A look back and the iMac: First impressions from 1998

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Yesterday we wished happy birthday to the iMac, the personal computer from ten years ago that more or less saved Apple, leading the way to change the computer industry — as well as the music industry — forever.

We posted the video of Steve Jobs introducing the iMac and the nostalgia was palpable. But what were the reactions?

Reader Dan showed me this clip from a MacWorld from ten years ago, giving its first impressions of the new computer.

While the review is generally favorable, there are some parts that are humorous a decade on.

Most dramatically, this new consumer offering has no SCSI port, no standard serial ports, and no ADB ports. Apple has opted to replace these familiar connections with USB, a high-speed serial architecture that has suffered from slow adoption on the Wintel platform despite its technical advantages (see the sidebar “USB: Ready for Prime Time?”). Currently, no USB devices exist for the Mac.

I can’t wait till someone calls out the crap I write on here now ten years from now.