Amazing to think how far we regressed, with regards to the ergonomics of an all-in-one system. I like the iMacs that have come since, but the iMac G4 luxo lamps were the best.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac G4 With Revolutionary Floating Display Announced 20 Years Ago Today
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had a first-generation 17" model throughout college. I'm kind of sad I sold it to pay for a newer laptop. It was a great machine. I still remember sitting in my dorm room about to burn a CD for a friend and when the tray popped out of the dome and slid back in with the disc my friend exclaimed "Oh my god the little puffball ate the CD!"
That being said I don't miss the days of Macs being incredibly underperforming relative to PCs or the rough edges and overall growing pains of the early versions of Mac OS X (or the constant system crashes of Mac OS 9 for that matter). My M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14" might not be as pretty but it's a tank in every other regard.
That being said I don't miss the days of Macs being incredibly underperforming relative to PCs or the rough edges and overall growing pains of the early versions of Mac OS X (or the constant system crashes of Mac OS 9 for that matter). My M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14" might not be as pretty but it's a tank in every other regard.
I was going to get one of these way back when, but the initial reports of units arriving from Taiwan DOA and/or covered in mud scared me off, so I instead bought one of the last G3 iMacs ever manufactured.
It looks beautiful, but they over-heated terribly and some people had problems with the power cord.
No time like the present and Ebay. Just, if you upgrade the HD, it's a bit of work.....
That's an interesting looking desk.
I really regret selling my g4 iMac. As well as my iPods and sega genesis. Lol
It was not the first desktop Mac to have an LCD. That would be the Twentieth Anniversary Mac.
I absolutely LOVE this iMac model not just cause at the time it was powerful but it represents EVERYTHING about Apple (not just that era or it's origins but some even today).
Against the status quo
Some cheeky fun and attitude = commercial shows sticking a tongue out from the actor, iMac does it back (mostly for the competition),
providing QUALITY products - from hardware through software!
Innovative and daring design that looks good not embarrassing.
finally you cannot help but notice a Mac or any Apple product - with or without a Logo.
I always found it ironic that Steve mentions how bad computer behind the LCD design was and then they turned around and did with the iMac G5.
My recollection is Ive was influenced (or inspired) by that one Pixar short with the lamps. This is before Pixar is became what it is today.
It's a beautiful machine and still holds up somewhat today.
You and me both!
Luckily they're cheap and relatively easy to find in top condition.
My top picks for best Apple designs ever are:
Apple Power Book G4 Titanium
Apple iPhone's 4/4S, 5/5S and 12/13 series
Apple Watch S5/6
Apple MacBook Pro 2016-2019 series 13" models
Apple Power Mac G5
Apple iMac G4 Lamp
Apple Power Mac G4 Cube - unfortunately acrylic forming caused production issues. truely innovative but until M1 fanless should've never been tried again with Mac Pro trash can.
PS : you'll notice a trend in the majority of my picks hard flat edges not sharp.
As an absolute 'junkie' for the iMac G4, after falling in love with a 15" about 6 years ago, I starting collecting them, stripping down the internals and totaly refurbishing. Then found a 17" USB2 1.25GHz model, another, and another, then x2 20" 1.25GHz models.
Using all these regularly the 17" USB2 1.25GHz model is for me the perfect sweet-spot and my most preferred. All now work flawlessly, most with a 2021/22 tweaked version of OSX 'Leopard', now known as OSX 10.5.9. That coupled with a max of 2GB memory, a modern SSD and a recently released lightweight 'InterWebPPC' browser give these marvellous iMacs a breath of fresh air. Very useable even today for so many common tasks, and with those Harman Kardon stereo speakers - marvellous sound when live streaming internet radio in iTunes.
Two of my refurbished G4 PPC iMacs:
17" 1.25GHz
20" 1.25GHz
Last edited:
I have both. Sure the 20th Anniversary 'Spartacus' was revolutionary in looks and performance, well tailored but imho not 'sexy'. Today it gives nowhere near as much satisfaction as an 'as-new' G4 iMac, which to my eyes is just drop-dead, huggingly gorgeous!
Last edited:
Would it not be pretty easy for someone to strip a M1 Macbook and fit it into one of these.
Ton of space.
Ton of space.
Good times. I so so so wanted one of them but I couldn’t afford one and had to stick with my limping blue and white G3 which cost me both kidneys. The G3 lasted 7 (!) years.
It (and my gaming PC) eventually got replaced with an intel iMac.
It (and my gaming PC) eventually got replaced with an intel iMac.
That's exactly their secret. They made, and still make owners today very happy!
