I always liked the G4 ad were the person was walking past a store and the computer came to life like the lamp from the Pixar intro Just made the computer look so fun
The G4 iMac was everywhere, and it was great. It's what my high school had for our multi-media class to learn to edit on. It was powerful, compact, had a great screen, and the hinge on said screen was phenomenal. To this day it might be my favorite Apple Computer.
it still looks amazing, 20 years later. it also solves the problems with the current iMac with the tilt mechanism. I would love to see this revisited. I had a beige PC when this came out and I remember this so clearly, it was what made me pay attention to Apple
Why would you want yopour monitor to be attached top PC? With them separate you can choose withc monitor adn witch pc you want and replace them whenever you want.
@@danosk1It's a fair point; but not a universal one. If it were; the iMac (in any of its forms) wouldn't have sold. They're incredibly popular in schools/offices because you don't have all those cables for power/display/audio. It's a single unit. For family's as well who want a computer in the kitchen / family room / etc. It's super easy. Drop the computer on a table - plug in power, add keyboard/mouse, connect to wifi and you're done. I'll agree for some having the monitor / computer separate is better - but I know it's not for everyone. Just like 2 or more monitors. Most gamers / tech people love it and can't even fathom why you'd want less - but I have users who out right ask to have the standard 2nd monitor we give them removed because they have no intention of using it :)
I have that, it's called an mac mini with external monitor. I got a 20" G4 imac as well, which I wished was just a g4 mini because it's a beast and take too much room. ;)
@@DaphoidGet a slim modern LCD with USB ports on the side of it, take off the stand and mount it to a desk mount monitor arm. A lot of arms actually have a channel that runs down the length of it so you can hide all the cables within the arm itself. Chuck a Mac mini next to it or screw a small shelf under your desk for it. You can plug your USB drives into the side of the screen and use the Bluetooth Apple mouse & keyboard on it. No ugly wires on display.
God I love that old footage of you and Marques. Your enthusiasm for tech is so contagious, I love when your excitement comes through in your videos. I don't usually go in for unboxing videos but you made this informational and enjoyable! :)
@@kiddy1992 was about to say. i was like 13 when i first time saw a macbook, which was a g4 macbook my music teacher had. i had only seen macs in american movies before. i got macbook pro in high school and around that time they got really popular.
I had one of these and it was my favorite Mac. The damping on the neck/arm was absolutely perfect and effortless to move. The material of the base was absolutely beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe it. Such an amazingly unique design.
I might be trailing an old road, or jut plain wrong, but does anyone else, or have you Quinn, noticed the resemblance with Moonwind from Pixar's Soul? Energy, vibe, and likeness, uncanny...
When I was in college there was a building called the Math Emporium where you took online math tests with proctors, studied, and sometimes had a math class for the more obscure subjects. It was basically a 1 story fully carpeted office building with hundreds of iMac G4's at desks configured in hexagonal clusters (so 6 desks per cluster). This video is nostalgic to me in both a good and bad way.
There is a UA-camr who explains how to dismantle it to gain access to the LCD to convert to DVI and then you can fit in an Intel NUC or a tiny motherboard to bring it up to today's performances. I have tried this, but I'm having trouble getting the DVI to receive the signals. It's one of those projects that you start I never finish...
So just had this thought come to mind. Seeing Steve Jobs integral roll in Pixar, and his integral roll in the development roll in the G4 mac. I would wager to say that the G4 design was a homage to the Pixar Lamp from the intro credit of Pixar movies. As they share very similar design elements in the way both the lamp and computer move.
I literally bought an iMac G4 from eBay after watching this video. It arrived today and boy... that design is just timeless. It really is a peace of art.
Just grabbed a mint iMac G4 and rebuilding the system, from external FireWire SSD and potentially internal legacy SSD. An a firewire audio interface for hifi playing. True piece of Art.
I had the 17inch widescreen version. Beautiful iMac. The sound was stunning from those speakers too. You should make a modern day equivalent, with an M3 chip inside
For those unaware, QuickTime was ported to Windows by San Fransisco Canyon Company. Intel and Microsoft then bought a bunch of QuickTime code from SFCC and put it into Video for Windows. Which SFCC wasn't supposed to give them.
In 2003, When Microsoft sold the non-voting shares of Apple stock that they bought for their $150 million, they sold it for around $550 million, making a decent profit on the stock. Making money thanks to Apple was a nice bonus on top of having deflected legal challenges with their investment.
This is my favorite kind of content you produce. Lots of nostalgia remembering using those great computers. And what a time to be alive where it seemed like nearly every keynote there was some mind blowing innovation. Those were the days!
You could right click the mighty mouse without the side buttons. You can see right in the screen shot 8:59 that despite it not having two buttons you still get two buttons (3 including clicking the roller ball which was amazing, 4 if you include the side buttons). The design was just too good that I guess it confused a lot of people. I loved that mouse and the wireless version.
“Too good that it confused people” is contradictory. If it’s confusing people, if it’s unintuitive, it wasn’t well designed. Nothing against the mouse, just that statement is a paradox.
I was working for Apple in a sales role at the time that these came out, and I cannot overstate how much customers *loved them.* I recently picked one up for myself again when a neighbor offered me theirs, complete in its original box. It's just as stunning and whimsical and graceful today as it was then, and I also hold it in very high regard as one of Apple's all-time best designs. Wonderful video, and congrats on your "Sunflower" G4!
I'm so glad (and lucky) to have found and bought an immaculate 20" G4 a few months ago. Spent years looking for one that's in good condition and wasn't expensive. This is seriously one of the only computers that I will probably never sell. The design is so elegant.
The G3 was fun and quirky looking, I remember loving them in early elementary school since they were the darling of my town's tech ed classes. The G4 was a work of art, worth keeping around just because of how good it looks no matter how obsolete the hardware is
The dream of that iMac lives on today with the iPad Pro, using a Twelve South iPad stand, working as a display for a nearby Mac Mini. I’d love for you to do a video showing off the dream of Jobs, realized with his last unveiled product, the iPad.
If Apple can unify their their operating systems and actually have everything run across platforms, that would be great. Seems like you are either compromising though by not being able to run iPad apps on the Mac, or not being able to run full featured apps with window Management on the iPad.
@@stevenswall There are two ways to answer your question. Assuming Apple Sidecar is being used to make the iPad extend the Mac desktop (because there are other apps and other ways to do it too)… If the Mac hardware and OS version support installing and running iOS apps, then you can start an iOS app in macOS and drag it over to the secondary display (the iPad). This is about running iPad apps in macOS, and showing them on the iPad alongside whatever other macOS apps you show there through Sidecar, not using any iPad resources to run those apps. On the iPad, Apple Sidecar is just another app, so for example, if the iPad is currently using Sidecar to show the macOS desktop, you can use any iPad OS app switch gesture to go to any app on that iPad. This is about running iPad apps on the iPad behind Sidecar, not using any Mac resources, the opposite of the previous paragraph.
It's a nice stand and a nice idea, but the design aesthetic doesn't quite match. Also, the iPad Pro (even the larger 12.9" one) is too small to serve as a comfortable desktop display. The modern iMac's display is nearly 4 times the size.
It’s crazy how underpowered these computers are considering how long schools used them, especially th G-3. I thought the G-4 was some new fancy model in like 2008?
I'm baffled about the superb condition of all the items in that box. Everything was still white, cables clean and no raffling, breaking or brittle rubber. Amazing
First family computer. Recently fired ours up from 2003 when I was 12. What a gem of a machine to learn on. GarageBand and Logic both run surprisingly well on it still.
The quote at the end also applies to Nintendo. When they were struggling with the Wii U, they responded by developing some incredible games and ultimately created an outstanding successor-the Nintendo Switch. However, now that they’re riding high on the Switch’s success, it seems they’ve become complacent, releasing fewer new games and focusing more on ports and remasters of older titles.
That is the only apple mouse I have ever used. Never owned a Mac. Only friends growing up had one of those beauties in their house. What a nostalgic design. Those 98/99 iMacs were a wonderful treat to the eyes, contrasted against the black and beige landscape that was home computing back then.
They offered the Imac G4 in a 20 inch version but it is almost impossible to find today. The big problem with the G4 was the arm would break down and it was really hard to fix it.
My parents had it when it was released back in the day. When they stopped using it (they became too old) I carefully put it back in its original box after restoring its original MacOS Tiger. Unfortunately, the DVD Combo drive was broken so I would need to get a replacement. So it is sitting in the box waiting to another reveal... You gave me a great idea with Shuriken :)
Our first Mac was iMac 24-inch released in late 2006. It looked striking in its all-white unibody design. Friends laughed at us for going with a Mac, but its design language spoke volume to us. My sister and I used to fight as kids for whose turn was it to finally use it. It slept only during nighttime. We still have it tucked inside its retail box. I'll go fire it up next week to see how it's doing.
When I was a kid in elementary school, one hour every week we would have “computer class”. We would go in a room with about 30 iMac G3’s and we each got to play and type on the computers. I absolutely loved it!
32-inch slightly curved screen. Wedge-shaped base instead of the sunflower. Power of the Mac Studio. Amazing adjustability. Plenty of ports. Forward-facing speakers on the bottom of the screen (keeps the iconic chin) and adding large subwoofers to the base. Wireless mouse and keyboard. This could be awesome!
I generally dislike apple products...but I gotta admit, the G4 era of macs were pretty impressive. especially the tower...that flip down design was rather nice
This is super interesting! Obviously this was a long time ago, but I started covering consumer electronics in 2004. I remember seeing one of these at my friend’s house prior to that - but I swore that was several years prior. Crazy how this was out just a couple of years before I got into this business. This, and the capacitive iPod, were amazing pieces of tech from that era!
I remember when the 15 inch iMac with an lcd came out. I kind of liked it. When the 17 inch version came out, I used it once at UCSC. The extra two inches of screen length made a big difference as far as making it easier to organize my work load. That is what made me like the iMac.
I've bought one of these used, just because imho it is the best looking computer of all ages. Do not expose the transparent plastic on the screen on sunlight/UV, it will yellow pretty fast. Will be installing Shuriken after watching your video!
grab yours while its cheap. I got the 20" model a couple years back for $50. even if you find one not working (as long as the monitor is working) you mod it and put a Mac mini with m1 or m2 inside and have the coolest looking modern computer.
Excellent, I own the 1.2Ghz 20" version of this iconic computer, speakers and all - fully loaded up with RAM, running 10.4.11, and just love it... It produces the majority of my design work, still to this day... thanks to Adobe CS Suite that was offered free of charge from Adobe when Mac PPC went to INTEL. Thanks for this great video, and the introduction for me, to the 2022 version of OS X Tiger - can't wait to try that!
I lived in a quad-Plex apartment in Raleigh, NC, when this came out. My neighbor had one of these and it was sitting in his window, where I would adoringly gaze at the back of it every day when I left the apartment….
I had (and loved) a Cube back in the day. I never thought it was as nice as this iMac, but I was always impressed with the looks, performance and those Harmon Kardon speakers.
Interesting fact: the UI buttons (volume/brightness up/down etc) on the 1st gen apple keyboard that came with the 2002 models works with both MacOS 9 AND OSX, whereas the later 2003 keyboard only works with OSX. If you're looking for a G4 that natively runs OS9 then look for one with that first gen keyboard
I still remember the Apple iMac G4 due to its use by the Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW until around 2013, they actually kept a few iMac G4’s running just to do the computer based tests (for Learners to get their supervised driving licence, and also the Hazard Perception test when getting your Provisional licence)
I absolutely love the iMac G4, one of my favourite tech product designs ever! Some may describe it as "goofy" and "dated" and to a degree, they'd be right, but I just absolutely adore it's design. To me personally, it still looks great today
I bought this very computer the day it was released and it still works perfectly (although it's certainly not my main computer, which is a late 2015 27" iMac which desperately needs replacing...).
Slight correction on the Might Mouse buttons, as my first Mac was the iMac G5 that came with that: the right-click was detected via a touch sensitive surface, while the entire mouse still physically clicked. The annoying aspect was that you would have to lift your index finger so the mouse would only sense your middle finger on the right side, in order for it to register. The squeeze functionality was a separate and equally annoying input to use, and by default was set to Exposé. My G5 also came with the later keyboard that did indeed collect every crumb and cat hair imaginable. I very quickly replaced both keyboard and mouse with Logitech versions.
Great edition! Thanks for including Shuriken. I'd love to see a video listing which old Macs can be brought back to useful lives with it and what limitations there may be.
Thank you for point out that it was in their fight for survival that lead to so much great innovation like this. Just look at how much the iMac / eMac accomplished from 1998 - 2004. It blows away any progress made from 2004-2024.
I had a super-drive, wide-screen version of this in the early to mid 2000s to replace my previous Gen3. I fondly remember fondling the round base and its smooth surface and warmth. In fact both might be still in boxes somewhere in my house.
I came across one of these in about 2015 in working condition. I was just a few years out of high school at that point and when I realized there wasn’t much you could do with it, I got rid of it… I wish I hadn’t. Im sure I’d have a use for it today.
Thank you for the waves of happy nostalgia! I thought about making a scaled-up version with larger screen. The drawings I did, it looked ungainly? I'm question marking, there, because I can't find my original drawings. Have you tried at your end to see what it would look like? A huge plum pudding with scaled-up arm and screen size. It sort of worked, I figured that oversized plum pudding would have lots of room to hide external storage and at one point I even considered making a built in bass/mid speaker (down-firing, with the electronics shielded from the vibrations) and hiding tweeters within the enlarged monitor's housing. I couldn't figure out how to make an enlarged version of the arm, I don't have the metal working skills. If anyone has made an oversized version, I would love to see that. I know that's a lot of work but if you took that on, you'd be a legend! I mean, there are up-dated versions out there but I think you're right, one with a decent sized screen could be a huge seller for Apple.
You may or may not be aware of this, but it’s always best to return the monitor to full upright position when you’re not using the computer. The longer it sits at an angle, the more that hinge will wear out, until it won’t allow you to position it anymore. Apple made a proprietary tool for disassembling those hinges, but there are workarounds. 👍🏻
I grew up with one of these computers. I'm having an extreme nostalgia-gasm right now! As someone with vision issues, the swivel screen was a dream for me!
I always wanted the G4 when it first originally came out. Couldn't afford it that time. Finally got one two years ago at a garage sale for $100. Wow. It is so beautiful.
Ive been loving seeing the upgrades and mods to those old G4 iMacs. Putting sleeper ITX PCs in them, or the new m-series Mac minis in the base. I’m fairly sure someone has put an OLED or IPS display into one by now.
I have one of these in kinda the same condition the speaker wire has yellowed a bit but overall great condition, I repasted the cpu and GPU, and replaced the hard drive. Overall this was my favorite Mac of all time, screen still looks amazing. Way ahead of its time. Appreciate the video man 👍🏻
Great vid Quinn! A little harsh on the A1048 keyboard- yes, it gets dirty (and you aren't going to get anything out of the underside without dismantling it), but the keyboard itself works great and keys & top surface are easy to clean. Toothbrush, air duster and a few cleaning wipes spruced mine up nicely in minutes. Got it with my 1,1 Mac Pro in 2006 and still using it daily. The newer Apple keyboards are OK, but I prefer this one.
OMG if they took the guts of a modern Mac Studio and put it in a new version of this I would buy it instantly. I have the 17" version of this and it is my favorite all time Mac.
Still have my original 17" 1Ghz, all in the factory packaging with speakers. It has been upgraded to the 1.25Ghz (2GB of ram) with USB 2.0. But the bottom original tray with 1Ghz motherboard in an antistatic bag in the box. It is also sitting next to the iRain design iMac desk, also put back in the box. Just waiting to set it back up when I have the room.
I agree, this is the most beautiful computer Apple has made. I have bought one of these and it is a great retro experience to play CDs and listen to the Harmon Kardon speakers (which still give it function; running Mac OS 10.4 Tiger). I would love to see this design on a current computer, perhaps with a mini-like computer at the base and with an option to expand with drives or GPUs and a magnetic way to attach an iPad as a second screen.
Glad I ran across this video this afternoon! I'd actually been thinking over the last few weeks what my favorite Mac was, and this was the one I've always loved. I often wonder why Apple veered away from this form factor so quickly, and can only come up with a couple of possible reasons: (1) Too expensive to make, and/or (2) Too difficult to repair. I've no idea if either of those is true, but that's all I could come up with. I believe this iMac was available with a 17" monitor, before it was dropped by Apple. Anyway, thanks for the memory!
I used Apple computers in college, but haven't ever owned an Apple computer myself. Yet I love the nostalgia of Apple products, as pushed other computer manufactures away from the beige rectangular box that was the dominant form factor.
I had the widescreen model back starting around 2003 or 4 I think. I loved it, and those speakers were no joke. It was a really exciting time because iLife came out soon after I got this computer and I fell in love with GarageBand for recording guitar… so many good memories with this computer
I went to a small k-8 grade school and we had g3 imacs in our library/computer lab but we got one of these. It was the one everyone wanted to get on. It always surprised me that the school has macs.
To this day the 17inch iMac G4 is my favorite computer. I still have it, but unfortunately it was totally ruined by Hurricane Maria in 2017. I don't have the heart to throw it away. It was the first computer I bought.
This iMac is the best design ever. So avant garde. Luke Miani successfully installed a Mac mini into one. Apple should produce it, with an OLED display it would be untouchable by any competitor.
I always liked the G4 ad were the person was walking past a store and the computer came to life like the lamp from the Pixar intro
Just made the computer look so fun
This was on purpose, Steve Jobs was a founder of Pixar
Great era 🎉❤
😂😂🤙🏽
Small detail: FRA more likely stands for Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
That seems much more credible hahahaha
There are two US Army Bases just a short drive from FRA so this would make sense
Yup- looks like it went to Sembach Kaserne Army base (AKA sembach air base) 19ish miles from Ramstien).
Mr Elvis Presley was stationed at Friedberg (not too far from Frankfurt am Main)
End the occupation lol
This with a retina screen and the internals of a mac mini or studio is my dream computer
S A M E
YES!!
I would love to see a custom build like that. Especially for the version of this with the bigger screen.
all you need is a screwdriver, an imac g4, and an m3 macbook pro
@@Cragdognamedbear I believe that has been done before!
The G4 iMac was everywhere, and it was great. It's what my high school had for our multi-media class to learn to edit on. It was powerful, compact, had a great screen, and the hinge on said screen was phenomenal. To this day it might be my favorite Apple Computer.
When Steve introduced this Mac, he declared that he thought it was the best thing they’d ever done up to that point. He was not wrong.
I don't know if it could be topped
Don't forget that Newsweek I think leaked the device before the official announcement by Steve. I think he mentioned it in his keynote.
@@spadesman_the_first3296 correct! It was Time Magazine!
He said that at every product launch.
I'm sure his estranged daughter was thrilled at that though.
everyone else: apple vision pro review
quinn: check this imac from 22 years ago
it still looks amazing, 20 years later. it also solves the problems with the current iMac with the tilt mechanism. I would love to see this revisited. I had a beige PC when this came out and I remember this so clearly, it was what made me pay attention to Apple
Insanely expensive though, 1499 dollars in 2002 is about 2500 dollars now, for an all in one, that is super expensive.
An iMac G4 format with 27, 30, 34" (ultrawide), and 38" ultrawide options would be awesome.
Why would you want yopour monitor to be attached top PC? With them separate you can choose withc monitor adn witch pc you want and replace them whenever you want.
@@danosk1It's a fair point; but not a universal one. If it were; the iMac (in any of its forms) wouldn't have sold. They're incredibly popular in schools/offices because you don't have all those cables for power/display/audio. It's a single unit.
For family's as well who want a computer in the kitchen / family room / etc. It's super easy. Drop the computer on a table - plug in power, add keyboard/mouse, connect to wifi and you're done.
I'll agree for some having the monitor / computer separate is better - but I know it's not for everyone. Just like 2 or more monitors. Most gamers / tech people love it and can't even fathom why you'd want less - but I have users who out right ask to have the standard 2nd monitor we give them removed because they have no intention of using it :)
I have that, it's called an mac mini with external monitor. I got a 20" G4 imac as well, which I wished was just a g4 mini because it's a beast and take too much room. ;)
@@DaphoidGet a slim modern LCD with USB ports on the side of it, take off the stand and mount it to a desk mount monitor arm. A lot of arms actually have a channel that runs down the length of it so you can hide all the cables within the arm itself. Chuck a Mac mini next to it or screw a small shelf under your desk for it. You can plug your USB drives into the side of the screen and use the Bluetooth Apple mouse & keyboard on it. No ugly wires on display.
God I love that old footage of you and Marques. Your enthusiasm for tech is so contagious, I love when your excitement comes through in your videos. I don't usually go in for unboxing videos but you made this informational and enjoyable! :)
Thanks so much, Travis!
It’s amazing how the iMac was the first computer in people’s houses period. Hard to imagine in this day and age!
In some ways it was hard to imagine then given the C64 and Apple II had been out for 2 decades by the time it launched!
It wasn't, Over here in Europe it was all Brittish computing or IBM's
@@kiddy1992no, plenty of c64 around here as well.
@@snazzy You didn't mention the Amiga A500, and since this is the internet I am gonna complain about it.
You forgot the Amiga A500!
@@kiddy1992 was about to say. i was like 13 when i first time saw a macbook, which was a g4 macbook my music teacher had. i had only seen macs in american movies before. i got macbook pro in high school and around that time they got really popular.
I had one of these and it was my favorite Mac. The damping on the neck/arm was absolutely perfect and effortless to move. The material of the base was absolutely beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe it. Such an amazingly unique design.
I might be trailing an old road, or jut plain wrong, but does anyone else, or have you Quinn, noticed the resemblance with Moonwind from Pixar's Soul? Energy, vibe, and likeness, uncanny...
same batch of magic mushrooms?
When I was in college there was a building called the Math Emporium where you took online math tests with proctors, studied, and sometimes had a math class for the more obscure subjects. It was basically a 1 story fully carpeted office building with hundreds of iMac G4's at desks configured in hexagonal clusters (so 6 desks per cluster). This video is nostalgic to me in both a good and bad way.
There is a UA-camr who explains how to dismantle it to gain access to the LCD to convert to DVI and then you can fit in an Intel NUC or a tiny motherboard to bring it up to today's performances. I have tried this, but I'm having trouble getting the DVI to receive the signals. It's one of those projects that you start I never finish...
I saw that video 👍
So just had this thought come to mind. Seeing Steve Jobs integral roll in Pixar, and his integral roll in the development roll in the G4 mac. I would wager to say that the G4 design was a homage to the Pixar Lamp from the intro credit of Pixar movies. As they share very similar design elements in the way both the lamp and computer move.
I literally bought an iMac G4 from eBay after watching this video. It arrived today and boy... that design is just timeless. It really is a peace of art.
Stunning. iMacs of today are dull boxes.
Just grabbed a mint iMac G4 and rebuilding the system, from external FireWire SSD and potentially internal legacy SSD. An a firewire audio interface for hifi playing. True piece of Art.
I had the 17inch widescreen version. Beautiful iMac. The sound was stunning from those speakers too. You should make a modern day equivalent, with an M3 chip inside
They still sell i macs !
Yep, had the same one, just lovely. Also the time iTunes and iPods entered our home, playing music from the computer instead of stereo.
Yeah, make it 30-32" display and due to miniaturisation they could have the top half of that dome be all speakers.
Loved the video. My first Mac was an iMac G4. I loved that machine and it's the reason I still use Macs today. Good times. Thanks for the memories.
Specifically, that $150 million from Microsoft was part of the settlement deal for a lawsuit against them relating to QuickTime
For those unaware, QuickTime was ported to Windows by San Fransisco Canyon Company. Intel and Microsoft then bought a bunch of QuickTime code from SFCC and put it into Video for Windows. Which SFCC wasn't supposed to give them.
MichaelMJD did a whole episode specifically on this oft-repeated statement that just wasn’t true.
Bad research, unfortunately…
no
In 2003, When Microsoft sold the non-voting shares of Apple stock that they bought for their $150 million, they sold it for around $550 million, making a decent profit on the stock. Making money thanks to Apple was a nice bonus on top of having deflected legal challenges with their investment.
No, untrue.
This is my favorite kind of content you produce. Lots of nostalgia remembering using those great computers. And what a time to be alive where it seemed like nearly every keynote there was some mind blowing innovation.
Those were the days!
0:35 its crazy how that's literally modern apple... yet they are worth the most they have ever been. Something is genuinely wrong with society.
You could right click the mighty mouse without the side buttons. You can see right in the screen shot 8:59 that despite it not having two buttons you still get two buttons (3 including clicking the roller ball which was amazing, 4 if you include the side buttons). The design was just too good that I guess it confused a lot of people. I loved that mouse and the wireless version.
I still use one! I love it. You just have to lift your left finger so it registers a right click.
That’s what I get for going off script! We made an editors note haha sorry for the mistake
I came here to say this
“Too good that it confused people” is contradictory. If it’s confusing people, if it’s unintuitive, it wasn’t well designed. Nothing against the mouse, just that statement is a paradox.
Used these in my high school and can confirm. Had to change that setting to right click too many times
I was working for Apple in a sales role at the time that these came out, and I cannot overstate how much customers *loved them.* I recently picked one up for myself again when a neighbor offered me theirs, complete in its original box. It's just as stunning and whimsical and graceful today as it was then, and I also hold it in very high regard as one of Apple's all-time best designs. Wonderful video, and congrats on your "Sunflower" G4!
I'm so glad (and lucky) to have found and bought an immaculate 20" G4 a few months ago. Spent years looking for one that's in good condition and wasn't expensive. This is seriously one of the only computers that I will probably never sell. The design is so elegant.
The G3 was fun and quirky looking, I remember loving them in early elementary school since they were the darling of my town's tech ed classes. The G4 was a work of art, worth keeping around just because of how good it looks no matter how obsolete the hardware is
I’ve still got mine somewhere in storage, absolutely loved this computer.
The dream of that iMac lives on today with the iPad Pro, using a Twelve South iPad stand, working as a display for a nearby Mac Mini. I’d love for you to do a video showing off the dream of Jobs, realized with his last unveiled product, the iPad.
If Apple can unify their their operating systems and actually have everything run across platforms, that would be great.
Seems like you are either compromising though by not being able to run iPad apps on the Mac, or not being able to run full featured apps with window Management on the iPad.
Does the iPad as a second display let you run iPad apps and Mac OS apps?
@@stevenswall There are two ways to answer your question. Assuming Apple Sidecar is being used to make the iPad extend the Mac desktop (because there are other apps and other ways to do it too)…
If the Mac hardware and OS version support installing and running iOS apps, then you can start an iOS app in macOS and drag it over to the secondary display (the iPad). This is about running iPad apps in macOS, and showing them on the iPad alongside whatever other macOS apps you show there through Sidecar, not using any iPad resources to run those apps.
On the iPad, Apple Sidecar is just another app, so for example, if the iPad is currently using Sidecar to show the macOS desktop, you can use any iPad OS app switch gesture to go to any app on that iPad. This is about running iPad apps on the iPad behind Sidecar, not using any Mac resources, the opposite of the previous paragraph.
It's a nice stand and a nice idea, but the design aesthetic doesn't quite match. Also, the iPad Pro (even the larger 12.9" one) is too small to serve as a comfortable desktop display. The modern iMac's display is nearly 4 times the size.
It’s crazy how underpowered these computers are considering how long schools used them, especially th G-3. I thought the G-4 was some new fancy model in like 2008?
I'm baffled about the superb condition of all the items in that box. Everything was still white, cables clean and no raffling, breaking or brittle rubber. Amazing
I still have one of these. IIRC, 700MHz was the base model and it came with speakers.
First family computer.
Recently fired ours up from 2003 when I was 12.
What a gem of a machine to learn on. GarageBand and Logic both run surprisingly well on it still.
The clear plastic aesthetic needs a comeback. Its soo nice looking
The quote at the end also applies to Nintendo. When they were struggling with the Wii U, they responded by developing some incredible games and ultimately created an outstanding successor-the Nintendo Switch. However, now that they’re riding high on the Switch’s success, it seems they’ve become complacent, releasing fewer new games and focusing more on ports and remasters of older titles.
I LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE the iMac G4. One of my favorite computers of all time. Had so many great memories with it.
The very fact that this looks so modern even now is a testament to how much Apple was innovating at the time
That is the only apple mouse I have ever used. Never owned a Mac. Only friends growing up had one of those beauties in their house. What a nostalgic design. Those 98/99 iMacs were a wonderful treat to the eyes, contrasted against the black and beige landscape that was home computing back then.
They offered the Imac G4 in a 20 inch version but it is almost impossible to find today.
The big problem with the G4 was the arm would break down and it was really hard to fix it.
My parents had it when it was released back in the day. When they stopped using it (they became too old) I carefully put it back in its original box after restoring its original MacOS Tiger. Unfortunately, the DVD Combo drive was broken so I would need to get a replacement. So it is sitting in the box waiting to another reveal... You gave me a great idea with Shuriken :)
Our first Mac was iMac 24-inch released in late 2006. It looked striking in its all-white unibody design. Friends laughed at us for going with a Mac, but its design language spoke volume to us. My sister and I used to fight as kids for whose turn was it to finally use it. It slept only during nighttime. We still have it tucked inside its retail box. I'll go fire it up next week to see how it's doing.
When I was a kid in elementary school, one hour every week we would have “computer class”. We would go in a room with about 30 iMac G3’s and we each got to play and type on the computers. I absolutely loved it!
I got this in 2009 as a graduation gift from college. I loved it. Gave it to my daughter who called it “The Dancing Computer”
32-inch slightly curved screen. Wedge-shaped base instead of the sunflower. Power of the Mac Studio. Amazing adjustability. Plenty of ports. Forward-facing speakers on the bottom of the screen (keeps the iconic chin) and adding large subwoofers to the base. Wireless mouse and keyboard. This could be awesome!
I generally dislike apple products...but I gotta admit, the G4 era of macs were pretty impressive.
especially the tower...that flip down design was rather nice
This is super interesting! Obviously this was a long time ago, but I started covering consumer electronics in 2004. I remember seeing one of these at my friend’s house prior to that - but I swore that was several years prior. Crazy how this was out just a couple of years before I got into this business. This, and the capacitive iPod, were amazing pieces of tech from that era!
I hate to break it to you, brother, but you’re old. 😝 Thanks for the comment, Dru!
The G4 is still an absolute king of design. What a beauty. I want to get one and modify it with an M1 Mac mini’s internals to get a modern G4
I remember when the 15 inch iMac with an lcd came out. I kind of liked it. When the 17 inch version came out, I used it once at UCSC. The extra two inches of screen length made a big difference as far as making it easier to organize my work load. That is what made me like the iMac.
I've bought one of these used, just because imho it is the best looking computer of all ages. Do not expose the transparent plastic on the screen on sunlight/UV, it will yellow pretty fast. Will be installing Shuriken after watching your video!
grab yours while its cheap. I got the 20" model a couple years back for $50. even if you find one not working (as long as the monitor is working) you mod it and put a Mac mini with m1 or m2 inside and have the coolest looking modern computer.
Excellent, I own the 1.2Ghz 20" version of this iconic computer, speakers and all - fully loaded up with RAM, running 10.4.11, and just love it... It produces the majority of my design work, still to this day... thanks to Adobe CS Suite that was offered free of charge from Adobe when Mac PPC went to INTEL. Thanks for this great video, and the introduction for me, to the 2022 version of OS X Tiger - can't wait to try that!
I lived in a quad-Plex apartment in Raleigh, NC, when this came out. My neighbor had one of these and it was sitting in his window, where I would adoringly gaze at the back of it every day when I left the apartment….
It wouldn't be a snazzy lab without a robo-vacuum cameo! 6:07 did someones signature get doxxed? LOL?
I had (and loved) a Cube back in the day. I never thought it was as nice as this iMac, but I was always impressed with the looks, performance and those Harmon Kardon speakers.
Quinn, you should do a mod where you put a Mac mini in the bottom part of the case and attach a modern monitor to the stand.
Interesting fact: the UI buttons (volume/brightness up/down etc) on the 1st gen apple keyboard that came with the 2002 models works with both MacOS 9 AND OSX, whereas the later 2003 keyboard only works with OSX. If you're looking for a G4 that natively runs OS9 then look for one with that first gen keyboard
I still remember the Apple iMac G4 due to its use by the Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW until around 2013, they actually kept a few iMac G4’s running just to do the computer based tests (for Learners to get their supervised driving licence, and also the Hazard Perception test when getting your Provisional licence)
I absolutely love the iMac G4, one of my favourite tech product designs ever! Some may describe it as "goofy" and "dated" and to a degree, they'd be right, but I just absolutely adore it's design. To me personally, it still looks great today
Picked one of these in the box for 20 bucks last year and same with the cube. I absolutely love the looks
I bought this very computer the day it was released and it still works perfectly (although it's certainly not my main computer, which is a late 2015 27" iMac which desperately needs replacing...).
Slight correction on the Might Mouse buttons, as my first Mac was the iMac G5 that came with that: the right-click was detected via a touch sensitive surface, while the entire mouse still physically clicked. The annoying aspect was that you would have to lift your index finger so the mouse would only sense your middle finger on the right side, in order for it to register. The squeeze functionality was a separate and equally annoying input to use, and by default was set to Exposé.
My G5 also came with the later keyboard that did indeed collect every crumb and cat hair imaginable. I very quickly replaced both keyboard and mouse with Logitech versions.
Great edition! Thanks for including Shuriken. I'd love to see a video listing which old Macs can be brought back to useful lives with it and what limitations there may be.
Thank you for point out that it was in their fight for survival that lead to so much great innovation like this. Just look at how much the iMac / eMac accomplished from 1998 - 2004. It blows away any progress made from 2004-2024.
I had a super-drive, wide-screen version of this in the early to mid 2000s to replace my previous Gen3. I fondly remember fondling the round base and its smooth surface and warmth. In fact both might be still in boxes somewhere in my house.
Until now I still love how the g4 looks, I still would love to have it in an M series chip.
Loved this video. Please make a video on what went wrong with the iMac G5!
I came across one of these in about 2015 in working condition. I was just a few years out of high school at that point and when I realized there wasn’t much you could do with it, I got rid of it… I wish I hadn’t. Im sure I’d have a use for it today.
Thank you for the waves of happy nostalgia! I thought about making a scaled-up version with larger screen.
The drawings I did, it looked ungainly? I'm question marking, there, because I can't find my original drawings. Have you tried at your end to see what it would look like? A huge plum pudding with scaled-up arm and screen size. It sort of worked, I figured that oversized plum pudding would have lots of room to hide external storage and at one point I even considered making a built in bass/mid speaker (down-firing, with the electronics shielded from the vibrations) and hiding tweeters within the enlarged monitor's housing. I couldn't figure out how to make an enlarged version of the arm, I don't have the metal working skills.
If anyone has made an oversized version, I would love to see that. I know that's a lot of work but if you took that on, you'd be a legend! I mean, there are up-dated versions out there but I think you're right, one with a decent sized screen could be a huge seller for Apple.
You may or may not be aware of this, but it’s always best to return the monitor to full upright position when you’re not using the computer. The longer it sits at an angle, the more that hinge will wear out, until it won’t allow you to position it anymore. Apple made a proprietary tool for disassembling those hinges, but there are workarounds. 👍🏻
There's a skit on Rick and Morty about 'True Level'. That's what it was like moving the monitor arm on the iMac G4.
I’ve always loved this design. Form and function were met perfectly for this computer
I grew up with one of these computers. I'm having an extreme nostalgia-gasm right now!
As someone with vision issues, the swivel screen was a dream for me!
I’ve been watching your videos for years now and this has got to be one of the best videos you’ve ever made!
Thanks so much!
This was my first Mac and I loved it!! Sadly it died but I would love to have one like this again!
I always wanted the G4 when it first originally came out. Couldn't afford it that time. Finally got one two years ago at a garage sale for $100. Wow. It is so beautiful.
Got em all, 15”, 17” and the Cadillac 20” - my favourite computer desktops of all time.Thx for video!
You said it’s hard to underestimate the importance of the iMac. No it would be hard to OVERESTIMATE.
Ive been loving seeing the upgrades and mods to those old G4 iMacs. Putting sleeper ITX PCs in them, or the new m-series Mac minis in the base.
I’m fairly sure someone has put an OLED or IPS display into one by now.
I remember my dad unboxing this same iMac!! Bring back the great accessories this came with
9:33 I was not expecting the ominous jump-scare from the cameraman when you started looking at the specs on the box
picked up a 800mhz g4 imac a while back for like 60 bucks, i love this little thing, it's such a beautiful computer
I have one of these in kinda the same condition the speaker wire has yellowed a bit but overall great condition, I repasted the cpu and GPU, and replaced the hard drive. Overall this was my favorite Mac of all time, screen still looks amazing. Way ahead of its time. Appreciate the video man 👍🏻
I wish we could get a modern version of this and the Cube. These designs were generations ahead of the hardware they shipped with.
Still got my fully specked out G4. It was my first apple computer I ever bought. Although, in college we used the G3s, so that was cool.
I loved that “how to plug stuff in” music montage part, it was really fun to watch!
Great vid Quinn! A little harsh on the A1048 keyboard- yes, it gets dirty (and you aren't going to get anything out of the underside without dismantling it), but the keyboard itself works great and keys & top surface are easy to clean. Toothbrush, air duster and a few cleaning wipes spruced mine up nicely in minutes. Got it with my 1,1 Mac Pro in 2006 and still using it daily. The newer Apple keyboards are OK, but I prefer this one.
OMG if they took the guts of a modern Mac Studio and put it in a new version of this I would buy it instantly. I have the 17" version of this and it is my favorite all time Mac.
Still have my original 17" 1Ghz, all in the factory packaging with speakers. It has been upgraded to the 1.25Ghz (2GB of ram) with USB 2.0. But the bottom original tray with 1Ghz motherboard in an antistatic bag in the box. It is also sitting next to the iRain design iMac desk, also put back in the box. Just waiting to set it back up when I have the room.
Speaking of that manual my Apple 2e came with a disk that showed you how and what to click the mouse for.
I agree, this is the most beautiful computer Apple has made. I have bought one of these and it is a great retro experience to play CDs and listen to the Harmon Kardon speakers (which still give it function; running Mac OS 10.4 Tiger). I would love to see this design on a current computer, perhaps with a mini-like computer at the base and with an option to expand with drives or GPUs and a magnetic way to attach an iPad as a second screen.
Glad I ran across this video this afternoon! I'd actually been thinking over the last few weeks what my favorite Mac was, and this was the one I've always loved. I often wonder why Apple veered away from this form factor so quickly, and can only come up with a couple of possible reasons: (1) Too expensive to make, and/or (2) Too difficult to repair. I've no idea if either of those is true, but that's all I could come up with. I believe this iMac was available with a 17" monitor, before it was dropped by Apple. Anyway, thanks for the memory!
I used Apple computers in college, but haven't ever owned an Apple computer myself. Yet I love the nostalgia of Apple products, as pushed other computer manufactures away from the beige rectangular box that was the dominant form factor.
I had the widescreen model back starting around 2003 or 4 I think. I loved it, and those speakers were no joke. It was a really exciting time because iLife came out soon after I got this computer and I fell in love with GarageBand for recording guitar… so many good memories with this computer
We had the G3 at high school. We also played Cro Mag Rally during breaks
What a beautiful machine! Want to get one for years but can’t really justify it.
I went to a small k-8 grade school and we had g3 imacs in our library/computer lab but we got one of these. It was the one everyone wanted to get on. It always surprised me that the school has macs.
I had one of these (new) years ago. Fantastic futuristic design. That arm was a serious hunk of metal.
I love the design of the imac g4
To this day the 17inch iMac G4 is my favorite computer. I still have it, but unfortunately it was totally ruined by Hurricane Maria in 2017. I don't have the heart to throw it away. It was the first computer I bought.
This iMac is the best design ever. So avant garde. Luke Miani successfully installed a Mac mini into one. Apple should produce it, with an OLED display it would be untouchable by any competitor.
Everyone is making Vision Pro content and you’re making this, that’s why we love you Quinn!