The bright colours and curvy design were absolutely critical to the iMac. PCs and older Macs were boring, and so were the people who used them and talked about

The bright colours and curvy design were absolutely critical to the iMac. PCs and older Macs were boring, and so were the people who used them and talked about them. So what if it had 253 Megasnerds and an extra fast blibbyblop? It was boring and beige. No one cared. The iMac was exciting and fun, and so was anyone who bought one and used one. You could get a row of them in different colours for your design office, and they'd look stunning. Clients would walk in and literally say "Wow!" The magic worked in any SME office that wasn't trying to look boringly corporate - which turned out to be a lot of offices. Absolute marketing masterpiece to make the design a marketing statement - not just for Apple itself, but for any creative or service provider who bought one.