Check out this site:
http://vintageapple.org/macworld/. I came across it recently, and it was fun reliving those heady times, from about 1999-2002. Apple on the comeback, resurgent under Steve, iconic designs one after the other (iMac, iMac G4, G4 tower, G4 Cube, Titanium PowerBook etc.). When computers were piling on the clock speed every year, and PPC and x86 were genuine rivals.
What's uncanny, though, is how much things have also stayed the same. Even in those days, articles were criticising Apple's high prices, stingy default configurations, crippled entry-level models, secrecy about the roadmap, reluctance to offer extended repairs for design faults and so on. It's all eerily familiar.
Objectively, modern machines are better designed. The iMac G4 was cool, but was also heavy, difficult to cool and had a complicated layout vs. just putting a flat motherboard behind an equally flat LCD. The G4 tower was a great size, and a gorgeous design, but the airflow was dreadful (doubtless because the CPUs in early ones barely used any power). But in those days, Apple the underdog, pulling out all the stops with flashy, characterful designs. As Apple grew, they got more conservative, until everything became a silver rectangle with rounded corners. Their modern stuff is great, and I use it daily, but the fun and excitement has definitely been lost.
Also, Steve was the consummate salesman. His unveiling of the original iPhone was a total classic. Can't say I've ever watched a Tim Cook keynote.
