I am extremely jealous of the slimline hardware.
Although these pictures are of the older (g4) imac I still like them. The simplicity of the older design is still very cool: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupin/sets/72157604859571396/
Falling Sky has the tightest setup IMO
Awesome mac setup pics, thanks for sharing.
I love this 4′th one doww!