The original iMac entered a computing world that was in desperate need of a shake-up.
After the wild early days of the personal computer revolution, things had become stagnant by the mid-1990s. Apple had spent a decade frittering away the Mac’s advantages until most of them were gone, blown out of the water by the enormous splash of Windows 95. It was the era of beige desktop computers chained to big CRT displays and other peripherals.
In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to an Apple that was at death’s door, and in true Princess Bride style, he rapidly ran down a list of the company’s assets and liabilities. Apple didn’t have a wheelbarrow or a holocaust cloak, but it did have a young industrial designer who had been experimenting with colors and translucent plastic in Apple’s otherwise boring hardware designs.
The original iMac is simply a delightful machine. I vividly remember that the reception and administrative workers at the orthodontic department at the hospital in Alkmaar used them, and teenage me would peek past the reception desk to catch glimpses of the colourful machines.
I still love the original iMac.
In 1998 my wife and I bought our first Apple computer. A Bondi Blue iMac which I still have and it still works. I have bought six iMacs and one Mac Mini since then.
However, I still love BeOS and OS/2 much better than Macs but they don’t have all of the apps that I NEED let alone want. But out of all the operating systems that I’ve used (over 50 different OSs and different versions/distributions only count as one), Macs are the only one that is reliable (Windows is a joke with reliability and security) enough and has all of the apps that I need while making my life a joy.
It all started with my 1998 Bondi Blue iMac. While I’ve used literally dozens and dozens of OSs other than Mac, those are just for playing around but Macs are what I get my -work- AND play on. And if I can’t get it on Macs, I get it with Playstations.
Sabon,
Windows reliability was pretty bad, but I was exposed to macs at university (not the original imacs, but later on), and they did crash in the labs too. So I don’t think macs were completely reliable either. I think they’ve both come a long way though, full OS crashes are rare today.
I remember that during my university years, my most naive comment was: “Mac computers crash too?”
NOTHING is completely reliable and I never said Macs were. Just compared to Windows … well Mac, OS/2 and BeOS looked great compared to Windows based on personal experience.
When you get more done in the same amount of time and you have a better experience doing it using non-MS products, well there is nothing else I NEED to say. But I NEVER said ANY of the OSs were perfect. It’s just that MS products have been less than vs the other OSs.
Sabon,
Sure, but you do appreciate that not everyone likes macos, right? I actually find myself much more productive on windows than macos. I’m not claiming it’s better for everyone, but when you grow up on something, it can become second nature. And as for looks, IMHO I actually liked the look and feel of windows circa 2k. The point is a lot of this is subjective and people have different tastes and experiences.
I don’t think any are perfect for me either. I’d have a wish list regardless of the OS I was using, haha.
So much BS. Mac 9 and previous where as bad as Windows. The difference is that Windows had 95% of the market and so people focused on it.
I think the iPod has a better claim to saving Apple than the iMac. The iMac was doing OK, but it was the iPod that took Apple to the next level.
However it can’t be argued that the road to recovery started at the iMac.
The iPod didn’t save Apple, the iMac (and the colourful models that followed) saved Apple. They are what dragged Apple from a beige irrelevancy and brought them into a profitable and fashionable company again.
The iPod launched Apple into the tech juggernaut it is today. The iMac saved Apple, and Apple probably would have continued to be a small but profitable enterprise on Mac sales alone. But the iPod truly revolutionised Apple and laid the groundwork for the company we know of today.
That’s because you weren’t around when Apple was going bankrupt in 1998. The iPod didn’t come out until years later. By the time that the iPods came out, Apple would have already gone bankrupt.
Now if you want to say that Apple barely hung on until iPods came about you would be MORE correct but even then still not correct. Just less … incorrect.
It’s a nice story, but the data says different.
https://dazeinfo.com/2019/08/01/apple-revenue-by-year-worldwide-graphfarm/
The reality is 2001 (the year the iPod was released) was Apple’s worst year in revenue since 1990.
However, fueled by iPod, Apple’s revenue then went on a tear, increasing year on year with iPod growth until the first annual decline in 2016.
I put it to you that the iMac might have put Apple back on the map as still an interesting company, but Apple would eventually have died without the iPod, or would have eventually been sold to a Chinese maker of Windows clones and would only exist today as a brand (much like Polaroid etc).
mkone,
Very good use of data!
It goes to show that it’s really hard for underdogs in an established market. Apple turned into a juggernaut only after entering new markets, one of which grew to virtually the entire population. Without that apple might not have made it to this decade. They might have been bought up for scraps by a larger rival.
Now that apple are so dominant in the mobile market, they’re the ones putting others out of business. Honestly I kind of wish small companies were more viable even if it meant displacing huge companies. The consolidation into massive corporations that get the whole pie feels like a dystopia to me.
apple 1984 commercial and it’s epic parody, just because:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPn_PGuYesw
Holocaust cloak? is it a stab at jack tramiel of commodore/atari fame? (geniune holocaust survivor) or is it some term/saying in english that i fail to grasp?
The reference to “The Princess Bride” is your clue! https://princessbride.fandom.com/wiki/Holocaust_cloak
aah so it was a movie reference, thank you sir.
i rarely watch movies or tv, maybe two times per year, so no wonder i didnt get it.
I was never a fan of the original iMac. Even in those days, Apple was using bottom drawer hardware. The ridiculously curved screen,
with its low resolution and pixelated fonts made it an absolute chore to use. The eMac was an improvement as Apple discovered flat screens years after everyone else but then, again, a 17″ screen, which is incapable of outputting at SVGA put me off as well.
My 1998 Bondi Blue iMac still works with zero issues. Can you say that for any “PCs” that you might have been able to have since 1998? Actually, ALL of my iMacs that I’ve bought starting with that 1998 Bondi Blue iMac are still in my house and still work. How’s that for bottom drawer hardware?
Sabon,
Unless there were bad caps, in general most hardware that was working when decommissioned will still run decades later. Especially if it wasn’t subjected to the elements. I used to have a lot of old hardware like that, still technically worked, but it gets so obsolete and slow and nobody wants it.
The capacitor plague has been an issue with turn-of-the-millennium machines, but that affected basically everything, not just PCs. Even Macs have know to have failed capacitors.
For the most part, hardware doesn’t “wear out” (apart from fans and mechanical drives). Some components don’t age very well, namely capacitors, but that’s a widespread problem across all electronics
Apple lost this lesson. Buy Marketing to Rich people and not to the common people. Make products for everyone not just a luxury brand. They used to push to be in schools, are they now? Never hear a peep about that. Do you see ads Apple being relatable to normal people? No. There used to be Huge Crows of Developers and Fans Supporting Apple, then Apple changed they way they work and it’s no longer open, Customizable, Something new to develop for. Now it’s Commercialized and boring. Where is the Energy for new things? there isn’t any. $3500 for a product. With todays’ economy? Could they make a Gaming platform with little effort? Def so. Will they? no. Why? Bah BORING….