iMac Turns 25 Today: When to Expect the Next Model to Launch

[AF_APPLETALK]

Maybe I should dig out my 2000 G3. The one with FireWire.

Definitely take the machine out and then remove the PRAM battery. The last thing you want is for that thing to leak or explode and permanently ruin the machine. Saying this out of genuine concern because I am currently trying to clean up a Quadra 660AV that had that happen to it.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

I guess I'm the outlier but I actually never minded the round puck mouse that much.

 

[jlc1978]

Then the other thing was the idea that a cell phone is really a computer that can run a phone-app. No now had thought of it that way before. But once you do, the rest of it is obvious.

Uh, the Palm Treo did that before the iPhone; including color screen, Bluetooth, camera, written and typed input.

 

[CIA]

Steve had a half dozen or so really good ideas. Not all of them were while at Apple. He founded Next, where the modern Mac was invented and he founded Pixar to make a very different kind of movie that would do animation in a different way. In all these cases, he was never the engineer, he had other actual implement the big picture plans.

Steve didn't found Pixar, he bought the company.

 

[RWI]

It is a bloody shame it takes so long for an iMac to launch. You would be stupid to buy an M1 now when the M2 is on full swing and the M3 is right around the corner. Once again Apple is testing its customers to the bloody limit.

 

[derekamoss]

Never had this version of the iMac due to the fact I got my first laptop the iBook at the time but did end up picking up an eMac during the time. I remember that great commercials that ran with this though!

 

[Realityck]

It is a bloody shame it takes so long for an iMac to launch. You would be stupid to buy an M1 now when the M2 is on full swing and the M3 is right around the corner. Once again Apple is testing its customers to the bloody limit.

In the case of the iMac we know that anything is better 2 years later that results in better performance or its capabilities. Now we just have to wait to find out what that entails and if there is any price changes.

 

[mrgraff]

Still one of my favorite Apple ads of all time:

 

[JitteryJimmy]

You must be me. I can’t stand these kinds of inaccuracies on 90s Mac reporting.

We all know that these inaccuracies are purposefully published in order to identify all the grumpy old men.

 

[Gudi]

I used that mouse for years and it was fine. Think for yourself. Don’t follow the “crowd wisdom” like a sheep.

I figured myself that if back in the days the puck mouse received as much undeserved hate as the Magic Mouse 2 today, it must've been an awesome mouse. 🤔 💟 🐁

 

[sunman42]

Picked up one for my kids, ages 5 and 9 when it shipped (any color you want, so long as it’s Bondi Blue) in August of that year, and picked up a Rev. C (Five Colors) for my dad the next year, when he was 89. You’ll never guess who was tech support for both machines.

 

[sunman42]

Uh, the Palm Treo did that before the iPhone; including color screen, Bluetooth, camera, written and typed input.

And a life-saving feature: you could play buzzword bingo on it during stultifyingly long and boring work meetings.

 

[kyeblue]

except for the screen (small, big, touch screen), current iPhones, iPads, iMacs are essentially the same thing.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

Definitely take the machine out and then remove the PRAM battery. The last thing you want is for that thing to leak or explode and permanently ruin the machine. Saying this out of genuine concern because I am currently trying to clean up a Quadra 660AV that had that happen to it.

I used it last about a year ago. The CRT is half-busted but it still works

 

[Gudi]

Then the other thing was the idea that a cell phone is really a computer that can run a phone-app. No one had thought of it that way before. But once you do, the rest of it is obvious.

Actually that's not how the iPhone came to be. Steve had the notion that a Multitouch display could become a great interface for a phone. But no one thought of it as a computer. There were two independent teams at Apple, one tasked with growing the iPod firmware into a phone firmware, the other tasked with shrinking OS X down to phone firmware. Nobody knew which path would even work and until the iPhone 3G there were no plans for an AppStore full of third-party apps. What we now understand as apps were initially just touch-friendly interface icons. You couldn't move or delete them.

 

[Wanted797]

I remember reading in I think his biography that right before the presentation he flipped out when the disk tray slid out.

Steve thought it was suppose to be a disk slot but hadn’t told anyone. Disk slots were significantly more expensive at the time.

I found this particularly funny cause in high school the first time I used one of these they were already outdated but I hit the eject button and the tray came out. My first thought was how stupid, weak and flimsy it looked. A disk slot was definitely better.

This was years before I read his biography.

 

[ipedro]

I love the aesthetic of the M1 iMac, almost makes you want to buy a few in different colours to have around the house in different rooms.

I'm waiting for my 2012 iMac to die to replace it but the thing has more than 9 lives. Still running strong and still runs pro apps like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop just fine. Anyone who complains about the "Apple premium" on devices hasn't realized the longevity these things have. I would've bought 3 or 4 PCs in the time I've had this iMac.

 

[nylonsteel]

first thing i thought of when i saw the imacs on this story is -
man crt monitors sure do take up a big foot print
glad we have moved forward from crt monitor anchors

 

[Motorola68000]

Steve didn't found Pixar, he bought the company.

Steve acknowledging the potential, but he realised that potential. He became major shareholder and he was instrumental in developing Pixar MacRenderman. If Steve had not stepped in then all the founder of Renderman would have migrated away or Pixar may have closed altogether. Steve Jobs stepped in but was at first declined then accepted, as he not only realised the potential he made that potential happen. It was even Steve who made sure it was released to the mainstream market. As for Steve Jobs buying it as though he bought the Pixar we know today, its just not true.

Indeed just like Apple, Steve saved that company, as they would have one under but Steve increased his financial backing of the company as otherwise the company would have gone bust and his investment was $50m which is what gave him control of the company, so not quite right to say he bought it. He saved it. A MATTER OF FACT.

Steve offered me shares, but like an idiot I didn't have the resources to take up shares.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

Remembering you used to get a G4 iMac for $799

G3 🤓 the G4 didn’t sell that low

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

G3 🤓 the G4 didn’t sell that low

Also the Mac Mini is the spiritual successor to that price point

 

[Craigwilliam]

Remembering you used to get a G4 iMac for $799

The Entry level iMac G4 was $1299, the same entry price point as it is now.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

The Entry level iMac G4 was $1299, the same entry price point as it is now.

With inflation

 

[litmag01]

The iMac has always been a machine I wanted to love, but just couldn't because it wastes so much by way of material resources at EOL. I prefer to stick to Mac minis where at least the monitor is a separate movable/replaceable component.

 

[alfonsog]

It is a bloody shame it takes so long for an iMac to launch. You would be stupid to buy an M1 now when the M2 is on full swing and the M3 is right around the corner. Once again Apple is testing its customers to the bloody limit.

Apple’s never changed; it’s always been like this. Buy the newest thing when it comes out and enjoy it while everyone else waits for a rev b that may or may not ever come out or may be 2-3 years away. I bought my brother’s family the new iMac right on release day maxed out and it hasn’t changed in 2 years nor has the price lowered.