IMac G3

In the late 1990s, Apple Computer was experiencing severe financial difficulties. At the end of 1997, the company was selling 1.8 million Macs per year, in comparison with 4.5 million two years earlier. Apple's sales were compromised by licensed Mac systems that undercut and out-performed Apple's own products. Apple was unable to compete in the low-cost computer market, and entirely abandoned the sector. In December 1996, Apple purchased the NeXT computer company, founded by Steve Jobs. As part of the deal, he returned to Apple, the company he had co-founded in 1976 and then been ousted from in 1985. Apple also acquired NeXT's operating system NeXTSTEP, which would become the foundation for Apple's next-generation operating system Mac OS X. Jobs returned to Apple as an advisor but the company's board of directors dismissed CEO Gil Amelio on July 9, 1997, and Jobs replaced him in an interim capacity. Around the same time, Apple's industrial design director Robert Brunner left the company and was succeeded by junior designer Jony Ive, who inherited the award-winning design team. Ive was dispirited with Apple's leadership and also considered leaving. At a meeting announcing Jobs's appointment as Apple's CEO, Jobs told his staff that Apple's problems stemmed from its poor products. Ive noted Jobs's focus on making industrial design a core part of Apple's comeback strategy. Ive and Jobs quickly developed a rapport, and Jobs retained Apple's industrial design team under Ive's leadership. Jobs streamlined the company into profitability by cost-cutting, but the company still needed compelling products to boost sales. He planned to reduce Apple's extensive and confusing computer offerings to four products: a laptop and desktop model each for professionals and consumers. The planned consumer-oriented desktop computer would become the iMac. ==Design==

Jobs initially wanted the new consumer desktop to be a network computer—a cheap, low-powered terminal without disk drives that would connect to Internet servers. Ive's design team was given Jobs's specifications for the new product in September 1997: it should be a distinctive, all-in-one computer with a price of about $1,200, much lower than the for contemporary entry-level models. The engineering and design teams had less than one year to deliver a finished product. The design team tried to discern what objects conveyed the emotions they wanted the computer to evoke. While collaboratively developing sketches, designer Doug Satzger drew an ovoid drawing based on his earlier work on Thomson televisions. Ive and the rest of the team focused on the ovoid design, although Jobs initially rejected the look. Ive defended the design as playful and fun, and persuaded Jobs to accept the idea. Jobs began carrying a foamcore model of the computer around the Apple campus to show it off. When discussing the idea of a machine that inspired positive emotions, the designers mentioned colorful candy dispensers. Materials tests with solid plastics looked cheap, so they made the case translucent. Translucent hardware design was not new to Apple's products; the Power Macintosh 8600, 9600, and Power Macintosh G3 tower computers had translucent green latches, and the LaserWriter 8500, eMate 300, and Studio Display incorporated translucent colored plastics more extensively. Former Apple senior designer Thomas Meyerhoffer described the eMate's plastics as a way of making the product accessible and distinctive. To Ive, the translucency "came across as cheeky" but meant the aesthetic design of the internal components would also need to be considered. Inspiration came from translucent items the designers brought to the office; one item was a piece of greenish-blue beach glass. This "Bondi blue" object inspired the color Jobs selected for the first iMac. Apple's design team radically overhauled its processes to meet the tight deadline. In the past, they had sent two-dimensional blueprints or hand-drawn sketches to toolmakers to create molds, a laborious process that could take months. Instead, Apple relied on computer-aided design (CAD) using the three-dimensional (3D) modeling program Alias Wavefront to sculpt designs, and CNC milling machines and primitive 3D printers to create physical mockups. Apple's product designers wrote software to allow the Wavefront 3D models to be brought into Unigraphics, a program that was used in aerospace design. This process allowed the engineers to compare 3D models of the computer's components with the casing, speeding up the process of finding a workable combination of external and internal elements. Jobs reconsidered the network computer concept as similar products struggled in the market, and recalibrated the project as a full-featured computer with optical disc storage and hard drives. The finalized iMac's components and cathode-ray tube (CRT) display are enclosed within a plastic shell. The translucent effect was achieved by mixing light-scattering particles into the plastic, instead of texturing the surface as is typically done with injection-molded parts. The computer features translucency throughout, such as the small foot to raise the computer, and the power cord resembling condensation on glass. Port labels and regulatory markings have holographic stickers. The design team added a recessed handle to the back of the computer to make it more personal and approachable for new computer users. The cost of the casing was more than three times that of a typical computer but Ive credited Jobs with intuitively understanding the design aims and not demanding justification for the increased costs. The keyboard and mouse were redesigned with matching translucent plastics and trim for the iMac. Ive was especially proud of the round mouse, which shows the complicated internal components that are partially hidden behind the Apple logo. Jobs wanted the new computer to be a modern, legacy-free PC without old or proprietary technology. Engineers adapted the Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP) specification to speed development. This included standard SO-DIMM RAM of Windows-based PCs, and an Open Firmware read-only memory (ROM). While previous models stored substantial machine-specific OS components in ROM to minimize RAM use, with CHRP the iMac loaded them into RAM from storage, shortening production time. The iMac has no serial ports, Apple Desktop Bus, or floppy disk drive. To replace the removed ports, the iMac has Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, which were faster and cheaper than Apple Desktop Bus and serial ports but were very new—the standard was not finalized until after the iMac's release—and unsupported by any third-party Mac peripheral. Jobs wagered USB would solve the problem of accessory makers abandoning the shrinking Mac market with its special connectors. The iMac does not officially have an expansion slot, but early versions include a PCI Mezzanine Card slot intended for internal use but for which a few third parties produced expansion cards, such as video card upgrades and SCSI ports. Early models have an IrDA infrared port that wirelessly connects personal digital assistants and other devices. Jobs was furious the initial iMac model came with a tray-loading CD-ROM drive rather than a more-modern slot-loading drive, and nearly canceled the product launch over it. Jobs continued with the launch after he was assured subsequent models would include a slot-loading CD-ROM drive as soon as possible. In early 1998, representatives from the advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day were shown the new computer, codenamed "C1". Creative director Ken Segall said the agency's first impression was that the product might be too shocking to be successful. Jobs was proud to show off Apple's work, saying "the back of our computer looks better than the front of [our competitors'] computers". Jobs informed Segall the internal name was "MacMan", contributed by Apple's marketing executive Phil Schiller, and solicited a study for a better name. Apple stipulated the name must contain "Mac", it must evoke easy Internet connectivity, and it must not sound portable or toy-like. TBWA spent a week developing other names; Segall's pick was "iMac"; it was short, it said the product was a Macintosh computer, and the i prefix suggested the internet. Jobs disliked all of the suggested names and gave the agency another week to generate more possibilities. At the next presentation, Segall once again ended with "iMac"; Jobs said he no longer hated the name but still preferred "MacMan". Segall thought he had failed, but the next day he learned Jobs had suggested the name to other employees and gotten a positive response. The product was thus named the iMac. ==Release==

Steve Jobs unveiled the iMac on May 6, 1998. The product launch echoed that of the original Macintosh 128K in 1984. It was staged in the same location, the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at De Anza College. Jobs invited Apple founding members Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and Michael Scott, as well as members of the original Macintosh team. After demonstrating the look of traditional computers, Jobs revealed the iMac from under a tablecloth. The computer displayed "Hello (again)" on its screen, hearkening back to the Macintosh's whimsical "Hello" introduction. Apple began shipping the iMac on August 15, 1998. To make sure Apple was able to ship as many Macs as possible, operations executive Tim Cook prebooked $100 million in air freight. Apple was able to meet demand while at the same time causing shipping delays for their competitors during the holiday season. Model lineup The first release of the iMac G3 had a 233 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, ATI Rage IIc graphics, 4 GB hard drive, 32MB of RAM, a tray-loading CD-ROM drive, two USB ports, networking, an infrared port, built-in stereo speakers, and headphone ports. Its casing was Bondi blue–colored and it shipped with Mac OS 8.1. On October 17, the iMac was updated with faster ATI Rage Pro Turbo graphics options and Mac OS 8.5. A more substantial revision to the iMac lineup came in January 1999. These new models came in five colors: blueberry, strawberry, tangerine, grape, and lime. They had a 266 MHz processor and a 6 GB hard drive. The infrared port and mezzanine slot were removed. Apple released a new series of iMacs on October 5, 1999, focused on the emerging digital video (DV) market. The new models were similar in appearance to the previous models but had a slightly smaller enclosure; the steel casing shrouding many of the components in the previous model was removed, the colors were lighter, and the plastics clearer. The tray-loading CD-ROM drive was replaced with a slot-loading drive and a rear door was fitted so users could easily add RAM, and a slot for an AirPort wireless networking card was added. The computer's components were cooled fanlessly by convection, with hot air exhausted through vents around the top handle. Three new models were offered, and some colors and features were restricted to certain models. The cheapest model, now at $999, was available in only one color. It shipped with a 350 MHz processor, 64 MB of RAM, a new graphics chipset, and a larger hard drive. The iMac DV came in five colors and shipped with the video-editing software iMovie. It also had a 400 MHz processor, two FireWire ports for high-speed connectivity, a larger hard drive, and DVD-ROM optical drive. The iMac DV Special Edition came in a new color named graphite, and shipped with more RAM and a 13 GB hard drive—the largest capacity in the lineup. The iMac DV models also included a VGA video-out port for mirroring the iMac's display on another monitor. On July 19, 2000, Apple released a new iMac lineup with four configurations in five colors. The base model had no FireWire port or video-out socket, came in an indigo casing, and retailed for $799. It had the same processor and memory as the previous iMac with a larger hard drive. The iMac DV and DV+ models had 400 MHz and 450 MHz processors, respectively, and larger hard drives; and the DV+ model had a DVD-ROM drive. The most expensive model was the iMac DV Special Edition, which had a 500 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM, a larger hard drive, and an exclusive snow color. Apple's next iMac revision was released on February 22, 2001. The new machines came with CD-RW drives and iTunes software as Apple shifted to digital music consumption. The iMac and iMac Special Edition shipped with 400 to 600 MHz processors and FireWire became standard alongside a faster graphics chipset and larger hard drives. Apple supplemented the existing indigo and graphite colors with two new patterns, "Flower Power" and "Blue Dalmatian", which were intended as visual representations of music. A final revision in July 2001 returned to more sedate colors—indigo, graphite, and snow. These models shipped with Mac OS X, 500, 600, or 700 MHz processors, up to 256 MB of RAM, and a 60 GB hard drive on the Special Edition. Following the introduction of the iMac G4 in January 2002, Apple continued selling some G3-based iMac models, with 500 and 600 MHz models in indigo, snow, and graphite. The indigo and graphite models were discontinued first, and the snow model was discontinued in March 2003. == Sales ==

The iMac G3 was an immediate hit with consumers, with 278,000 units sold in the first six weeks, and 800,000 units after 20 weeks. It was the top-selling desktop computer in US stores the first three months of its release. Nearly half of iMac sales were to first-time computer buyers, and nearly 20 percent were Microsoft Windows users who switched to the Mac. In the quarter the iMac shipped, Macintosh computer sales grew year-on-year for the first time since late 1995, and saw the Mac grow its worldwide market share from 3 to 5 percent. Apple went from losing $878 million in 1997 to making $414 million in 1998, its first profit in three years. The iMac continued to be a strong seller for Apple, with 3.7 million units sold by July 2000, and shipping the five-millionth iMac in April 2001. In announcing the computer's successor in January 2002, Jobs said that the iMac had sold 6 million units. == Critical reception ==

The iMac G3 received mixed reviews on release. Tech reviewers were often negative about the machine. The look of the iMac was generally praised. Many reviewers compared its curved look to the recently released Volkswagen New Beetle, journalist Rob Morse likened it to a "huggable", futuristic machine like R2-D2 or a toy from The Jetsons. Less positive reviews compared the iMac to an AMC Gremlin. According to Morse, the iMac felt "almost human" and approachable for a non-tech consumer. but others felt the machine was underpowered, and PC Worlds testing showed that the machine generally performed less well than Windows PC competitors. Although reviewers noted that general consumers and new computer buyers would be well served by the machine, they were less sure that it could fit into an office environment, especially if it was not networked. Criticism focused on the iMac's lack of legacy ports. Gore considered the loss of the floppy drive acceptable but wished that the CD-ROM module, which was identical to that of the PowerBook notebook, could be swapped. He said the lack of expansion slots limited the computer's future potential. The Washington Posts John Breeden highlighted the lack of SCSI as making the iMac unsuitable for office work. low amount of installed memory, Another major complaint with the iMac was its original mouse and keyboard, which reviewers said were small and difficult to use comfortably, calling them an example of style over substance. The shape of the mouse was derisively compared to a hockey puck, and its reviewers considered the cable too short. The mouse's round shape made it difficult for users to discern its correct orientation. The mouse and keyboard were replaced with the Apple Pro Mouse and Apple Pro Keyboard for the 2000-revision iMacs. Other complaints included the lack of software and USB accessories, incompatibility with Microsoft Windows, and price. Later iMac G3 models addressed some of the product's perceived shortcomings. As the product line aged, reviews noted the new models offered few advances over previous versions. The iMac won several design competitions and awards, including Gold at the 1999 D&AD Design Awards in the UK, and "Object of the Year" by The Face. iMac G3 models are held in the collections of museums including the Henry Ford, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Powerhouse Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. ==Legacy==

The iMac G3 became a computing icon. Paul Atkinson wrote that the original Macintosh made a huge impact on computing, but it had not affected the look of computers; for decades, personal computers were defined by unimaginative, beige boxes. The iMac, in contrast, did not affect the way consumers used computers but its design changed the idea of the appearance of computers. Apple defined itself in opposition to its competitors, who rushed to produce computers that followed the iMac's design language, adding similar translucent or colored plastic to their designs. The iMac mirrored contemporary design trends in its use of streamlining and curves; one designer said the focus on rounding helped make objects more approachable and personal. Apple protected the distinctive iMac design with legal action against competing computer makers who attempted to imitate the iMac, such as eMachines' eOne. The iMac made computers fashionable rather than utilitarian, and helped popularize USB and hasten the demise of the floppy disk. The iMac's sales helped buoy Apple while it released a modern operating system and refreshed the rest of the Mac lineup. The computer's success positioned the company to focus on emerging digital media trends. == Specifications ==