![]() ![]() Tiring of the multicolor iMac parade (by then widely imitated), Apple chose a clean, frosty white color scheme for this new PC. Somehow, the design actually worked, though it was not without controversy. It featured a flat-panel LCD display mounted on an adjustable metal arm, which, in turn, connected to a sturdy base containing the computer’s other components. The company unveiled the radically novel iMac G4 in 2002. credit Photo: Apple Meet the iLamp = description After revolutionizing the PC design world with the original iMac, Apple struck again: this time with a PC that bore an uncanny resemblance to a table lamp. Stretched across, below, is a line of new colors released in 2000: indigo, ruby, sage, graphite and snow. Seen here are two of Apple’s most-whimsical designs (top), called "flower power" and "blue dalmatian" (2001). ![]() Apple also replaced the iMac’s tray-loading optical drive with a slot-loading model in 1999. While the original iMac contained a fan, later iMacs were convection-cooled – making them blessedly silent. Along the way, the iMac gained a few significant external changes. credit Photo: Apple Stoner Macs = description Never content to stand still, Apple continued to cycle through various iMac colors until the end of the G3 line in 2003. Apple has since moved on to new design motifs, but the early iMac’s influence still echoes in the industrial design world. Everything from vacuum cleaners to paper towel dispensers to George Foreman grills stole a page from the iMac’s design playbook. The next time you see an appliance with a translucent plastic case, or available in multiple candy colors, you can thank Apple. In 1999, Apple introduced five new color schemes for the iMac: blueberry, strawberry, lime, tangerine and grape. credit Photo: Apple Candy Colors = description Bondi blue wasn’t good enough. Amazingly, much of the consumer design world came along for the ride. ![]() Apple designer Jonathan Ive took PC industrial design to new heights with the iMac’s colorful teardrop case. But the G3-powered computer’s greatest innovation lay in its eye-catching appearance. Among its novel technical features, the iMac ditched the then-ubiquitous floppy drive in favor of built-in home networking. credit Photo: Apple Bondi Blue = description Released in August 1998, the original "Bondi blue" iMac (its color reportedly named after the waters off an Australian beach) blew beige boxes out of the water. With a $7,499 price tag ($10,277 in today’s money) and limited-edition status, it stood conceptually opposite the universally accessible iMac. The haughty design of the 20th Anniversary Macintosh (1997, lower right), foreshadowed later LCD-display iMacs. Released in early 1998, its specs were similar to the iMac’s, but were available only to educational institutions. The Power Mac G3 all-in-one (lower left) was the closest Apple ever came to a beige iMac. Apple resurrected its quiet, appliance-like qualities 14 years later. Left: The iMac wasn’t Apple’s first PC to feature a display and motherboard integrated into the same case the original 1984 Macintosh (top center) shared a similar form factor. ![]() Here’s a look at the evolution of the iMac: past, present and future. Over the years, the iMac’s trendsetting arc has continued, with a total of four distinct models (and a close family member), some of which shipped in a handful of flavors. Its strong sales reversed Apple’s dire mid-1990s financial situation and enabled the company to get back on the road to relevance. It also marked the return of Steve Jobs as the visionary, design-obsessed leader that Apple desperately needed. The cute, translucent blue, all-in-one PC was easily the most influential personal computer of the 1990s, heralding a return to simplicity and ease of use and briefly sparking an industrial design fad around clear, colored plastic. ![]()
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