At least a decade ago, I remember conversations with people wondering why all PCs came in beige boxes. I couldn't understand why no computer companies were actually working on more appealing designs. It was all very Model T-ish ("you can have any color you want, so long as it's black") of the world. When IBM came out with one of the first PC cases that was actually black instead of beige, I thought it would be a huge hit for the color alone (which it wasn't). Now, however, partly due to Apple's designs and also because of the increasing maturity of the market, more companies are realizing the benefits to adding style to their products. The various well known industrial design firms like Ideo and Frog Design are apparently doing quite well these days, as everyone wants them to help design the next iPod or similar device.