Color on the Macintosh is more than a feature -- it's a feeling.
Owners of colored iMacs have been asking the webmaster of an iMac site to synch up his design to match their grape, lime, tangerine, blueberry, and strawberry machines.
"I can just see it now: Entire computer labs filled with multi-colored iMacs and each screen being online with our Web site matching that particular iMac," said Frank Borges Llosa, president of NetFloppy, which runs iMacFloppy.com.
Site visitors can now pick a matching color scheme when they use iMacFloppy.com, which offers a kind of online "virtual floppy" box as a remote replacement for the iMac's missing floppy drive. The site sets a magic cookie at a user's request so that the chosen color scheme sticks around for the next visit.
Without a doubt, iMac owners have clearly clicked with the bright colors. For example, tangerine iMacs are reportedly proving popular in Denver, reflecting the orange team colors of the NFL champion Broncos. One user found a deep sense of community identity in the scheme.
"The Macintosh, in general and since its inception, has been about putting the user in control, making the computer approachable and understandable, less threatening or mysterious," said a user who goes by the alias MacBoyPro.
"Extending consistency to have your iMac match its surroundings, or match a Web page's background, isn't really so weird after all. People feel better and are more productive when they think they are in control."
