4 ms·

This series of articles is a great peek into Mac history. My personal favorite is the iMac G4, another short lived but truly beautiful form factor. Sadly the it

This series of articles is a great peek into Mac history. My personal favorite is the iMac G4, another short lived but truly beautiful form factor. Sadly the it didn't scale up to larger display sizes because it was truly an amazing looking machine. https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/10/20-macs-for-2020-9-imac-g4/ https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/10/20-macs-for-2020-9-imac-g... It didn't have the historical significance the original iMac did, but the look is timeless and just fantastic. I would still love to have one on my desk. If only that damned display were bigger than 15". I think it made it to 17", but still too small to be practical for dev work when 21-27 inch LCDs are now commonplace.

LeoPanthera 6y ago
The largest G4 iMac had a 20" screen. It looked a bit top-heavy but it worked fine.
- 1-6 6y ago
  The eMac was also another good one along the same lines as the original iMac. At that point in time, the polycarbonate unibody was getting phased out and LCD displays were already getting cheaper to mass produce. It’s probably one of the last cathode ray tube Macs in existence.
  - agloeregrets 6y ago
    Yup, I had an eMac I got my hands on. It was a truly great machine and that was probably one of the best CRTs ever made. It was Apple’s last CRT product as well.
    - zapzupnz 6y ago
      I loved our eMac. Big screen, clearer picture than any iMac, and that gorgeous white plastic aesthetic that reminded one of an iBook — except chunky. Only trouble was the fans were ridiculously loud.
  - Lutzb 6y ago
    I have an 2nd gen eMac sitting next to me. Just installed 10.5.8 yesterday. It was my main machine in the early 2000s. Firewire connectivity for external hdds was magical. The screen is still nice. However the fan noise is and was always terrible. With some mods it became bearable.
- deaddodo 6y ago
  Wikipedia includes a picture of all three: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IMac_G4_Generations.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IMac_G4_... The 20" definitely looks the least balanced (aesthetically).
  - sixothree 6y ago
    Knowing how heavy those bases are makes it look less imbalanced.
- tonyedgecombe 6y ago
  It didn't work that well, after a while they started to droop and were a nightmare to fix.
m463 6y ago
I think the titanium powerbook was interesting too.
muro 6y ago
Love it too. The current iMac looks too industrial to me, those were more playful and fun.
daniellarusso 6y ago
I have one on my desk right now. I am not sure what to use it for, but I do not want to get rid if it, and I want to keep its original hardware. I like looking at it. I also liked the LC520 from school, but that is a different aesthetic.
- jrnichols 6y ago
  I have an iMac G4 as well. One day it'll get an SSD upgrade but for now, the original drive is still working. all these years later and it's still looking almost new. Mac OS 9 and everything. I have a lot of love for the old PowerPC units. Even fire up Hotline sometimes.
  - daniellarusso 6y ago
    How is your keyboard? I recently disassembled mine and gave it a good cleaning. It is starting to slightly yellow, but nothing like what I have seen for sale on eBay.
    - jrnichols 6y ago
      it's not too bad, fortunately. but it too could probably use a cleaning.
api 6y ago
Ahh yes the iMuffin. That design still holds up. It could be rebooted. I find the old iMac still attractive too but the form factor makes no sense without the CRT.
deergomoo 6y ago
While it’s certainly not as fun or approachable, you can at least VESA mount the current iMac on an arm.
- greedo 6y ago
  Only if you order it with the VESA mount option; you can't add it aftermarket.
  - kitsunesoba 6y ago
    True for the regular iMac, but the iMac Pro supports aftermarket VESA mount installation. If opting for such a setup, I recommend buying a higher quality third party mount kit, because the screws in the Apple kit are soft and break easily. The one I use is from HumanCentric (no affiliation).

LeoPanthera 6y ago

The largest G4 iMac had a 20" screen. It looked a bit top-heavy but it worked fine.

1-6 6y ago
The eMac was also another good one along the same lines as the original iMac. At that point in time, the polycarbonate unibody was getting phased out and LCD displays were already getting cheaper to mass produce. It’s probably one of the last cathode ray tube Macs in existence.
- agloeregrets 6y ago
  Yup, I had an eMac I got my hands on. It was a truly great machine and that was probably one of the best CRTs ever made. It was Apple’s last CRT product as well.
  - zapzupnz 6y ago
    I loved our eMac. Big screen, clearer picture than any iMac, and that gorgeous white plastic aesthetic that reminded one of an iBook — except chunky. Only trouble was the fans were ridiculously loud.
- Lutzb 6y ago
  I have an 2nd gen eMac sitting next to me. Just installed 10.5.8 yesterday. It was my main machine in the early 2000s. Firewire connectivity for external hdds was magical. The screen is still nice. However the fan noise is and was always terrible. With some mods it became bearable.
deaddodo 6y ago
Wikipedia includes a picture of all three: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IMac_G4_Generations.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IMac_G4_... The 20" definitely looks the least balanced (aesthetically).
- sixothree 6y ago
  Knowing how heavy those bases are makes it look less imbalanced.
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
It didn't work that well, after a while they started to droop and were a nightmare to fix.

m463 6y ago

I think the titanium powerbook was interesting too.

muro 6y ago

Love it too. The current iMac looks too industrial to me, those were more playful and fun.

daniellarusso 6y ago

I have one on my desk right now. I am not sure what to use it for, but I do not want to get rid if it, and I want to keep its original hardware. I like looking at it. I also liked the LC520 from school, but that is a different aesthetic.

jrnichols 6y ago
I have an iMac G4 as well. One day it'll get an SSD upgrade but for now, the original drive is still working. all these years later and it's still looking almost new. Mac OS 9 and everything. I have a lot of love for the old PowerPC units. Even fire up Hotline sometimes.
- daniellarusso 6y ago
  How is your keyboard? I recently disassembled mine and gave it a good cleaning. It is starting to slightly yellow, but nothing like what I have seen for sale on eBay.
  - jrnichols 6y ago
    it's not too bad, fortunately. but it too could probably use a cleaning.

api 6y ago

Ahh yes the iMuffin. That design still holds up. It could be rebooted. I find the old iMac still attractive too but the form factor makes no sense without the CRT.

deergomoo 6y ago

While it’s certainly not as fun or approachable, you can at least VESA mount the current iMac on an arm.

greedo 6y ago
Only if you order it with the VESA mount option; you can't add it aftermarket.
- kitsunesoba 6y ago
  True for the regular iMac, but the iMac Pro supports aftermarket VESA mount installation. If opting for such a setup, I recommend buying a higher quality third party mount kit, because the screws in the Apple kit are soft and break easily. The one I use is from HumanCentric (no affiliation).