iMac G4 With Revolutionary Floating Display Announced 20 Years Ago Today

[anshuvorty]

yup, before Apple became dystopian. It was the fun computing company. Now black and silver, very corporate, and "keep bumping them as long as they are buying them". Awesome awesome, machine I had one.

although I have to give it to them, when the coloured iMacs they kind of wanted to go a bit back. So good step.

That famous Batman saying: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain..." In this case, Apple who Steve Jobs founded to dethrone the corporate IBM shills, has become the IBM shills they easchowed to not become...

 

[metapunk2077fail]

That famous Batman saying: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain..." In this case, Apple who Steve Jobs founded to dethrone the corporate IBM shills, has become the IBM shills they easchowed to not become...

Apple is still quite separate from the terrible, sociopath, careless and irresponsible stuff that the rest of the tech sector does. As long as users keep demanding high standards of care from Apple then they won't follow the things others do.

The gaming sector is in really bad shape right now. Highly toxic workplaces, talented engineers bullied and threatened to be replaced by some cheap less talented servant, games evolving into micro payment gambling and crypto pyramid schemes, tons of ****ing drugs going up noses. Everything that people complained about 5 years ago during Gamergate wasn't resolved and just grew worse and worse because Wall Street controls the decisions these companies make.

Protest hard and strong if that culture leaks into Apple. If any exec makes horrid decisions make sure they know your disdain until their last days then they will take better care of their reputation and legacy.

 

[Bustycat]

Definitely my first impression about Macs when I saw it in a store. I still missed the days when they were mysterious for me.

 

[Hrududu]

As long as you didn’t have to pull it apart or wanted something larger than a 20” display. It was great for it time period, but simply wouldn’t hold up today.

It wasn't hard to work on at all, and Apple was still selling a 21" 9 months ago.

 

[neuropsychguy]

There was a 20" version in the last run and it looked a little too big. 15" was cute and had a lot of personality. 17" was useful but started to lose that cuteness.

They'd need to modify the design to look more balanced with a larger screen but something in the spirit of the design would be beautiful.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Editing my post because it was redundant with other commenters (posted and then went through comments).

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

I had a 20” 1.25GHz model and sold it at 10 years old for $200. Almost wish I kept it.

Almost. I’ve seen people cram a M1 mini into theirs. I’d consider doing that for Sh*ts and giggles.

 

[mjtomlin71]

 

[String]

Still got one and it still works. Replaced the hd with an ssd an put a new dvd drive in there.

 

[Royksöpp]

View attachment 1940882

Not 27” but it’s still possible to build your own ?

Now that’s how you do a white bezel!

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

If they re-released this with updated processors, a Blu-Ray player, and a bigger better screen, this would still look cool in any home office or bedroom, I think I would consider even buying one for my parents.

 

[inkswamp]

I owned one and lI absolutely loved it. Amazing design. Still miss being able to adjust the screen position and angle so effortlessly.

 

[aevan]

yup, before Apple became dystopian. It was the fun computing company. Now black and silver, very corporate, and "keep bumping them as long as they are buying them". Awesome awesome, machine I had one.

although I have to give it to them, when the coloured iMacs they kind of wanted to go a bit back. So good step.

Even on these "black and silver Macs", macOS is much less corporate looking than Windows.

Also, Macs have also been gold for years, and apparently the new iMac colors are coming to MacBook Airs as well. The reason PC is "colorful" is because it's made by hundreds of competing companies, but I don't see HP ThinkPads or Dell XPS' or Microsoft Surfaces being in anything other than silver and black either. I did a quick check of the most popular non-gamer PC laptops, and they all have only black and silver options. Less than a Mac today, and that's before the color comeback we saw with iMac.

 

[MacBH928]

That famous Batman saying: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain..." In this case, Apple who Steve Jobs founded to dethrone the corporate IBM shills, has become the IBM shills they easchowed to not become...

You are indeed correct , I wouldnt say they are as dull as IBM and RedHat but definitely caring more about excel sheet predictions than the user experience. They call them "Big Tech" after all and IBM was "Big Blue"

Apple is still quite separate from the terrible, sociopath, careless and irresponsible stuff that the rest of the tech sector does. As long as users keep demanding high standards of care from Apple then they won't follow the things others do.

The gaming sector is in really bad shape right now. Highly toxic workplaces, talented engineers bullied and threatened to be replaced by some cheap less talented servant, games evolving into micro payment gambling and crypto pyramid schemes, tons of ****ing drugs going up noses. Everything that people complained about 5 years ago during Gamergate wasn't resolved and just grew worse and worse because Wall Street controls the decisions these companies make.

Protest hard and strong if that culture leaks into Apple. If any exec makes horrid decisions make sure they know your disdain until their last days then they will take better care of their reputation and legacy.

Yeah I wouldn't say they are as bad as DELL. People saying whining does not work, but it does, and it worked with the butterfly keyboard!

Even on these "black and silver Macs", macOS is much less corporate looking than Windows.

Also, Macs have also been gold for years, and apparently the new iMac colors are coming to MacBook Airs as well. The reason PC is "colorful" is because it's made by hundreds of competing companies, but I don't see HP ThinkPads or Dell XPS' or Microsoft Surfaces being in anything other than silver and black either. I did a quick check of the most popular non-gamer PC laptops, and they all have only black and silver options. Less than a Mac today, and that's before the color comeback we saw with iMac.

They are less corporate yes, other companies are black and silver and this is why Apple succeeded... because it is not yet another black and silver company.

 

[MrGimper]

Managed to snag a working one with keyboard, mouse and the round speakers a couple of years back for £50.

In my lounge on show looking awesome. Super design

 

[cmcbhi]

Just for grins:

Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) | HD smart display with motion and Alexa | Charcoal​

 

[PHMA]

View attachment 1941258

My G4 with my SE… No longer have the G4, but still have the Mac SE and it still runs after almost 35 years… would be fun to try and convert an older Mac like the SE too could shove a couple M1 minis.

I had that G4 and long before that one I had an SE/30. Both these Macs are the only desktops I actually miss.
I also had a PowerBook G4 12 inch. I absolutely loved that one as well.

Those machines were crazy expensive, so nothing has changed in that regard. In all other aspects Apple should look back more often to times when they created great new stuff instead of merely evolving. It has surely been a while since they came up with something groundbreakingly new and exciting.

 

[TheMacPotato]

This was the 2nd iMac I owned (later 17” widescreen version). Still my favourite iMac design. Absolutely beautiful and very practical with the adjustable screen height. The separate speakers were amazing too.

 

[darngooddesign]

View attachment 1941258

My G4 with my SE… No longer have the G4, but still have the Mac SE and it still runs after almost 35 years… would be fun to try and convert an older Mac like the SE too could shove a couple M1 minis.

Did you recap your SE? If not its a ticking bomb in the form of leaking capacitors.

 

[emulator]

You'll love this @TheYayAreaLiving ?

https://9to5mac.com/2021/10/07/imac-g4-m1-machine/

Why didn't you link the original post from here?

iMac G4 with M1 chip: Success!!!

Hi everyone! Not sure if anyone will care but this is one of the only places I can think to post about it besides twitter! I've been on a passion project these last few weeks and I finished it the other night and wanted to share (because I'm absolutely geeking about it!) I decided to make my...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[FelixDerKater]

I would like to see a remake of this design with new internals.

 

[reyesmac]

I wish Apple made a mac mini that it could put inside of cases. So you would buy a mini module and Apple would make miniture cases that look like older macs. I would seriously consider buying the iMac G4 and cube cases. Heck, if the cases were cheap enough, I would collect as many as I could get. The iMac cases must come with screens though. And a Mac Classic case would also be a must have purchase.

 

[FoxMcCloud]

Boggles my mind that they dropped this design in favour of the chin iMac. Steve been said in his launch presentation that the design was made to last, and that it was much better than having all the components behind the screen. Wonder what changed, and who twisted his arm.

Miss my G4. I remember seeing these on the shelves when I was looking for a new PC for school. Almost got one, but decided on a HP Pavilion as I didnt know anything about Macintosh but knew Windows as was excited for XP. I ended up getting a G4 eventually tho, my first Mac, in 2010.

I'd love a new version though. Imagine an 24" iPad attached by an arm to a suped up Mac mini.

 

[Aggedor]

Boggles my mind that they dropped this design in favour of the chin iMac. Steve been said in his launch presentation that the design was made to last, and that it was much better than having all the components behind the screen. Wonder what changed, and who twisted his arm.

Yeah, he said the design would define the next decade. But I wonder - how big did the screens get? The chin iMac went to 27" and has/had a gloss display with a glass front, while the beachball iMac (was I the only person who called it that?) had a standard matte display which was all plastic and therefore relatively light. Was there simple a mechanical constraint when it came to large glossy screens?

I've never taken a beachball iMac apart, but I imagine the size and shape of the base constrained the logic board, etc. With the chin iMac, I imagine the internal layout (and therefore manufacture?) was easier? I don't know.

I used a beachball iMac at university quite a lot. I remember the adjustable arm being amazing, but also that the beachball base was actually very large and very heavy.

 

[foliovision]

Yeah, he said the design would define the next decade. But I wonder - how big did the screens get? The chin iMac went to 27" and has/had a gloss display with a glass front, while the beachball iMac (was I the only person who called it that?) had a standard matte display which was all plastic and therefore relatively light. Was there simple a mechanical constraint when it came to large glossy screens?

Boggles my mind that they dropped this design in favour of the chin iMac. Steve been said in his launch presentation that the design was made to last, and that it was much better than having all the components behind the screen. Wonder what changed, and who twisted his arm.

Large monitors were big and heavy for a long time. I still have some working HP LP3065. Fantastic monitors, calibrate brilliantly, three inputs, excellent USB hub, stand made to last. It weights 30lbs/14kg. It's thick too. Arms like that silver arm fatigue easily over time (droopy), every once counts.

So at the time if Apple wanted to make the screen size larger it had to change designs.

On the other hand in 2022, with the lightweight panels coming out now Apple could easily pivot back to that design for up to 24 inches, even 27 inches. Maintaining balance with a 31 inch screen would be a challenge.