Apple launched the iMac G4 in early 2002 as a replacement to the hugely successful original iMac range. Not only did Apple give the new iMac the more powerful PowerPC G4 chip, which had up until then only been used in its pro range of PowerBooks & PowerMacs, it also introduced a radical new design which was announced to the world on the cover of Time magazine.

The iMac G4’s design comprises of a dome base which houses the circular motherboard and the rest of the computers internals, and an LCD screen which is pivoted onto the base by a steel & chrome neck. This unusual design allows the screen to be moved into whatever position is most comfortable for the user and helped to earn it the nickname iLamp.

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The 12” G4 Powerbook is regarded by many as being one of the best ever notebooks produced by Apple. Despite being replaced by the original plastic intel based MacBooks it still remained a highly sought after model long after it was discontinued. Many users preferred it’s aluminum casing to the cheaper looking plastic of the MacBook and because it had a smaller screen (12” vs the MacBook’s 13”) it was the ideal choice for users looking for an ultra portable Mac.

I owned the 1.33 GHz model and was very happy with its performance. It came installed with Mac OS X Panther, but thanks to 768 MB of RAM it also ran Mac OSX Tiger with ease.

The one aspect of the 12” PowerBook that I was a little disappointed by was the screen quality, it was a cheaper spec than the 15” & 17” models and as a result colours looked a little washed out. Thanks to a little app called SuperCal though I was able to improve the quality significantly, and if you're intending to use the PowerBook 12” with an external monitor you won’t have any problems.

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Apple launched the eMac (education Mac) back in 2002 for the education market. It was significantly cheaper and more durable than the iMac of the time which had just been redesigned with a radical new lampshade form, comprising of a flat lcd screen pivoted on a dome base.

In contrast to the new iMac the eMac had a similar design to the original imac, a much bulkier form based around a 17 inch crt screen. Obviously the crt was the main area where Apple was able to produce the eMac much cheaper than the iMac. But although the eMac looked very different to the iMac on the outside, on the inside the eMac had the same G4 processor and graphics as the iMac. Unsurprisingly many consumers caught on to the idea of having a G4 based Mac at a price that simply hadn’t been possible before, and thankfully Apple decided to bow to consumer interest and made the eMac available to everyone.

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Apple launched the iBook Clamshell in 1999 as an affordable portable Mac for the consumer market. In contrast to the more understated design of Apple’s PowerBook range, the Clamshell’s design was a continuation of the radical all in one, curvy, multi coloured iMac. Many people loved the unusual design though some cruelly likened it to a toilet seat. Despite the detractors the Clamshell was hugely popular, no doubt some of it’s success came from it’s prolific placement in many movies of the time - it was instantly recognisable on screen and had a futuristic look that other laptops didn’t have.

The first two Clamshells were available in tangerine or blueberry colours, had PowerPC G3 300 MHz processors, and could be fitted with a then new AirPort wireless network card. With an AirPort card fitted the Clamshell could be used to browse the internet without the need for wires - one of the first mainstream laptops to have such a feature.

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The Power Macintosh G5 was introduced by Apple in 2004 as a replacement to it’s hugely successful G4 range of PowerMacs. Not only did the G5 PowerMac offer greater processing power than the G4 range, it also saw Apple move away from the curvy, plastic cases that had been used for it’s pro range of desktops since the original blue and white PowerMac G3 of 1999.

Instead Apple introduced an anodized aluminum alloy case with a distinctive front grill - a design that is now somewhat cruelly referred to as being like a cheese grater. Despite this the ‘cheese grater’ case is still in use in the 2008 range of MacPros.

Although it was only around for 2 years, the PowerMac G5 range saw a number of revisions made to it’s processor, ranging from a single processor 1.6 GHz model through to the final 2.5 GHz Quad Core model - the most powerful of all Apple’s PowerPC based Macs.

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I must admit I have a bit of a soft spot for the G4 MDD (Mirrored Drive Doors), not only is it one of the best looking towers produced by Apple, the 1.25 Ghz version was also the last G4 model produced that was could still boot in Apple’s older Mac OS 9. This made it especially popular with users who still needed to run applications that couldn’t run in Mac OS X.

The MDD’s range included models with dual 867 MHz, 1.0 GHz and 1.25 GHz processors, the last of the MDD models had a single 1.25 GHz processor but could also be configured to come with dual 1.25 GHz processors.

Apple also produced three G4 PowerMacs sharing the same MDD casing, though these are referred to as FW models - the FW coming from the single Firewire 800 port that was introduced on these models. Unlike the true MMD PowerMacs, the Firewire's can’t boot in OS 9, they were available with 1.0 GHz, 1.25 GHz (x2) and 1.42 (x2) GHz processors.

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