iMac G4
When Steve Jobs demoed the new iMac G4 to the public, they were in awe. For the first time in 5 years, a Mac was shipping with an LCD panel built in, except this time the machine was affordable by almost everyone. Officially called the iMac Flat Panel by Apple, many dubbed the machine iMac G4 due to it being based upon the PowerPC G4 processor.
After the success of the original iMac, the bar for its replacement was set very high, and the iMac G4 didn't disappoint.
After the success of the original iMac, the bar for its replacement was set very high, and the iMac G4 didn't disappoint.
With the 15", 17" and (later) 20" display mounted to a movable arm that would could turn 90° to the left or right, be tilted up and down, and have the display brought down closer to the user, the iMac G4 was the most unique and iconic designs of the Apple line up. All of the computing components; logic board, Optical Drive, Power Supply, Fan, etc, were all mounted in the dome at the bottom of the machine. Everything inside and outside of the machine was meticulously crafted, from the reflective silver Apple logo on the front, the round logic board, and brushed aluminum bottom plate. Parts of the machine the user would very rarely, if ever, see was just done in a beautiful fashion. It called back to the original Mac, in that it has inner, and outer beauty.
Originally, it only came in a 15" full screen model with a 700MHz or 800MHz G4. Apple later added a widescreen 17" model clocked at 800MHz in July 2002. In early 2003, Apple changed the typeface on the "iMac" badging and dropped the 700MHz model. The 800MHz 15" took its place at the same price point, meanwhile the 17" model received a minor upgrade; a 1GHz processor, a first for the iMac line, and DDR RAM along with AirPort Extreme networking. Sept 2003 brought a new, and final, revision, adding USB 2.0, better graphics, and DDR RAM across the board. The 15" now had a 1GHz processor and the 17" got a 1.25GHz processor. In November, the added a 20" model, which had the same specs as the 17" model.
Something worth noting, the iMac G4 is the only ever to use both DIMMs (desktop RAM) and SODIMMs (laptop RAM). This was due to Apple having an internal DIMM slot that is only accessible by opening the computer. The SODIMM socket, however, is considered user upgradable and is located under the brushed aluminum bottom panel.
The only major widespread problem with the iMac G4 was that the screen has a tenancy to sag on one side or the other, although it has yet to affect the usability of the machine. Others reported problems with the graphics chip, although they do not seem very wide spread and only affect certain models. Others report an issue with the power supply not working, possibly due to bad caps, although nothing has been confirmed.
Apple killed the iMac G4 after only 2 years and 3 revisions in favor of the problematic iMac G5.
Originally, it only came in a 15" full screen model with a 700MHz or 800MHz G4. Apple later added a widescreen 17" model clocked at 800MHz in July 2002. In early 2003, Apple changed the typeface on the "iMac" badging and dropped the 700MHz model. The 800MHz 15" took its place at the same price point, meanwhile the 17" model received a minor upgrade; a 1GHz processor, a first for the iMac line, and DDR RAM along with AirPort Extreme networking. Sept 2003 brought a new, and final, revision, adding USB 2.0, better graphics, and DDR RAM across the board. The 15" now had a 1GHz processor and the 17" got a 1.25GHz processor. In November, the added a 20" model, which had the same specs as the 17" model.
Something worth noting, the iMac G4 is the only ever to use both DIMMs (desktop RAM) and SODIMMs (laptop RAM). This was due to Apple having an internal DIMM slot that is only accessible by opening the computer. The SODIMM socket, however, is considered user upgradable and is located under the brushed aluminum bottom panel.
The only major widespread problem with the iMac G4 was that the screen has a tenancy to sag on one side or the other, although it has yet to affect the usability of the machine. Others reported problems with the graphics chip, although they do not seem very wide spread and only affect certain models. Others report an issue with the power supply not working, possibly due to bad caps, although nothing has been confirmed.
Apple killed the iMac G4 after only 2 years and 3 revisions in favor of the problematic iMac G5.
