![]() ![]() With the iMac G5, Apple landed on the design that would carry the iMac forward. Next page: Into the Intel era! Image credit: iMac G5 In addition, this Mac straddled the transition from OS 9 to OS X, so this massive redesign cleverly mirrored the changes happening on the software side. Unlike the previous iMac, this model featured the stark modern design that would define Apple for the next decade. The base contained the internals, and the LCD screen was suspended above. When this iMac hit shelves in 2002, it was a huge departure from previous all-in-ones. This stark aesthetic was drastically different from every other computer at the time, and it certainly helped the flagging Mac brand return to prominence. On top of that, the iMac shipped with the famous transparent bondi blue shell. With this model, priced at a reasonable $1300, Apple dropped the floppy drive in favor of a CD-ROM drive, and dropped ADB in favor of USB. When the first iMac was released in 1998, it completely turned the Macintosh brand on its ear. Steve Jobs with iMac G3 (Bondi Blue) iMac G3 While this expensive machine ($7500!) only lasted a single year, its progressive design and slimline LCD monitor makes this one of the most memorable all-in-one Macs. With a unique golden aesthetic, a 12-inch LCD display, and an oddball vertically-mounted CD-ROM drive, this Mac stands out from every other model Apple has ever made. Perhaps the strangest model of them all, the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh was released in 1997 to commemorate Apple's 20th anniversary. Next page: The little-known Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, and more Image credit: Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh It certainly wasn't the most powerful machine of its day, but the affordable built-in color display was definitely something worth writing home about. Largely targeted at the education market, this model's expansion slot provided substantial flexibility and backwards compatibility at an affordable price ($1400). In 1993, Apple decided it was high-time to release an all-in-one Macintosh with a color display. Mac users could either buy a Mac SE with two floppy drives ($2900) or a model with a floppy drive and a 20MB hard drive ($3900). It featured an expansion slot, and introduced the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) to the compact Mac line, but the bigger improvement was the addition of an extra drive bay. Sure, The Mac 512K and the Mac Plus had improved on the Macintosh formula, but the SE was much more substantial. When the Mac SE was released three years after the original Macintosh, it was considered a considerable step forward. Without a doubt, this tiny computer was a massive milestone for computing, and it successfully helped moved the entire industry forward. While this small beige machine doesn't look like much to modern eyes, this was effectively the world's introduction to the mouse and the graphical user interface. Just 12 months later, the Macintosh launched at a much more reasonable $2,500. While the Lisa (Opens in a new window) was Apple's first attempt at a mouse-driven graphical user interface, it was extraordinarily expensive - a whopping $10,000. Released on January 24, 1984, the very first Macintosh computer was an amazing machine for its time. In honor of such an important anniversary, let's take a look at some of the most notable all-in-one Macs ever released. While the laptops, towers, and Mac Minis have provided plenty of diversity for Apple fans, the convenient and affordable nature of the all-in-one models continues to impress. From the get-go, the Macintosh brand has largely been associated with the simplicity of an all-in-one device, and that tradition has carried on with the advent of the iMac. Inside and out, the Mac has changed drastically over the last thirty years, but one aspect has remained relatively consistent: the all-in-one form factor. In recent years, the Mac has had a thriving ecosystem, and continues to set trends for the entire tech field. The Mac became something of a punchline in the 1990s, and it slowly crawled its way back to relevancy after the return of Steve Jobs in 1997. Since then, the platform has been through hell and back. Thirty years ago today, Apple released the Macintosh - the computer that brought the graphical user interface (GUI) to the masses. ![]()
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