August 31, 2004: Apple launches the iMac G5, a particular, white plastic pc that appears slightly just like the world’s greatest iPod.
Housed in a 2-inch-thick enclosure harking back to Apple’s Cinema Shows, the brand new all-in-one machine bridges the hole between the pleasing plasticity of the enduring G3 iMac and the minimalist type issue of the ultra-slim aluminum Macs that may comply with.
iMac G5 launch
Not like the bulbous iMac G3, which packed all its internals into a big housing for a cumbersome cathode ray monitor, or the sunflower-inspired iMac G4, which had its guts constructed into its base unit, the iMac G5 design compressed every little thing right into a single panel.
As we speak, we’re used to Macs incorporating the CPU, motherboard, drives and audio system into the all-in-one pc’s monitor. However in 2004, it was one thing few folks had seen earlier than. (The package deal obtained much more complete the next yr, when Apple added an built-in iSight webcam to the ultimate iMac G5 revision.)
Likewise, we’ve grow to be accustomed to the bigger screens Apple helped pioneer. Nevertheless, the iMac G5’s selection of 17- or 20-inch widescreen shows felt extremely contemporary and opulent on the time. (It wasn’t a complete first for Apple, since some iMac G4 fashions additionally included an analogous 20-inch display screen).
It appears like an iPod!
Photograph: Apple
The pc’s iPod-inspired design served one other vital operate, too. It consciously linked the brand new iMac G5 with Apple’s hottest product on the time.
I continually converse with folks whose first Apple pc was the iMac G5. By 2004, Cupertino had come a protracted, good distance from its Nineteen Nineties nadir. However there have been nonetheless loads of folks taking their first tentative steps into the Apple world.
By crafting a pc that intently resembled its iconic music participant, Apple capitalized on the halo impact that later labored so nicely for the corporate and its ecosystem of iPhones, iPads and different interconnected gadgets.
iMac G5 specs
By way of elements, the iMac G5 got here with a 160GB onerous drive, 256MB of 400MHz SDRAM, an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Extremely graphics card and a vertically mounted, slot-loading DVD-R SuperDrive. For connectivity, customers may make the most of Apple’s Emmy-winning FireWire expertise, USB 2.0 and non-compulsory assist for each AirPort Excessive and Bluetooth.
As a result of the iMac G5 ran hotter than its predecessor, Apple engineers used three “ultra-quiet” followers to chill the pc. The followers drew in cool air by way of the speaker grille and a slit at the back of the case.
The final PowerPC
For all its advances, nevertheless, the iMac G5 additionally marked an vital closure level. It was the ultimate iMac to make use of a PowerPC processor (extra particularly, a 1.8GHz PowerPC 970 (G5) processor). Apple introduced its momentous change to Intel CPUs in June 2005.
In sensible phrases, this meant the iMac G5 was the final mannequin able to natively operating Mac OS 9 (Traditional) functions.
It was additionally the final iMac to be simply upgradeable by a mean person. Opening it up required solely unscrewing three screws on its underside. Then the proprietor may elevate off the whole again of the machine to entry its innards.
This course of didn’t really feel prefer it required a complicated engineering diploma. Nearly anyone may swap out the iMac G5’s onerous drive, increase its RAM or just clear its inside followers.
Additionally on this present day in Apple historical past
Photograph: Apple
August 31, 1999: Apple unveiled the Energy Mac G4, its new line of computer systems that “deliver supercomputer-level performance on a desktop,” throughout a keynote at Seybold San Francisco. The brand new pro-level pc shared the stage with the Apple Cinema Show, a 22-inch LCD flat panel the corporate referred to as “the largest LCD display ever brought to market.”
Apple touted the Energy Mac G4’s unbelievable (for the time) energy in a press launch:
The Energy Mac G4 is the primary private pc in historical past to ship supercomputer-level efficiency of over one billion floating-point operations per second (gigaflops). The Energy Mac G4 is powered by the revolutionary new PowerPC G4 chip architected by Apple, Motorola and IBM, which includes a new execution unit named the Velocity Engine — the guts of a supercomputer miniaturized onto a sliver of silicon.
Purposes which faucet the ability of the Velocity Engine, akin to Adobe’s Photoshop, run as much as twice as quick as on 600MHz Pentium III-based PCs. Already, almost 60 industry-leading builders are optimizing their merchandise to make the most of the unprecedented pace and efficiency of the G4 with Velocity Engine, with a few of these merchandise accessible instantly. The Energy Mac G4 is available in a shocking, translucent clear, silver and graphite enclosure.
The Apple Cinema Show was no slouch when it got here to specs, both. The 22-inch LCD display screen provided the identical viewing space as a 24-inch flat CRT show, Apple stated, in a “letterbox” format with 1600 x 1024 pixels and 16.7 million true colours.
“Together, they create the ultimate system for publishing professionals,” Apple stated.
Do you keep in mind the iMac G5, the Energy Mac G4 or the Apple Cinema Show?
Have been you a type of individuals who took the plunge into Apple-ville for the primary time with any of this beautiful tools? Depart your ideas and recollections under.