It was not that long ago, 10 years, that I first started hearing and getting excited about the new iMac’s. I was told from an Apple rep that this new computer was going to completely change the way normal consumers purchased computers. Studies had shown that people were using more space than what could fit on a floppy so they got rid of it. The studies also showed that the USB version of the Iomega Zip Drive was beginning to dominate the portable storage market. To completely change the way people bought their computer made sense after hearing the whole story.
The iMac’s would include a monitor, all accessories and get people up and running in just a few minutes. It included a modem and an Ethernet port for sharing files and a broadband Internet connection. The Ethernet port alone helped small businesses see this as a perfect option to outfit new employees with.
The original iMac came with a 233MHz G3 CPU, 32MB of SDRAM (laptop memory) max of 128MB, a 4GB IDE hard drive, 2 USB Ports, CD-Rom drive, an IrDA port, 56k Modem and 10/100 Ethernet port. It was the first Apple computer to have only USB ports sans the old style serial ports.
It was on the market for sale August of 1998 for $1,299 and available in just one color, Bondi Blue. It was excellent to see it in person for the first time at Fry’s Electronics, a local computer store. Today’s iMac continues with breaking of the norm tradition and it sells for a starting price of $1,199.