I remember it like it was yesterday, but it was really ten years ago. On this day in 1998, Steve Jobs introduced the original iMac. At the time, it was criticized by many hardcore computer users for having an all-in-one design that prevented upgrading the monitor separately from the CPU, switching to the then-unsupported USB format for peripherals, and for omitting a floppy drive in favor of a CD-ROM drive. Of course, it ended up becoming amazingly popular, and many of the criticisms turned out to be unfounded. The floppy drive was a legacy item that has not been missed. The iMac actually caused the USB market to flourish, and started a longstanding Apple tradition of using well-known standards instead of inventing their own. And while the all-in-one design still suffers from a lack of expandability, today’s high-powered machines generally need fewer add-ons than machines of the past did, and an all-in-one unit is easy to resell when it’s time to get a new machine.
Of course, the iMac had many design iterations over the years, but the machine of today bears little resemblance to the gumdrop from 1998. Where the Bondi Blue iMac was an artsy experiment, today’s metal iMac is a sleek, futuristic powerhouse. I don’t think anyone can imagine what the iMac will look like in another ten years.
