Evolution of the Macintosh and the iMac.
It's been more than 30 years since the arrival of Apple’s Macintosh computer -- the Mac -- which has evolved substantially, especially over the past decade. It's been 20 years since the first iMac was unveiled. From only 128KB of memory in the first Mac (to an optional 128GB in the latest iMac Pro), Apple has continually redefined its products from design and aesthetics to functionality and productivity. The Mac now accounts for 7.5% of the declining PC market, with sales continuing to outperform sales of Windows PCs. Here we take a look at the Mac’s evolution throughout the past three decades, with a focus on the rapid changes of the last decade or so, especially as the iMac grew and evolved beyond its original gumdrop design.
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Author IT News Added 07.05.2018 Category Computer Industry |
The original Macintosh went on sale two days after Apple's critically acclaimed 1984 ad aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. Apple’s Macintosh 128K aimed to fundamentally change how consumers viewed computers and make them more affordable, personal and commonplace. It used a Motorola 68000 microprocessor, 128KB of RAM and a 400KB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. The Mac’s OS, known as System 1.0, introduced the Finder that is still used today.
Performa sold mainly through authorized retailers in department stores throughout the mid-1990s. Although not a new model, the Performa was a rebranding of then-existing Mac models, including the Classic, Quadra, Centris, LC, and was meant for everyday users. The marketing tactic backfired, however, as the large number of models (in addition to those for business) competed with one another, and created customer confusion. The Performa line was also criticized for its lack of power and hardware design. Apple finally nixed it in the late 1990s and simplified its products by offering a desktop and laptop for both the professional market (Power Macintosh G3 and PowerBook) and for consumers (iMac and iBook). After Steve Jobs’ return as CEO, Apple’s futuristic and design-conscious concept, dubbed the iMac G3, brought the company back from financial hardship. Built using a translucent “Bondi Blue” plastic, it featured a 15-inch CRT display, a PowerPC G3 processor, an ATI Rage IIc graphics processor, a 4GB hard drive, a tray-loading CD-ROM drive that replaced the traditional floppy disk drive, USB ports (to much criticism), an infrared port, built-in stereo speakers, two headphone ports, a redesigned keyboard and mouse, and Mac OS 8. The iMac G3 became a cultural phenomenon and had several iterations and upgrades over the next few years (including a slimmer model).
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