Five years after debuting the original iMac, Apple Computer has stopped selling the gumdrop-shaped machine to the public.
The original iMac, which many credit for restoring Apple Computer to fiscal health and profitability, has been on its last legs for some time, though Apple continued to sell it even after debuting the flat-panel iMac in January 2002 and later the eMac. Built around a 15-inch CRT, the original iMac debuted in 1998 for $1,299. The computer eventually sold for as little as $799, keeping its trademark design virtually unchanged while adding features like FireWire, CD burners and DVD players.
However, on Tuesday, Apple removed the lone CRT-based iMac from Apple's main online store and a source confirmed Apple does not plan to keep selling it publicly. The machine is still listed on Apple's online education store and schools have been the main reason Apple has continued to make the device.
Introduced in a shade known as Bondi Blue, the iMac spent its childhood in candy colors like grape and lime and its early adulthood in wild hues like Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power before spending its later years in subtle shades like graphite and snow.
News source: C|net
