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The Complete iMac History -- Bondi to Aluminum

Michael Simon — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:52:43 -0600

It was perhaps the greatest gamble of Steve Jobs’ career. Barely 18 months into his second tour of duty with the company he founded, Apple’s interim CEO gathered a cadre of reporters at Cupertino’s Flynt Auditorium on May 6, 1998, to showcase the newest member Mac family: a funny-looking, rebellious sibling with a flashy attitude and a remarkable sense of style. Dressed in blue plastic and built to harness the power of the Internet, the iMac was the first PC that actually felt personal. And it would forever change Apple, the industry, and virtually everyone who came into contact with it.

iMac G3

Legend has it that Steve didn’t warm to the iMac name until after it rolled off the assembly line, but it’s hard to imagine it being called anything else. With no less than five meanings attached to its little prefix--internet, individual, instruct, inform, inspire--the original Bondi Blue iMac was the personification of Apple’s think different campaign, an ingenious, incomparable, inimitable all-in-one machine designed to combine "the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh."

While not quite the screamer it was billed to be, the first iMac was no slouch: $1,299 bought you a 233MHz G3 processor, 512MB L2 cache, 32MB RAM, ATI Rage IIc graphics, 4GB hard drive, tray-loading CD-ROM drive, 2 USB ports, stereo speakers, a funky mouse, garish keyboard and, of course, a 15-inch CRT display all built around a semi-translucent blue shell. Consumers immediately responded by ditching the boring, beige alternative, and soon iMacs were brightening desktops everywhere.

But Bondi Blue didn’t appeal to everyone, and in 1999 (following a minor graphics refresh to accommodate OS 8.5), Steve took the iMac to "a whole new level." Determined to let users "express themselves in a new way," the iMac picked up five fruit-inspired colors (Strawberry, Blueberry, Lime, Grape and Tangerine ) for its first major revision. To sweeten the deal, Apple added 33 extra megahertz and trimmed $100 off the price tag--and in April, a 333MHz processor sped things up even more--but it was the array of colors that consistently stole the show. (If you’re feeling nostalgic--or just looking for a unique aquarium--they can be had today for as cheap as a bag of fruit.)

Steve didn’t let the iMac rest on its palette, however. In October, the iMac DV brought the machine’s first FireWire ports, wireless support, slot-loading DVD-ROM drive and 400MHz processor, and added a RAM-stuffed, high-capacity special edition in the same Graphite color as its big brother Power Mac. At Macworld New York in July 2000, four new models made their appearance in an array of new colors, running up to 500MHz and ranging from $799 to $1,499: iMac (Indigo), iMac DV (Indigo, Ruby), iMac DV+ (Indigo, Ruby, Sage) and iMac DV SE (Graphite and Snow).

A quiet update most notable for finally ditching the puck mouse, the sixth version of the iMac unofficially kicked off an 18-month waiting game for the next big thing, as the bubble-butt design began to show its age underneath the semi-annual paint job. But first, the iMac had to earn its spots.

In February 2001, the iMac sunk to new depths with a gimmick that kicked the Reality Distortion Field into overdrive. Sensing the color wheel had run its course, Steve somehow convinced consumers that trippy, abstract patterns were the most logical way launch the "Rip, Mix, Burn" campaign. The Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power iMacs marked the beginning of the end of the original iMac’s cachet, and the CRT Wunderkind would see just one more update during the remainder of its reign, bumping the three surviving colors--Indigo, Graphite and Snow--to a top speed of 700MHz at Macworld New York 2001. (These days, $75 will get you one of the final models to roll off the assembly line, which still runs OS X, all the way up to Tiger.)

A $799 600MHz Snow model would remain on shelves until March 2003, when its hipper cousin, the flat-panel, white-and-chrome eMac G4, picked up the CRT mantle.

iMac G4

Time magazine might have stolen a bit of the thunder from Steve’s Macworld San Francisco 2003 keynote, but even a leaked cover story with pics could hardly prepare anyone for what emerged from beneath the Moscone Center stage that morning. A floating, flat screen attached to a chrome neck and a gleaming white base, the iMac G4 had personality to spare and looked more at home in an art museum than on a desktop. Or, to hear Time describe it, a patch of grass:

As (Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive) walked through the 1,000-square-meter vegetable garden and apricot grove of Jobs' wife Laurene, Jobs sketched out the Platonic ideal for the new machine. "Each element has to be true to itself," Jobs told Ive. "Why have a flat display if you're going to glom all this stuff on its back? Why stand a computer on its side when it really wants to be horizontal and on the ground? Let each element be what it is, be true to itself." Instead of looking like the old iMac, the thing should look more like the flowers in the garden. Jobs said, "It should look like a sunflower."

A testament to Steve’s relentless pursuit of perfection, the iMac G4 brought more to the table than a distinctive design and 800 MHz G4 processor. Sporting an optional SuperDrive, a plethora of professional ports and a brilliant, widescreen display that “usher(ed) in the age of flat-screen computing for everyone,” the iMac G4 didn’t need a candy coating to turn heads and hardly felt like a consumer machine. With three identical models ranging from $1,299 (CD-RW, 700MHz G4, 128MB RAM, 40GB hard drive) to $1,799 (SuperDrive, 800MHz G4, 256MB RAM, 60GB hard drive), the iMac G4 began to blur the line between consumer and professional, and represented one of the greatest advancements in Apple’s history.

Naturally, it was a sensation. More than 150,000 units were ordered in the first three weeks and not even a $100 price bump to offset "significant increases in component costs for memory and LCD flat-panel displays" could slow down the sunflower juggernaut.

To keep the line fresh, the iMac G4 followed a unique upgrade path. At Macworld New York in July, a 17-inch flagship model topped off the popular trio of 15-inchers, which kept the same specs and pricing. The following February, the line was whittled down to just two models: a 1GHz 17-inch model (SuperDrive, 256MB RAM, 80GB hard drive) with internal Airport and Bluetooth support, and the same 800MHz 15-inch model (Combo drive), which saw its price drop back to the original $1,299. (Head over to eBay and pick one up--new and in the box--for just a tenth of its MSRP.) Six months later, both models were fitted with faster processors and graphics, DDR memory and USB 2.0, and wireless networking became standard.

The final update came in the form of a "huge, gorgeous" 20-inch model (identical spec-wise to the 17-inch it supplanted) that joined the line in November for $2,199 (and still sells for more than $500 today), leaving three distinct models for the remainder of its reign.

iMac G5

Unlike the iMac G3, which stuck around long after its successor arrived, Apple forced the iMac G4 into early retirement in July 2004 while it ironed out some last-minute issues with the upcoming model. Eventually introduced by Phil Schiller at the Paris Apple Expo on the final day of August, the iMac G5 was met with flurry of anticipation as Apple all but confirmed a dramatic overhaul for its next-generation iMac.

The first Mac truly inspired by the halo effect, the iMac G5 was brought to us by "the makers of the iPod" and it looked every bit the part. Abandoning the each-element-should-remain-true-to-itself philosophy, the iMac G5 was dressed in glossy, white plastic with a brushed aluminum foot and gray Apple logo. Sporting a 2-inch-thick housing built around a 17- or 20-inch screen, powerful 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz processor, and "completely redesigned system architecture," the iMac G5 brought the clean simplicity of Apple’s popular music player to its desktop computers in a timeless marriage of form and function.

The iMac G5’s upgrade path was anything but ordinary. The first, which didn’t land until May 2005, kept the same lineup--but trimmed $100 from the top-shelf model--and brought the requisite 2.0GHz processors, faster SuperDrives, higher-capacity hard drives and built-in Airport and Bluetooth, but also added a new ambient light sensor that lessened the intensity of the pulsing sleep light in a dark room.

But it was the second--and final--revision that really shook things up.

Arriving just five months later at Apple’s "One More Thing" event, the iMac Rev. C was noticeably light on the speed boost, bringing just 100 extra megahertz to the table. The Combo drive model was squeezed out in favor of a robust, SuperDrive-equipped 17-inch unit priced at $1,299; and another $100 was shaved off the top model, bringing it down to $1,699 for a 20-inch screen, 2.1GHz processor, 512MB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM, 8x SuperDrive and 250GB 7200 RPM hard drive.

Even more notable were the superficial changes to the all-in-one desktop machine. Designed to push the iMac closer to the living room, Apple pre-loaded all new iMac G5s with its "amazing Front Row experience" that included an infrared port and mini remote control that neatly attached to the right side. USB and FireWire ports were rightfully turned on their side and the case was trimmed by a half-inch, ushering in the first of the convex enclosures that would make their way into the MacBook Air and iPhone. An iSight camera was added to the top bezel for "out-of-the-box video conferencing," and Apple tossed a Mighty Mouse into the box, just for good measure. (If you’re still looking for one, scrape together $450 or so and head over to eBay.)

A subtle, stunning update, the design that Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal dubbed "the gold standard of desktop PCs" would need very little tweaking to stay fresh through the years, up to and including the latest 27-inch behemoth.

NEXT: The Intel Changeover

Intel iMac (Polycarbonate)

On the heels of the surprising redesign of the iMac G5, Apple kicked off its Intel transition at Macworld San Francisco 2006 by adding Core Duo processors to its iMac lineup, "delivering performance that is up to twice that of its predecessor." Leaving the design, pricing and other features unchanged from its PowerPC counterpart, Apple was sending a clear message that the chip changeover would be clean, seamless and virtually unrecognizable to the untrained eye.

Following the introduction of an $899 17-inch education configuration that brought back the CD-burning Combo drive, Apple upgraded the line in September with across-the-board Core 2 Duo processors ranging from 1.83GHz to 2.16GHz, and popped 802.11n Airport cards into the top three models. Once again, Apple made room in the lineup for a large-screen flagship model, this time in the form of an HD-ready 24-incher that sold for $1,999--and still sells for around $700. Heck, even the box can fetch $40 on eBay.

Intel iMac (Aluminum)

The first iMac that wasn’t wrapped in plastic was largely an incremental update--if not for its gorgeous aluminum-and-glass dressing. (Glass, of course, meant glossy, the first iMac to ditch the matte screen.) As if the new enclosures weren’t attractive enough, Apple dumped the 17-inch model in August 2007 and trimmed 20 percent from the price of the 2.0GHz 20-inch, bringing the price down to $1,199, the cheapest entry-level iMac since the G3. A 2.8GHz option, healthy RAM boost and faster graphics all around finished off the update, which would remain largely unchanged for two years.

The next two upgrades--in April 2008 and March 2009--were two of the quietest in the iMac’s illustrious reign. The first, a minor refresh that pushed the line above the psychological 3GHz barrier for the first time, upped the chip cache and frontside bus, and featured a custom, low-watt Intel processor that gave the metallic iMac a hefty push into the professional arena, what with its 24-inch screen, 500GB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics BTO option.

The early 2009 bump, essentially a lineup shuffle and price cut, was most notable for jettisoning the FireWire 400 port (a fourth USB 2.0 port made up the difference) and doubling the storage and memory; $1,499 now bought you a 24-inch model with a 640GB hard drive.

iMac Intel (Backlit)

Which brings us to the current lineup, the culmination of more than a decade of research and development. Hailed as "jaw-dropping," "stunning" and "screenormous," the new incarnation of the iMac presents an LED-backlit 27-inch screen flagship model in true 16:9 widescreen (previous models had a 16:10 aspect ratio) and a resolution that rivals Apple’s premium Cinema HD Display. Sporting a lineup that starts at 3.06GHz and tops off at Mac Pro-worthy Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors, the new iMac is distinguishable from its predecessor by a new “edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure” and represents the first mac to come bundled with the brand-new Multi-Touch Magic Mouse.

An attention-grabbing force that raises the bar yet again, today’s iMac shows virtually no resemblance to its candy-colored, bubble-butt ancestor that set the ball rolling so many years ago. But while every other Apple computer has undergone a post-Intel transition name change, the iMac, while certainly outgrowing its role as an Internet machine, has never strayed from its individual mission of instructing, informing and inspiring--and has never been shy about looking good while doing it.

Apple Denying Support to Smokers

Cory Bohon — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:58:50 -0600

Apple is snuffing out smokers and their computers when it comes to repairs.

According to the Consumerist, Apple has denied computer repair to at least two known Mac users after they took in their computers for repair. The reason? They're smokers and according to the Apple repair technicians, the problems may have been a result of second-hand smoke.

Both users took their complaints to the office of Steve Jobs where they explained the reason why they were denied service. Apple said that OSHA lists nicotine on a list of hazardous substances and Apple cannot require an employee to work on a device that has been intoxicated.

One of the affected users sent an email to the Consumerist detailing their response from Dena at Steve Jobs' office: "Dena set up an appointment at the same Apple store. They told me that they would take pictures of the computer - both inside and out before determining whether to proceed and that if the only problem was the optical drive, they'd probably just replace it. Dena called me earlier this week to deliver the 'bad news.' She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke!"

If this is, in fact, Apple's new policy and you are a smoker, then you might want to reconsider getting an AppleCare warranty. Both of the affected users couldn't find any reference to the smoking problem in the AppleCare terms. If this is the case, then Apple needs to make this point clear before charging consumers for an extended warranty that might be voided in a situation like this.

via Gizmodo

Give Your Magic Mouse More Gestures

Cory Bohon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:38:44 -0600

The new Apple Magic Mouse might be magical in some regards, but many owners are bummed because the mouse can’t do some of the cool Multi-Touch functions that the iPhone can.

MouseWizard, a small and inexpensive application for the Mac, hopes to remedy this situation by bringing even more Multi-Touch goodness to the Magic Mouse. The application, which costs $2.50, adds four additional functions to your Magic Mouse: Middle Click, Fourth Click, Zoom/Shrink, and Sleep.

The fourth click is customizable for Exposé, Dashboard, and Spotlight, and is accomplished by placing two fingers on the mouse surface, one on the right edge and one on the left. The selected action will then be completed without even having to do a click.

The Zoom/Shrink function is probably one of the coolest reasons to own a Magic Mouse and this software because it allows you to zoom in and out iPhone style by pinching and stretching two fingers across the surface. It works in many applications and can come in handy when you need to zoom in on an image or PDF in Preview.

The last new function that MouseWizard will give you is the ability to sleep your computer by covering the entire mouse surface with your hand and clicking.

The MouseWizard software is a simple application that stays in the menu bar. When you click its icon you will be able to set your preferences in a System Preferences styled window, complete with a testing area to try out the gestures. The application must remain open in order to keep using the new gestures.

Overall, we found this application to be a great addition to the already great Magic Mouse. We also discovered that if you own a MacBook Pro that you can also use this software to give your Multi-Touch trackpad some additional features.

You can get a 10-day trial of the MouseWizard software from the developer's website.

Apple's Black Friday Sales Hints

Brian Proffit — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:34:40 -0600

BoyGeniusReport just posted a graphic purporting to reveal significant discounts Apple will be offering on Black Friday sales. Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S.) is traditionally the hottest shopping day of the year, as people get ready for the holidays.

The ad, which is supposedly about to be emailed to Apple stores, says on that day only Apple will be offering up to 30% off on iPods (excluding iPhone and iPod Shuffle), up to 25% off on all Macs, and up to 15% off on accessories and software. It also says that "select" Apple stores will open at 6 a.m. for shoppers, and in-store gift wrapping will be available.

But i4u warns shoppers not to get their hopes up. "Last year only the 13.3-inch MacBook had a significant discount."

Satire: 10 Ideas Steve Pitched to Disney

Michael Simon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:53:18 -0600

It might not be as exciting as another tablet rumor, but the recent New York Times’ report that Disney and Steve Jobs are collaborating on a radical new retail shop design certainly piqued our curiosity. But the tip that landed in our inbox a few days later really caught our attention.

Titled "Top Secret Apple/Disney Ideas," it contained a handful of proposals that came straight from the Mouse’s brainstorming sessions with the Man himself. We’re not going to divulge our source (bring it on, Apple legal), but our Duc—, er, Deep Throat used his significant clout with Walt to gain access to one of the early meetings. Unfortunately, he was quickly thrown out for not wearing pants, but not before he snagged a handout of Steve’s Keynote presentation.

We’re pretty sure these didn’t make it past the first round of discussions, but you never know what might pop up.

Mighty Mickey Mouse

If not for the sudden introduction of Magic Mouse, we never would have believed this one, but apparently there’s a reason Steve didn’t retire Apple’s once-Mighty Mouse. An odd step backward from sleek Multi-Touch mouse now shipping, Steve proposed fitting Apple’s old pointer with a pair of black Mickey ears that added an extra pair of programmable buttons--and, from the best we can surmise, a bit of clunkiness and a whole lotta cheesy corporate branding.

Conscience Bar

Instead of dishing out computer advice in 15-minute intervals, Steve submitted an idea for a Conscience Bar staffed by a team of semi-professional, kid-friendly counselors. Obviously inspired by Pinocchio’s pal Jiminy Cricket, the station would dispense words of wisdom to toddlers and young adults who get in trouble and don’t know right from wrong. But here’s the really cool part: Little iPhone users could whistle into a special app to book the next available appointment.

Circle of iLife

Steve’s Lion King-inspired suite contains a trio of digital hub apps--Idol, Popcorn and Pictures--bundled together and given the full kiddie treatment. With an emphasis on simplicity, Circle of iLife strips GarageBand, iMovie and iPhoto down to its barest necessities and lets kids sing along with their favorite songs, direct their own Disney cartoons, and add fun effects to photos without worrying about submenus and pallets. As Steve so cleverly put it, "There's more to do than can ever be done."

Snow White Leopard

We know Steve’s in for some serious competition now that Microsoft has made an operating system people actually want to use, but rebranding OS X Snow Leopard seems a little desperate to us. So does dressing the dwarves in cute little cat costumes on the box. And that Magic Mirror Photo Booth effect ... OK, we kinda like that one.

Whistle While You iWork

iLife’s Disneyization was fairly inevitable, but we were surprised when iWork made the list, too. Clearly another Snow White reference (and, oddly enough, the second proposal to involve whistling), Steve’s Whistle While You iWork vision consists of another trio of apps--Show, Count and Tell--designed to stimulate creativity and help kids learn their ABCs and 123s. We just hope he wasn’t planning on hiring a nauseatingly cute kid to pitch it.

Poison Apple Care

More of a return policy than a warranty, Poison Apple Care is Steve’s version of a gift receipt on steroids. For a small fee, kids or parents buying a present could pick up a Poison Apple Care that would let the recipient easily exchange the unwanted gift for Apple Store credit, along with five free iTunes downloads and a 10 percent discount coupon. As Steve so modestly put it: "Everyone should get exactly what they want for their birthday, and that’s not always at the Disney store."

Wall-eMac

Jonathan Ive already helped with the EVE design for Pixar’s hit movie, so it’s only natural he would have a hand in transforming her boyfriend into a new Mac for preschoolers. Built around a 17-inch screen and a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, the Wall-eMac comes with posable eyes (the left is an iSight camera, the right is a microphone) and arms (the right holds a remote; the left is an iPod dock), and movable legs (the right one is a USB hub). Unfortunately it can’t crush garbage--that is, unless it happens to come across a Dell Vostro Mini Tower. (Good zinger there, Steve. Hope you remembered to pause for laughter.)

Mary Pippin

Who knew Steve has a soft spot for Apple’s failed gaming system and Disney’s 1964 musical? Essentially an iPod touch accessory geared toward undiscriminating little girls, Steve’s Pippin reboot freakishly resembles Mary Poppins’ floral carpet bag, with her parrot head umbrella sticking out the top. A dock is nestled between the handles, and a proprietary cable around back encodes games for big-screen TVs. But the piece de resistance has to be the controller shaped like a spoonful of sugar--which’ll come in handy, because this one’s awfully hard to swallow.

Finding nano

The inevitable special-edition iPod comes in the form of a reddish-orange nano with a black Click Wheel and snazzy, wavy white stripes across the front, and an engraving of one of five characters on the flipside (Nemo, Dory, Pearl, Squirt or Bruce). As if that wasn’t enough to justify Apple’s $70 premium, each special-edition iPod would come bundled with a digital copy of its namesake.

Hakuna Mac-tata

Why shouldn’t the Mac have its own theme song? Sung to the melody of Elton John’s classic, Steve sketched out a veritable marketing blitz around “Hakuna Mac-tata,” with heavy in-store rotation, free iTunes downloads, commercials and mailers built around Apple’s brand new slogan: "It means no Windows for the rest of your days."

Facebook Developer Leaves iPhone Scene, Unhappy with Dev Process

Cory Bohon — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:06:07 -0600

Joe Hewitt, developer of the popular Facebook iPhone app, has decided to stop iPhone development because of Apples policies.

In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Hewitt said is reason for leaving the iPhone development scene, "had everything to do with Apple’s policies.”

He went on to say, "I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process. I am very concerned that they are setting a horrible precedent for other software platforms, and soon gatekeepers will start infesting the lives of every software developer."

"The web is still unrestricted and free, and so I am returning to my roots as a web developer. In the long term, I would like to be able to say that I helped to make the web the best mobile platform available, rather than being part of the transition to a world where every developer must go through a middleman to get their software in the hands of users,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt is among the growing number of iPhone developers who are leaving the platform because of Apples application review process. Many are leaving not because of the great SDK Apple provides to all developers, or the programming language, but because of the long review process, the lack of communication between the reviewers and developers, and also the possibility of getting turned down after spending development time.

Apple's review process has definitely improved over the past year, but more improvements still need to happen. If Apple doesn't take hold of their App Store and review process, it could mean that another phone company could step in and take over the area that Apple pioneered.

The latest Google Android-based phones could prove to be a better development platform because developers have two options: Submit their app to an application store or sell it on their own site and allow the user install it themselves. This model could prove to be better for both the developer and consumer because it can give the developer a no-hassle app distribution place and give the consumer the applications they want.

After all, developers do development for a reason: It's their main job. They have to make a living just like everyone else and they will choose the platform that allows them to do this.

You can read the full interview with Joe Hewitt on TechCrunch.

via The Apple Blog

In-app Purchases Becoming Popular on iPhone

Cory Bohon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:49:08 -0600

From Ngmoco to Tapulous, in-app iPhone purchases are becoming popular among developers and users.

Apple has only allowed in-app purchases for free applications for a month, but developers are already using their creativity to make in-app purchases a viable business model.

The Business Insider reports that Ngmoco, famous for their Rolando game, has released another game for free called Eliminate. This game is an online first person shooter that lets you play if you have enough energy. You gain energy by either waiting an hour, or by purchasing "power cells" via the in-app purchase system.

TBI conducted an interview with Neil Young from Ngmoco, and while he wouldn't tell the revenue from their games, he did make reference to a possible goal of "5 cents in revenue per day, per active user." That's a substantial amount of revenue considering Eliminate is currently the 7th highest grossing application in the App Store.

All of this goes to show that in-app purchasing could be the way of the future for iPhone development, and it could definitely solve the problems that comes with releasing both a trial and full version of an application. A developer could release one version that could have an expansion pack purchased using the in-app system.

You can read the full story on The Business Insider.

The Day The Hackintosh Netbook Died: 11-09-09

Cory Bohon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:52:02 -0600

You can almost hear the words echoed by Hackintosh netbook owners around the world: "We are here today to celebrate the life that was the Hackintosh netbook."

It's official: Apple has indeed killed support for the Intel Atom processor, as leaked before the ill-fated 10.6.2 Snow Leopard update was released yesterday.

OS X Daily reports that many Hackintosh netbook owners found that after installing the update their tiny computers wouldn't even boot past the Apple logo without hanging up.

It goes without saying, but if you have a Hackintosh netbook, you will not want to install the latest update if you wish to keep your machine in working order.

For Macintosh owners, however, the 10.6.2 update does provide some important bug fixes. You can read more about the Snow Leopard update here.