In consumer computer products, a beige box is a standard

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

(PC). It has come to be used as a term of derision implying conservative or dated aesthetics and unremarkable specifications. The term is ultimately derived from the style of many early personal computers and dedicated word processors, which were usually

beige Beige is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither bleached no ...

or similar colors like

off white Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theor ...

ecru Ecru is still defined by some dictionaries as the colour of unbleached linen, which it still is in French (hex code = #FEFEE0 ), but it is now used for a quite different, much darker color in English. Traditionally ecru was considered a shade ...

. These colors were presumably chosen to allow the machines to blend inconspicuously into a variety of settings, especially among similarly colored

cubicle A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that ...

s and

office equipment Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies o ...

. IBM's early desktop computers (e.g.

IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

IBM PC/AT The IBM Personal Computer/AT (model 5170, abbreviated as IBM AT or PC/AT) was released in 1984 as the fourth model in the IBM Personal Computer line, following the IBM PC/XT and its IBM Portable PC variant. It was designed around the Intel 8028 ...

) were not only beige, but were distinctly box-shaped, and most manufacturers of clones followed suit. As IBM and its imitators came to dominate the industry, these features became unquestioned standards of desktop computer design. Some

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...

critics derided them as indistinguishable “beige boxes.” The

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

( RAL 1019) or early

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

models (specifically

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

453) were a beige color. Although Apple switched to a desaturated gray they called “Platinum” in 1987, users began to refer to them as “beige” following the introduction of the brightly colored

iMac iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms. In it ...

and

Blue and White G3 The Power Macintosh G3 (also sold with additional software as the Macintosh Server G3) is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from November 1997 to August 1999. It represented Apple's first step towa ...

. It then became a standard term to identify any previous

OldWorld Old World ROM computers are the Macintosh (Mac) models that use a Macintosh Toolbox read-only memory (ROM) chip, usually in a socket (but soldered to the motherboard in some models). All Macs prior to the iMac, the iBook, the Blue and White Power ...

Macintosh, such as the “

Beige G3 The Power Macintosh G3 (also sold with additional software as the Macintosh Server G3) is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc., Apple Computer from November 1997 to August 1999. It represented Apple's fir ...

.” The term is also sometimes used to distinguish ''generic'' PCs from models made by "name brands" such as

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

, or HP. In the early years of these companies, most of their units were beige as well. More recently, as name-brand manufacturers have moved away from beige (typically switching to black, dark gray, and silver-colored cases), inexpensive generic cases became more distinct as "beige boxes". Today, the term " white box" has largely replaced this usage.

References

{{reflist Personal computers Computer enclosure

See also

References