As monitors got larger and computer systems got both larger and smaller, a traditional desktop as we think of it became kind of impractical.
If I had to pick a single system that would today be counted as the spiritual successor to the Outrigger desktop, it would be the Mac mini, only because in the grand scheme of the universe, it's a relatively low-end/midrange Mac desktop whose main purpose is satisfying the needs of the many. In a lot of ways, I saw the PowerMac 7x00 series and the G3 Desktop as the Excel-Box of the Mac world. (Much like, say, a Dell OptiPlex or a Lenovo ThinkCentre.)
The mini is (for its time) an unobtrusive little box that can lay horizontally or stand vertically and basically be hidden behind or under whatever its user pleases, such as behind a television or monitor, next to a monitor, atop another tower, etc.
In terms of actual computing power though, the iMac is the true "mid range" of the Mac line. The biggest issue therein is mapping it as the spiritual successor to a beige Mac, because the G3 AIO was not really publicly available.
These days, it's hard to say whether or not I'd buy a true "desktop" system, for exactly the reasons Strimkind puts forward. They're difficult to hide under a desk, my desk is kind of too small to really put it under my monitor, and if I'm going to put it vertically next to my monitor (or on the floor) I may as well get a tower which can hold more disks and a bigger video card.
If I had to pick a single system that would today be counted as the spiritual successor to the Outrigger desktop, it would be the Mac mini, only because in the grand scheme of the universe, it's a relatively low-end/midrange Mac desktop whose main purpose is satisfying the needs of the many. In a lot of ways, I saw the PowerMac 7x00 series and the G3 Desktop as the Excel-Box of the Mac world. (Much like, say, a Dell OptiPlex or a Lenovo ThinkCentre.)
The mini is (for its time) an unobtrusive little box that can lay horizontally or stand vertically and basically be hidden behind or under whatever its user pleases, such as behind a television or monitor, next to a monitor, atop another tower, etc.
In terms of actual computing power though, the iMac is the true "mid range" of the Mac line. The biggest issue therein is mapping it as the spiritual successor to a beige Mac, because the G3 AIO was not really publicly available.
These days, it's hard to say whether or not I'd buy a true "desktop" system, for exactly the reasons Strimkind puts forward. They're difficult to hide under a desk, my desk is kind of too small to really put it under my monitor, and if I'm going to put it vertically next to my monitor (or on the floor) I may as well get a tower which can hold more disks and a bigger video card.