The half-dome base housed NVidia GeForce graphics, at least 256MB of RAM, a 40GB to 80GB hard drive, and a CD/DVD optical drive. The display was available in 15-inch, 17-inch, and 20-inch sizes. Even the bargain-priced eMac and the early Mac Mini and rack-mount Xserve came in G4 configurations. Apple used this processor across its product line: from the portable iBook and PowerBook to the tower-style Power Mac and the amazing Power Mac Cube. The RISC-based PowerPC chip was a technology partnership between Apple, IBM, and Motorola. Named for its PowerPC G4 processor, the iMac G4 came in 700MHz to 1.25GHz variants. Simple and stylish, both designs are now legendary. Echoing the styling of the iPod released the year before, the iMac G4 and iPod were a matched set. After the original iMac’s nearly a five-year run, this “new iMac” retained the translucent plastics, but pivoted away from color and embraced stark white. It ushered in a series of bold decisions, including the use of translucent materials paired with bright accent colors. The Bondi Blue iMac released in 1998 demonstrated Apple’s renewed prowess.

From taking the alien-looking device out of the box, to seeing OS X, to launching Safari, it was my first exploration of a now common-place world. I first encountered an iMac G4 when I helped a friend set one up in 2002. This “Flat Panel” iMac was built to highlight its attractive LCD monitor, which turned the traditional Macintosh all-in-one design on its head. Upon the return of Steve Jobs in 1997, he boldly transformed Apple’s products and inspired a historic line of devices. The iMac G4 was the memorable follow up to Apple’s revolutionary iMac.

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