iMac | The Computer of the Future

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The year 1998 was one of many turning points in the machine age. With the launch of Windows 95 bringing computers to millions of households around the world, people were more familiar with them than they had ever been prior. They were aware of the advantages, the disadvantages, the customs that were to be expected when dealing with a computer…well, for the most part. With the homogenization of the tech industry and a glooming Y2K, things were due for a change. And seemingly beyond the grave, Apple was here to bring that change. (SHOW) Within just twelve weeks, the iMac had become the number one selling computer in America. It was an instant hit among consumers and even prevented Apple from going out of business. In just a few years, iMac would become one of the highest selling computers of all time.

From it's design, this really isn’t a surprise. The computer quite literally brought the color into an otherwise boring and dull PC world. Not only did consumers have the excitement of getting to choose their own color from a variety of fun names, (this coined the nickname “gumdrop” Mac) but it also opened a whole new world for those who were just getting to learn about computers for the first time. It introduced the personal computer to them in a way that wasn’t intimidating and hard to understand, but instead fun and exhilarating. The iMac wasn’t just a computer; it was your friend, and it made itself very clear that this was the role technology must have going forward.

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[OuterGalaxyLounge]

I was working at a large university at the time and was so anxious and thrilled when the management got me one of the first of these for my office. It looked so amazing compared to anything we'd had before. The lack of a floppy drive was so weird at the time but we got over it and floppies were gone so fast after that with the increasing storage memory/archival needs. It seems like a blip in time now, and I can barely remember even having the computer for very long, as things progressed so fast.

[s_ludge]

The iMac was so cool as a kid for me, I've always preferred Windows machines but there was something about using these in the computer lab at school that was really exciting. I love that stylized aesthetic so much, and I miss that transparent plastic. As sinful as it would be, I would love to gut one and build a sleeper PC inside.

[chameleonhrt]

I've got so much nostalgia for these iMac designs. They were so prevalent in my pre-teen to teen years due to most of my schools having these in the computer labs. Just seeing that keyboard and mouse combo at the beginning of the video brought back so many memories.

[THEMIMIK]

Even today, the iMac looks absolutely beautiful

[Kbyte]

Man, i remember as a poor kid seeing other people with iMacs. They were such beautiful computers and it pushed me to learn more and more about tech. Sadly, now as an adult Apple don't make awe inspiring computers anymore.

[michaelturner]

11:10 "just plug in Ethernet" uhhh that's not how dial up works

Also as someone who worked in the PC industry at the time, by the time iMacs came out, every single Windows computer came with a modem unless you custom built one without. And of course sign-ups for some of the most popular dial-up services.

[melasnexperience]

I have a weird nostalgia for the beige box era of computers... especially the way the beige would slowly but surely turn to yellow (and sometimes get inexplicably sticky). So inelegant it looped around to being iconic.

[pink.yoshi]

I'm so mad you didn't say the popularity of the floppy "flopped"

[SDWNJ]

One clarification: This talked about the variety of colors of iMacs, but that wasn’t until the second generation. The first generation was only available in one color. To paraphrase Henry Ford - you could get it in any color you wanted as long as that was Bondi Blue.

[CharlesShow]

Ironically I just got an iMac today (graphite 400mhz) today for $30 and it works!

[g-forceproductions]

My grade school had a fleet of iMac G3s in service until around 2010 when they sold them quite cheaply. I bought one and actually it's still across the room from me lol.

[ZiggyMercury]

You have an important mistake at 5:07: at that time (1985), Jobs wasn't Apple's CEO, he was Apple's Chairman. The CEO (and President) was John Sculley.

[beanpasteposts]

I remember when these dropped, my elementary school IMMEDIATELY got them. They came with a fun 3D Dinosaur game that I played whenever I got the chance to go to the computer lab. Good times ❤

[MrZics]

I remember vividly in grade 2 the first time I saw these in the computer lab. It was AMAZING! It was like being beamed into the future going from the old and ugly beige computers with big clunky keyboards to these colourful translucent computers with thin and minimalist keyboards. And then there was OS X which was like nothing I'd seen before. Going from Windows which was still very grey and square, to OS X which was colourful, with rounded graphics was simply breathtaking. Although I do remember that first version of OS X crashing or freezing a lot lol. The spinning beachball of death!

[androgynylunacy]

I wanted an iMac so badly. We had them in our computer lab when I was in high school.

[GloomyFish]

i miss when tech looked all round, bubbly and semitransparent

[iRedMCYT]

1:58 This was a “WTF” moment for me LOL what an interesting segue… TO OUR SPONSOR!

[monsterhunterdave]

I remember looking at these computers and wanting one so bad. As a kid i LOVED taking apart electronics so i can see whats inside it and the semi clear iMac was SO COOL to me.

[therealhardrock]

One of the things never talked about that saved Apple was eliminating the incompatibilities between Macs and PCs. Nowadays, you can connect the same keyboards and mice to Macs and PCs, you can take files created on PCs and read them on Macs. That wasn't possible for a time. With the prevalence of the internet and the online transfer of files, this was a necessity.