After learning from its past mistakes Apple has been patenting everything it can think of, and only four days ago Apple"s patent 20040156192 was updated. This patent was first filed in February 2004, which has come to be described as the "chameleon patent".
This patent covers the idea of a changing the color of a translucent computer case via a "light source". By using the Control Panel a user can change the color of the case to any color. This is done by using three colored LEDs red, green, and blue, which make up the "light source". It"s too early to tell, but we might just see this patent in action with Apple"s upcoming iMac.
It"s definitely an interesting idea, but I have to wonder how practical it is. After all changing the color of a computer case would only be interesting for so long, and after a while it will probably become somewhat annoying. That all depends on the user, some users will like while other will hate it. It would be pretty cool to have a part on your computer flash a designated color if you got mail, or red to notify you that your boss was stopping by your office.