The new look

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its new, highly anticipated iMac. The design matches what many had expected--a sleek, compact package built on the company's flat-panel display. In recent months, designs for desktop computers have been overshadowed by the look and feel of the company's iPod digital music player. Apple's response? Let the iPod designers take the reins. Here is what they came up with.

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Apple's innovative design

More than probably anything else, Apple is known for its design. The company pays attention to aesthetic details other computer makers ignore, including hinges, on-off switches and even the innards of the PC. That ethic has helped the company establish a profitable niche in the market, even as its share of the PC universe has declined. The company is seen as a trendsetter beyond the computer industry, with its candy-colored iMac having led to a wave of goods in such colors. More recently, the company's shift to white and metal has redefined the state of electronics chic.

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iMac's evolution

The iMac's 1998 debut launched Apple back into profitability and established the company as a leader in innovative product design. Since then, the iMac has seen several costume changes, moving from an all-in-one device in every imaginable color to a computer that looks more like a desk lamp than a PC. Continually proving that computers need not be simply utilitarian but can be fashionable too, the iMac has developed a devoted customer base. Those fans have been waiting on the edges of their seats to see what the next stage in iMac's evolution would be.

• Time.com Apple's new core
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PC evolution

Today's PCs are a far cry from the bulky beige boxes they once were. PC designers, charged with balancing form and function in every product, constantly adapt to changes in both technology and culture. As PC technologies advance, designers can fit far more hardware into a smaller package, but the space savings can be offset by consumer demand for more standard features, requiring more internal drives and ports to any number of peripherals. At the same time, Apple has set a high standard for the look of a home computer, ditching the old beige box for something sleek and stylish. As the market forces other PC makers to follow suit, the home computer as we know it is, no doubt, on the verge of a dramatic makeover.

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Industrial design

Looks are far more important than engineers like to admit. Logitech CEO Guerrino DeLuca has said that the success of optical mice can be attributed not to performance, but to the little red light. The Palm V became a standard through thinness. Still, it's not easy. For every success, there is the Audrey from 3Com and the cube computer from Apple. Experts here try to divine what's hot and why.

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All-in-one computers

Many PC makers attempted to follow Apple's lead with the iMac, which integrated all the major components--the processor, hard drive and so forth--into the back of the display. Some followed too closely and were sued, while others, such as Gateway and Micron, arrived to find a tepid market for Windows-based all-in-ones. Despite the slow sales, innovation has continued, most recently with Gateway's 610 Media Center PC, which is built around an LCD TV screen.

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Videos

A closer look at the iPod Mini
CNET MP3 insider Eliot Van Buskirk gives his take on the newest addition to the Apple Computer digital music player family.

iPod Minis in short supply
Apple Computer's iPod Mini has sold out at retail stores across the United States, prompting weeks-long waiting lists for the digital music player. Correspondent James Hilliard visits the Apple Store in San Francisco, where some shoppers got lucky.

Jobs: Make your own GarageBand music
At Macworld 2004 in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces GarageBand--a new software application for the Mac that allows you to compose music with more than 50 different software instruments.

Jobs unveils smaller, cheaper iPod
At Macworld 2004 in San Francisco, Steve Jobs provides a first look at the iPod Mini--a smaller, cheaper digital-music player that holds 1,000 songs.

Apple previews next version of Mac OS X
At the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs shows off Tiger, the next version of Mac OS X. The operating system has more than 150 new features, including a systemwide search engine and an update to iChat that allows up to four people to hold a videoconference.

Jobs displays 30-inch flat panel
Apple Computer's Steve Jobs shows off three new monitors at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. One monitor, set for an August release for more than $3,000, has a 30-inch LCD screen.

Apple unleashes new Power Mac G5
At the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces a line of Power Macs that run on the new G5 processor. He calls it "the world's fastest personal computer."

New Power Mac boasts 64-bit processor
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs touts the new G5 chip that drives the latest line of Power Macs.

Apple: New G5 outperforms Windows PC
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, AnchorDesk's David Coursey looks at Apple's new G5-based Power Mac and finds out why the company calls it the "world's fastest personal computer."