Today marks the 20th anniversary of Apple’s introduction of the eMac, designed specifically for educational use in classrooms and computer labs.
The original $ 999 eMac in the US had a white case with a 17-inch flat CRT screen, a 700 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, 128 MB RAM, a 40 GB hard drive, five USB ports, two FireWire ports , two speakers and a built-in CD-ROM drive. An upgraded model with a faster 56K Internet modem was available for $ 1,199.
“Our training customers asked us to design a desktop computer specifically for them,” Steve Jobs said in April 2002. “The new eMac features a 17-inch flat CRT and a powerful G4 processor, while maintaining the compact all-in-one one is preserved. enclose, which teachers love. “
Relay FM co-founder Stephen Hackett today shared a fantastic video about the history of the eMac:
The original eMac came with Mac OS X version 10.1.4, known as “Puma”, and it came pre-installed with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Apple’s own web browser Safari was announced in early 2003, months after the eMac launched.
Referring to high consumer demand, Apple made the eMac available to all customers in June 2002.
“Consumers have knocked on the table with demands to buy the eMac, and we agree,” Jobs said. “The eMac’s production ramp is ahead of schedule, so we want enough eMacs this quarter to satisfy both our education and non-education customers.”
Apple went on to release additional eMac configurations with upgraded specs and a SuperDrive. In October 2005, the eMac was limited to educational institutions only again, and the eMac was replaced by a low-end 17-inch iMac in July 2006.