Okay, sure, they're a massive technological leap forward and brimming with raw power, but we're curious-- what's everyone's take on the Power Mac G5's new look? We haven't really focused too hard on the aesthetics as of yet, because frankly, with all the insanely fast gear packed inside, we're reasonably certain that pro Mac users would line up three deep to preorder even if they were fluorescent orange and shaped like David Niven perched on a toilet. (The Power Macs, that is. Whether or not the pro users are orange and resemble dapper British film stars on the commode isn't germane to the topic at hand.)

Personally, we're not entirely sure how we feel about the vibe given off by the new enclosure; in an intro to its mini-interview with Apple's design guru Jonathan Ive, WIRED says it has a "brutal austerity," and that's probably the best description we've yet encountered. We haven't seen one in person yet, mind you, but if the photos do it justice, there's a severity to it even harsher than that of the titanium and aluminum PowerBooks (which, while sleek and minimalist, still have a certain visual warmth to them). To be sure, this was intentional, because the G5 screams for an element of danger to its look-- a sort of "mess with me, boyo, and I'll hand you your still-beating heart so you can look at it while I set about breaking your kneecaps" connotation.

But it turns out we're not nearly the only ones to look at the photos and think "cheese grater," which is less of a "heart ripped out and kneecaps breaking" danger than a "skinned knuckle, small bits of flesh in the mozzarella" sort of peril. Plus, is it dangerous in an attractive way? WIRED mentions how "the crowd of several thousand Mac programmers gathered to witness its launch fell silent, as though in the presence of something mysterious and powerful." But that silence could just as easily have been that polite sort of pause that slips out when you try to think of something nice to say and eventually only come up with "it's... interesting."

From Ive's perspective, though, the G5's design is about simplicity to the core, "real simplicity" and not "an applied style of being minimal and simple." He spends a lot more time talking about the innards of the machine-- the cordless cooling fans that plug directly into power sockets to make RAM installation simpler, the internal plastic airflow cover that Apple made clear "so people could run their machines with the door off." And yes, he does go on about the "finish of the materials," but seemingly more so now than ever, he's all about function first, cosmetics second. "From a designer's point of view, it's not an appearance game we're playing. It is very utilitarian. It's the use of material in a very minimalist way."

Which brings us back to the point: is the Power Mac G5 attractive? Are people going to buy them in part because of their looks, or in spite of them? To Ive, at least, the point is moot; the G5 is "an extremely powerful tool" and its exterior design was intended solely to make it "very, very obvious that it is what it is." No nonsense, no frills, just power-- it's the computer equivalent of a military haircut, or maybe a shark. Its very simplicity makes it crystal clear that the Power Mac G5's sole raison d'être is to eat other, lesser computers for breakfast. Who would have guessed that Apple would so consciously try to remove looks from the equation?

Shredded cheddar, anyone?