SEPTEMBER 2012 SYSTEM EXTENSION

by Stephen M. Hackett copyright 2012, Hackett Technical Media, LLC SEPTEMBER 2012

This month’s edition is sponsored by: Welcome to the third edition of System Extension.

This month, we look at two products that marked a shift in Apple’s business — the iMac G3 and the iPhone.

The iMac G3 is the machine used by Steve Jobs to turn around Apple after his return. After slashing the product line, he leveraged the iMac’s state-of- the-art tech, low cost and good looks to bring Apple back from the brink.

The iMac enjoyed 7 refreshes over the course of three years, before being transformed to the “Lampshade” G4.

After the iMac — and then the iPod — bolstered Apple’s books from near- ruin to a great success, the iPhone has taken Apple from a successful company to an unstoppable one. This month, Apple released the sixth edition — the all-new iPhone 5 — with a larger screen, better camera and LTE, all in a thinner and lighter case.

In this edition, I have my complete review of the unit, as well as my thoughts on iOS 6, the newest version of Apple’s mobile operating system.

As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to get in touch about anything you want to get off your chest, or if you’re interested in sponsoring a future edition of the magazine.

2 THE MACINTOSH THAT SAVED THE COMPANY

On May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs took the stage and announced the iMac G3, a consumer counterpart to the G3-powered PowerMac and PowerBook, the only remaining computers in Apple’s lineup after he had slashed all other machines, including the popular Performa line.

“The back of our computer,” he said, “looks better than the front of the other guys’. It looks like it’s from another planet. A good planet. A planet with better designers.” THE BONDI-COLORED SAVIOR

The original iMac was introduced in 1998. In typical Jobs style, the keynote was something to behold.

“iMac comes from the marriage of the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh,” he said. Internet usage was “the number one use” consumers wanted, and the iMac was built to make that easy.

The iMac started the “i” revolution. Jobs said the i stood for:

★ internet

★ individual

★ instruct

★ inform

★ inspire

In addition to the consumer, Apple aimed the iMac at the education market, one of the company’s few remaining strongholds in the market at the time.

With the iMac, Apple returned to Jobs’ vision of an all-in- one computer, with all of the guts in the same case as the display. In a world of messy PCs, the iMac stood out as a simple, elegant computing solution.

4 THE BONDI-COLORED SAVIOR

While most of the computers at the time were beige boxes — including Apple’s other desktops — the iMac G3 was bondi blue, curvy and translucent.

The iMac G3 was built around its 1024x768, 15-inch CRT. The shape of the CRT defined the machine, with a slightly curved front.

The original iMac featured a 233 Mhz G3 processor, with a 512KB backside cache, coupled with 32 MB RAM, a 4 GB hard drive and a 24x tray-loading CD-ROM drive.

The big news with the original iMac, however, was the I/O. Apple stripped away all of its previously-used ports, including SCSI, ADB

Behind the door on the side, Apple had a 100 Mb Ethernet port, modem and up front an IR port.

...aaaand a pair of USB ports, which made the old-timers light their hairs on fire, but paved the way for easy, plug-n- play support for loads of peripherals like cameras, scanners, floppy drives and more.

5 A MOST COLORFUL EVOLUTION

01.1999: Five Flavors The original iMac shipped in August 1998. In January 1999, Apple offered the machine in five distinct colors. These machines a more powerful 266 Mhz G3 processor, coupled with a ATI Rage Pro Turbo graphics card with 6 MB SGRAM. The IR port was scrapped, as was the internal mezzanine slot.

The colors were as follows, clockwise:

★ Tangerine

★ Lime

★ Strawberry

★ Blueberry

★ Grape

These machines followed a mostly-silent “Rev. B” upgrade that happened just two months after the initial iMacs shipped. This upgrade featured Mac OS 8.5 and a ATI Rage Pro graphics card with 6 MB of SGRAM

The Five Flavor iMacs sold for $100 less than Rev. A & B machines, at just $1199.

The Five Flavors got a spec bump to 333 Mhz in April 1999, and were replaced in October 1999, when Apple released the iMac (Slot Loading) line. 6 A MOST COLORFUL EVOLUTION

10.1999: Slot-Loading iMacs In October 1999, Apple started shipping a slot-loading optical drive in the iMac, marking the start of the second batch of updates to the machine. These machines shipped with 8 MB of video RAM, thanks to a new ATI Rage 128 VR card. The Slot-Loading line also shipped with a base of 64 MB RAM, up for the first time since the original iMac (with a maximum capacity of 1 GB of RAM).

With this update, Apple split out the line in to a “Good, Better, Best” model.

At the base, a 350 Mhz model sold at the elusive $999 price point, and was available only in Blueberry.

The 400 Mhz models included FireWire support, and wore the “DV” badge. These machines shipped in Blueberry, Grape, Strawberry, Tangerine and Lime, as the “Five Flavor” iMacs before them.

The “DV SE” was the same machine, but in Graphite, which, in my opinion, is the best-looking of all the iMac colors.

All of the slot-loading iMacs weigh in at 34.7 pounds / 15.7 kg, with dimensions of 15.0 x 15.0 x 17.1 inches / 38,1 x 38,1 x 43,5 cm.

The previous tray-loading iMacs were slightly larger at 38.1 pounds / 17.2 kg and 15.8 x 15.2 x 17.6 inches / 40,1 x 38,6 x 44,7 cm.

Graphite iMac photo via damianward on Flickr

7 A MOST COLORFUL EVOLUTION

07.2000: The ‘Summer 2000’ Models In July 2000, Apple revved the iMac G3 line once again. These machines got new processor and hard drive options, and added support for Apple’s new AirPort cards. These iMacs required Mac OS 9.0.4, and support up to OS X 10.4 Tiger, except for the base model, due to its lack of FireWire 400 ports.

Gone were the Five Flavor colors.

At an all new $799 level, Apple had an all-new Indigo iMac running at 350 Mhz, with no FireWire and no AirPort support.

At 400 Mhz and $999, the iMac DV (Summer 2000) was available in Indigo and Ruby. These were the first iMacs to ship 02.2001: The ‘Early 2001’ iMacs with Apple’s Pro Keyboard and Mouse, in black. Welcome to what I call the “WTF Phase” of the iMac G3.

The iMac DV+ (Summer 2000) was the only iMac to ship at 450 With this generation, all models gained FireWire 400 ports. MHz. It was available in Indigo, Ruby, and Sage. A slot-loading Apple dropped Sage and Ruby in favor of "Blue Dalmatian" DVD-ROM was standard. and "Flower Power", two new patterns that were molded into the iMac’s case using a technique which took Apple 18 This generation of iMac also had a “DV SE” option, in the previously-used Graphite, as well as a new Snow color. months to perfect.

(I own both the Snow and Sage. They aren’t super useful these Bonkers. days, I’ll admit. If someone has a Graphite, let me know!) The low-end option was basically a “DV (Summer 2000) with a 400 Mhz processor at $899.

On the high-end, the new iMac picked up a CD-RW drive, leading to the “Rip. Mix. Burn.” campaign. These machines came with 20 GB hard drives and 500 Mhz G3 processors, as well as new video cards. These machines required OS 9.1 8 A MOST COLORFUL EVOLUTION

07.2001: The ‘Summer 2001’ Models In July 2001, Apple revved the iMac G3 for the last time.

Thankfully, Flower Power and Dalmatian didn’t make it past that single generation.

At the low end, running at 500 Mhz, Apple had an iMac in Indigo and Snow, with and ATI Rage 128 Ultra (AGP 2X) graphics card with 16 MB of VRAM, an an optional CD-RW drive. This machine sold for $999, an increase over previous low-end machines.

At 600 Mhz, the middle of the road iMac came with a 40 GB hard drive, CD-RW drive and the same video card as the low- end model. It sold in Graphite and Snow for $1299.

A 700 Mhz model was also for sale for a short time, making it the fastest CRT-based iMac of all time. In Graphite and Snow, it came with a 60 GB hard drive, but otherwise was the same as the mid-range model. This machine came with Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X 10.0.4, the only original iMac G3 to come with OS X.

iMac G3s Today — In January 2002, with the release of the iMac G4, Apple Any iMac G3 with a FireWire 400 port is capable of re-arranged the iMac G3 line, keeping it for sale for a short time. running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It's advised to max out the RAM, which in most cases is 1 GB. The low-end $799 model had its RAM bumped to 128 MB, and shipped with Mac OS X 10.2 as the default OS. 10.3 Panther is my OS of choice when it comes to G3s, however. The under-powered graphics and slow CPUs The G3/600 saw a price drop to $999. struggle on Tiger. The G3/700 was discontinued. 9 THE IPHONE 5

On September 21, 2012, the new iPhone 5 landed in stores. With a taller 4” Retina display, LTE, better battery life and OS 6 (all in a thinner and lighter package) the new phone is upgraded heavily from the 4S that preceded it, but is it worth the upgrade? NUMBER FIVE IS ALIVE

It’s weird to think that their have iPhone 5 Specs: been six models of iPhone already. It seems like yesterday that the ★ A6 Processor with 1 GB RAM original was released.

★ 4-inch 1136x640 Retina display In 2007, the iPhone was defined by its large 3.5-inch display, populated ★ 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz) with colorful icons, each representing what was then the only ★ Bluetooth 4.0 functions the iPhone could perform.

★ LTE Around the back, the original iPhone has a rounded aluminum back with ★Height: 4.87 inches (123.8 mm) black rubber strip that served as a window for the radios. ★Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm) In many ways, Apple hasn’t strayed ★ Depth: 0.30 inch (7.6 far from its original recipe. While the mm) iPhone 3G and 3GS retained the curved back, albeit in plastic, it felt ★Weight: 3.95 ounces similar in hand to the original. (112 grams) With the iPhone 4 and 4S, Apple moved to using glass on ★ 8 Megapixel camera the back, and the curve was gone. ★ 1080p video recording The iPhone 5 marries both design languages in to one phone. With a flat metal ★ Lightning Connector back and glass radio windows, the new iPhone looks like an original iPhone and an iPhone 4S made sweet baby iPhones. ★ Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic I think the new look is great. I bought the “Black and Slate” version, and the anodized black aluminum is simply stunning. Having the black glass at the top and bottom is a little weird, though. I’d much prefer just to have it at the top, but I understand why it’s there.

This is the phone Batman would carry. 11 NUMBER FIVE IS ALIVE

The iPhone 5 is the iPhone you know, but re-defined. I’ve been on Verizon for several years, and have always heard how fast the company’s LTE is. The iPhone is a screen, a network connection, a battery and some innards. With the 5, Apple’s updated them all. In short, LTE is insane. It’s suspiciously fast. At my office, I’m getting between 15 and 20 Mbps down, with 5-7 up. The new, taller screen is what you would expect from an iPhone, but just better. The Retina display is still stunning, but even better then before. That seems like freaking magic. It’s faster than my U-Verse at home, The color seems better, and thanks to the new in-cell touch technology, especially on the up side of things. the image is right under your finger — even closer then before. So far, the iPhone 5’s battery life is even better than what I experienced The genius of Apple’s upgrade here was keeping the width the same. with my iPhone 4S, which seems crazy. I know that LTE and a larger While that does make it easier for developers, it also makes the device display should counter-balance the larger battery, but Apple’s worked just as easy to use with one hand. I often cradle my phone, using just some sort of magic here. my thumb to get around, and with my short time with the iPhone 5, I haven’t found any real usability issues. Apple thanks the all-new A6 processor for this. The chip apparently just sips power. The iPhone feels fake in hand. It’s like on of those dummy phones you see in carrier stores. The weight and size don’t make sense together. I It also makes every other iOS device in my life feel like a dinosaur, really can’t describe how weird the lack of weight is. including my iPad 3. The iPhone 5 is just unbelievably zippy. Remember how fast the iPhone 3GS felt when it came out? It's like that, but way That’s not to say it feels cheap. Quite the opposite is true, actually. The better. glass and aluminum feels great in hand, and thanks to the thinner design and rounded edges on the band, it’s actually more comfortable Speed is addicting, and Apple keeps delivering with its devices. to hold in hand than the 4S. I can’t think of another product Apple’s built that is simply this nice. Then there’s the looks. Oh my, the “Black and Slate” phone sitting on my desk is gorgeous. The black anodized aluminum is smooth and The new 16x9 screen does make the phone look a little weird, but I’m clean looking. The use of the material around the thinner band ringing sure that will wear off in time. It does make my 4S feel a little ... dumpy. the phone is brilliant. It makes the phone look even thinner than it really is. I opted for the black one, and am glad I did. The back and sides meet the top glass in such a stunning manner, I can’t even think about using a If the iPhone 5 is James Bond in a black tux, the 4S is a doofus kid white one at this point. going to prom in shoes two sizes too large.

It’s just as impressive on the inside, though. Long live 007.

12 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BITS, BABY...

While Apple lists loads of new features in iOS 6, in my time with the What about Maps? software, I haven’t had Maps are one of the key functions for many users, and by taking Google on in my socks knocked off. the space, Apple’s entered web services in an all new way. With no free- standing Google Maps app (as of this writing, at least), users are stuck with Notification Center is basically Apple’s offerings. unchanged, although Apple can now push emergency alerts to it. Passbook seems great, but until third-parties support it, it’s just Apple’s built-in turn-by-turn directions are great in my testing, and the tiles are another app in my “Apple Junk” folder. beautiful, but the lack of transit apps — until third-parties step in — will be a problem for some. Critically, the search seems really bad in my testing. And the For the most part, the things added to iOS 6 are about refining the satellite imagery is hilariously bad in places. edges in the OS. The ability to send texts to declines calls, “Do Not Disturb” and iCloud tabs all make life a little with an iPhone a little In short, Apple’s offerings have been more than adequate for me, but that might more pleasant, but a bunch of little things doesn’t add up to not be the case for all users. Either way, the uproar on the Internet about it has something ground-breaking. been fun to watch.

Things like Shared Photo Streams are cool, but limited. FaceTime over cellular is awesome, if you’re carrier supports it. Siri’s additions are nice if you like sports. Passbook will become more useful after developers start supporting it.

Notably, UI is a mess. The Music app is sliver, Safari is still blue, and the menu bar keeps changing colors depending on context. It’s all very un-Apple.

I understand that Apple can’t add things like third-party apps or multitasking every year. That said, I was hoping for more out of this iOS upgrade.

It all feels more like iOS 5.5 than something worth a full additional version number.

13