A visual history of the iMac (part 1)
The inception of a low end Mac began life while Apple was seeing hard times during the later part of Gil Amelio’s reign. It wasn’t until Steve Jobs returned to Apple that the computer was released as an actual product marking the point at which Apple’s fortunes started to change.
The original iMac shocked the industry with the computers outrageous colours, simple all in on design and lack of floppy disk drive. Since the first iMac hit shelves over nine years ago, the computer has seen many redesigns from small changes, to never seen before form factors. This article illustrates how Apple and the iMac have pushed the computer to new heights focusing not only on new technologies, but cutting edge industrial design.
From the introduction of the iMac in 1998, right up to the iMac G4 in 2002, the iMac stayed much the same jelly bean shape. Early on in the four years the iMac used variations of the orignal design, the computer saw a major tweak in 1999 with the introduction of the “slot loading” design. Forgone were harder curves for softer ones, and even more translucent plastics over the original design. From the original Bondi Blue colour, the iMac’s colour pallete expanded to include five “fruity” colours, then to conservative stone colours, some very strange patterned designs and finally settled on Graphite and Snow before the G3 based iMac design was discontinued a little time after the iMac G4 was introduced.
Processor speeds: 233MHz, 266MHz, 333MHz, 350MHz, 400MHz, 450MHz, 500Mhz, 600Mhz, 700MHz
Colours: Bondi Blue, Blueberry, Grape, Lime, Tangerine, Strawberry, Graphite, Indigo, Ruby, Snow, Sage, Blue Dalmation, Flower Power
Part two details LCD based iMacs.