At the Macworld Conference & Expo on May 6, 1998, Apple announced the iMac for the very first time. With its all-in-one design, the beast then embeds a PowerPC G3 processor to which it owes the suffix of its first version. On the menu: only 32 MB of RAM expandable to 384 MB, for a fifteen-inch cathode ray screen with a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels. The hard drive, for its part, is limited to 4 GB.
To achieve this result, the manufacturer undertook several months of relentless development, particularly on the design side, signed Jonathan Ive. Efforts paid off, since the press ultimately praised a very successful aesthetic rendering, contrasting with most other desktop computers on the market. But behind the success there are also concepts that have never seen the light of day...
A gem for collectors
The English-speaking YouTube channel Computer Clan was thus able to get its hands on a prototype of the device also dated 1998, which would have been built by Apple before finally seeing its plans abandoned without us knowing the reason. The format is relatively similar: we recognize the same curved shell as on the official iMac G3, but this time it reveals the various internal components.
A label is placed on the cabin where we can read the following statement, which leaves little doubt about the provenance of the object:
“This device has not been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may note be, offered for sale or lease, or sold […] until the approval of the FCC has been obtained“.
The text indicates in fact that the product model has not been validated by the American organization responsible for regulating telecommunications, which is nevertheless essential for proper marketing. A protective measure which tends to confirm the authenticity of the computer, although very meager in the face ofcurrent alternatives favored by Apple.
Soon in working order?
Finally, we will also notice that the motherboard here is yellow, which is not the case on the final iMac G3 where green was chosen instead. Finally, this prototype is unfortunately not functional at the moment. But it would only be a matter of time, according to the videographer who presents it. He believes he can bring the device back to life thanks to the help of other YouTubers. Patience…
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By : Keleops AG
