The ??? ??first product launched by Apple after Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 was not the iPhone or the iPod, but a new desktop computer. The original "Bondi Blue" iMac was a revolutionary product that not only saved Apple from financial disaster but also reshaped the entire personal computer industry.
In the late 1990s, Apple was a dying company. In the home market, it relied on a confusing lineup of Macintosh Performa computers, which were essentially repackaged Power Macintosh models designed for business and education.
A poorly negotiated Macintosh clone program ended up hurting Apple more than it helped. Jobs discontinued the Performa models, ended the clone program, and secured a $150 million investment from Microsoft, which was trying to avoid a monopoly status for Windows.
All Apple needed was a new home computer.
Image credit: Daniel Lu
At first, Apple developed the Macintosh NC as part of the Network Computer initiative promoted by Oracle's Larry Ellison. Ellison was appointed as an Apple board member when Jobs was reinstated as CEO.
The idea was to create a computer without an external disk drive, which would rely on the internet for using apps. This concept wasn't far from that of today's Chromebooks, but in the era of physical media and dial-up modems it was still too early for that, and the project was canceled.