iMac G4

The iMac is a desktop computer designed and built by Apple Computer. It has been the consumer flagship of Apple's Macintosh range since 1998, and has evolved through three basic forms. more...

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It has met with critical acclaim, including praise from technology columnist Walt Mossberg as the "Gold Standard of desktop computing".

The iMac has been a huge innovation that, along with the introduction of the iPod, has contributed to the recent dramatic increase in Apple Computer's profits and share price. Some credit the popularity of the USB devices to the iMac, as Windows PCs previously supported legacy ports, which reduced the incentive for third-party manufacturers to produce USB-compliant devices.

The machine enjoys a relatively high profile in popular culture due to its distinctive aesthetics and Apple's successful marketing. On 10 January 2006, it became the first Apple Macintosh desktop computer to ship with an Intel processor.

History

Steve Jobs streamlined the company's large and confusing product lines immediately after becoming Apple's interim CEO in 1997; towards the end of the year, Apple trimmed its line of desktop Macs down to the beige Power Macintosh G3 series. Having discontinued the consumer-targeted Performa series, Apple needed a replacement for the Performa's price point. The company announced the iMac on 7 May 1998, and started shipping the iMac on 15 August 1998. The launch of the iMac was a landmark event for its time, and had a massive impact on both the company and the computer industry.

At the time, Apple was unique in producing all-in-one desktop computers, in which the CPU and the monitor are contained in one enclosure. Many other PC manufacturers have tried to imitate this, most of which have met with little success.

Aesthetically, the iMac was dramatically different from any other mainstream computer ever released. It was made of translucent "Bondi blue"-colored plastic, and was egg-shaped around a 15-inch (38 cm) CRT. There was a handle, and the computer interfaces were hidden behind a door that opened on the right-hand side of the machine. Two headphone jacks in the front complemented the built-in stereo speakers. Jonathan Ive, currently Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple, is credited with the industrial design. While appealing to neophytes with its distinct appearance, it rang the bells of nostalgia with its streamlined shape, bearing a vague similarity of the ADM-3A dumb terminals.

Legacy Macintosh peripheral connections, such as the ADB, SCSI, and GeoPort serial ports, were eliminated in favor of USB ports; the floppy drive was discarded (the first OEM to do so). Although these were aging technologies, Apple's move was considered ahead of its time and was hotly debated. For example, there was no analogous way to exchange small files with other existing machines, possibly requiring owners to buy an external USB floppy drive (the floppy drive sold well in the first few years of the iMac G3). Creating backup copies of files was slow over the USB 1.1 connection, which operates at 12 Mbit/s (1.5 MB/s). Purists felt that files should be transferred by network file-sharing or via email.

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