In Pictures: Apple's 15 boldest computer designs, 1976 - 2012

Apple's computer hardware designs through the years have reflected the state of the company. Subliminal messages abound with each product release. Here are some of Apple's most bold, iconic computer designs and what we think they're telling us.

Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (1997)

It's 1997, and Apple is choking. Industry watchers predict the death of the company. In response, Apple delivers the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh -- a metallic-colored computer designed with hard angular lines, not the soft and simple curves we've come to expect from Apple today. The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh looked futuristic and expensive, and it was at $9,000. But the design was a façade, a vanity project built for Apple's sake and not the customer's.

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