Apple Released the First iMac 25 Years Ago Today

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Sometimes I feel like iMac died when Steve Jobs died.

The original iMac went on sale 25 years ago today at 12:00AM on August 15, 1998.📆

It can not be understated how important the iMac was to saving Apple from the brink of destruction.📈

Steve loved the iMac, you can see his genuine enthusiasm & smile in every picture.❤️🖥️

 

[jwdsail]

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the iMac, Apple's all-in-one desktop computer released on August 15, 1998.

Characterized by its striking translucent casing and 15-inch CRT display, the iMac was a departure from conventional computer design of the time. The machine led the way with several industry innovations, including the adoption of USB and FireWire, while simultaneously phasing out the floppy drive and other outdated ports. The computer came with a PowerPC G3 processor, 4GB hard drive, 32MB of RAM, a CD drive, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port, reflecting the emerging importance of internet connectivity at the time.

The iMac's design has evolved significantly over the years. In 2002, the iMac G4 was introduced with a unique dome base and flat-panel display. 2004 saw the launch of the iMac G5, a design that integrated all components behind the display, setting the standard for future all-in-one designs.

Apple unveiled the aluminum and glass unibody iMac in 2007 and added a Retina display to the machine in 2014. Apple introduced an "iMac Pro" variant in 2017, and, in 2021, the iMac was completely redesigned once again with the transition to Apple silicon.

As the iMac reaches this significant milestone, it continues to be the leading all-in-one computer and a prominent product in Apple's lineup. While the iMac did not receive an upgrade to the M2 chip, a refreshed model with the M3 chip is expected to launch toward the end of this year. Further in the future, Apple is expected to launch an even bigger and more powerful iMac model in what could be a reintroduction of the iMac Pro.

Article Link: Apple Released the First iMac 25 Years Ago Today

Still have the rev b (more vram) Bondi Blue iMac I got my mom back then.

I should fire it up again...

 

[jwdsail]

Never owned/used a computer before this iMac. The much-despised puck-mouse was my intro to using a mouse. Learned to draw/retouch/refine with this mouse for Photoshop/Illustrator/QuarkXpress. Never bothered me the least...


LOL was there a debate??? Bondi is clearly greenish/turquoise, while Blueberry was blue. If some couldn't tell the difference, well-- glad these people aren't working in any profession that requires colour-accuracy assessment.

I'm sure that they're all working in a car company paint shop I won't mention here....

;-)

 

[JamesMay82]

I was in the 10th grade and our school got them in the library and home rooms

 

[J.Dillinger]

Great looking machine. I loved the handle on the top. I loathed that hockey puck mouse though.

 

[jjudson]

Now days those people walking out Of the store with that iMac wouldn’t have actually paid for it…

 

[mrr]

It comes in colors!

 

[SilvioInfante]

My first Mac, and I still have it. Have had many more iMacs since. But won't get another one. It's just the wrong form factor for computing today. I can't see a reason why I would ever buy anything but a laptop ever again. It's a complete machine that can be taken anywhere, and with one cable can be plugged into an entire desk setup. Laptops no longer perform worse than their desktop counterparts either.

 

[SFjohn]

Today’s Apple seems to have forgotten how important cutting edge design is to the company’s bottom line. 🙁

 

[MistrSynistr]

Walked into Art College in late 1998 and almost every room was filled with the blue versions of these. It was wonderment.

 

[ThomasJL]

Had that mediocre MBA suit Tim Cook been CEO of Apple 25 years ago, instead of Apple ever releasing the iMac, Cook would've looked to what the top sellers in the industry were doing and copied them in an effort to maximize revenue. So instead of Apple ever releasing the original iMac, Apple would've likely released something that looked like a Gateway or Dell on the outside, which ran an OS having a GUI that looked like Windows 98.

 

[ScreenSavers]

I still have a lime iMac G3 and a matching Timex "iMac"alarm clock. Anyone remember those? As well as a green M1 iMac.

 

[MacBH928]

You had to be there to appreciate how beautiful and revolutionary those machines were. The lamp iMac with flat screen that you can manoeuvre was just as much revolutionary. Flat screen was a luxury not a standard and the over function AND form design was absolutely a beautiful combination.

Steve Jobs is a personal computer legend for a reason.

 

[mectojic]

I still have a lime iMac G3 and a matching Timex "iMac"alarm clock. Anyone remember those? As well as a green M1 iMac.

Do a photoshoot!

 

[mectojic]

Apple's DNA is still the same. Simplicity rules, that's why the iMac will always be relevant.

 

[suburbia]

The iMac and the quiet phenomenon that it ushered in for Apple’s return wouldn’t be possible without Jon Ive’s untouchable visionary design. So let’s not all bow down to Jobs alone. Frankly, in retrospect, the “flavours” were kind of gaudy. The “snow” era— that funnily enough, started with the more budget eMac, of which turned out to be the much more refined evolution of the iMac’s design, remains much more timeless and stunning, even to this day. The following G4 lampshade only enforced that design vision from strength to strength. Still a stunner.

This shot is so bittersweet. If the kid was 14-15yo in that pic, he’s pushing 40 now… I remember lugging that heavy square box and it was a struggle getting it to fit in the backseat of my car. This would not fit in the mostly smaller, compact cars of the late-90s...

View attachment 2246305

 

[svish]

Hoping that a bigger iMac will return one day

 

[Madd the Sane]

I feel like this article could be more clear.

• The original iMac didn't include Firewire, which is implied by the wording of the article, it was added in later revisions.
• Macs came with Ethernet standard even before the iMac. PowerBooks included Ethernet as standard beginning with the G3 (Nov 1997) and Power Mac was standard on machines after Feb 1997 (and on many machines before that but some were optional, some standard).
• iMac also included a modem and an internal mezzanine slot (although rarely used and not fully documented from what I remember).

• Although previous Macs did have ethernet built-in, it was only 10 base-T, half-duplex. If you wanted, you could get a PCI card that had 10/100, but the iMac was the first with 10/100 built-in.
• The internal mezzanine slot was meant for debugging and was quickly removed from later revisions. That didn't stop people from developing add-in cards, but it was not supported by Apple.

What is it about Apple hating the idea of respecting the past? It's fine to always look forward but there's somethings great to look back on.

I think Apple doesn't want to be weighed down by the past and always wants to look forward.

What stands out to me about the second era of Jobs is how, under his leadership, Apple brought these paradigm-shift products out that no one had really seen. Compare that to not only modern Apple, but other companies, and its night and day. Now, it feels like everything is same-y. Nothing is really new and exciting and makes you go, "Wow!".

I think part of the problem is that the computer industry is now very mature, where there's not a lot of room for new wow factors.

 

[adb1973]

Looking back at this great product i can't help feeling a bit sad about todays desktop line up.

The fact Macs are such a small part of the revenue is also because Apple fails to deliver on the desktop part. Marketing strategy changed from 'up and over' to delivering the least added value for the max amount of money, just enough to make people buy.

25 years would have been an excellent moment for a wow-factor M3 iMac that dwarfs all-in-one competition but also computer + monitor setups.

Right now a basic MacBook Air M1 with a colorful 32" Samsung M8 smart display is a better combination as an iMac than an iMac.

The iMac is all about usability a true 'one machine for everything' thought. But the current M1 just isn't (never was) and there are no good desktop alternatives.

So kill off the ugly studio and it's overpriced monitor and bring back the all-in-one that's an actual all-in-one.
And make the Mac Pro an upgradable computer with M3-slots and a reference monitor.
(And bring back Airport Extremes)

At least for me there's a reason I kept my 2012 desktop setup (mini Server +maxed out iMac 27") running with SSD's and OCLP

 

[mectojic]

The iMac and the quiet phenomenon that it ushered in for Apple’s return wouldn’t be possible without Jon Ive’s untouchable visionary design. So let’s not all bow down to Jobs alone. Frankly, in retrospect, the “flavours” were kind of gaudy. The “snow” era— that funnily enough, started with the more budget eMac, of which turned out to be the much more refined evolution of the iMac’s design, remains much more timeless and stunning, even to this day. The following G4 lampshade only enforced that design vision from strength to strength. Still a stunner.

This shot is so bittersweet. If the kid was 14-15yo in that pic, he’s pushing 40 now… I remember lugging that heavy square box and it was a struggle getting it to fit in the backseat of my car. This would not fit in the mostly smaller, compact cars of the late-90s...

In retrospect, we're much less fun and colourful than people were in the 80s and 90s. Everything is so muted now. I do celebrate the fruit flavour iMacs for being so radically different to everything else in the computer landscape, and being unapologetic. From an aesthetic stance, though, I think that the summer 2000 iMacs (Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Snow, Graphite) were more beautiful.
After that, I think Apple got too conservative – the snow Macs aren't bad, but they tend to get yellowed/dirty with time, and don't have the more glossy look of the translucent iMacs.

 

[MacHeritage]

Loved those iMacs to this day and still have mine with the original box! They did everything you could want in a tight package that saved space. The new ones are OK but need to be full deep colour in the front, just like the back. Then they would be better.

 

[drsal]

I still have my Bondi Blue Indigo iMac DV in the basement and it works well, other than the internal speakers failing. Bought it during college in 1999 or 2000, I believe. I have matching keyboard, but I chucked the included mouse pretty quickly. Loved that computer and have been meaning to pass it on to a collector instead of recycling it...don't really care for hanging on to retro gear personally, even as cool as it is, but don't want to see it trashed.

I do miss the colors and wish the MacBook line was as colorful! Gray and black (dark blue) is so boring.

That was a great machine for its time. It had a nice GPU to run whatever game Aspyr was porting at the time.

 

[Dudebro101]

Looks like every model of the M1 iMac is out of stock on Amazon. Hope that's a sign of things to come.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

You woke up and realized...

iMac launched 25 years ago, on August 15, 1998. — Available in Bondi Blue, the iMac G3 came with a 233 MHz PowerPC G3, 32MB of RAM, 4GB HDD, 24x CD-ROM, and Mac OS 8.1. $1,299

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I had one of these, in the original color. I always hated the mouse, they still can't get one right...

Oh yeah, and they persisted with the single button mouse and trackpad waaaaay after it should have died the death it deserved. Steve Jobs was sometimes a genius of innovation, and sometimes stubborn beyond stupidity.