Category: 2001 Revisited

In my series 2001 Revisited, I’m covering Apple’s major announcements from 20 years ago. Today, we’re talking about the announcement of the original iPod, which took place during a small press event hosted in Apple’s Town Hall venue.

I haven’t been able to find a great copy of the video, but there is a full-length version on YouTube that’s passable:

The event is pretty subdued. 9/11 had taken place just six weeks before and cast a bit of a shadow over everything. Then there’s Jobs presentation, which is casual and friendly.

The first part of the event is taken up by Jobs talking about the company’s Digital Hub strategy as he demoed iMovie and iDVD running on a Titanium PowerBook. This event was nine months after the strategy was announced, and while iPhoto was still off in the future, things were coming along.

Jobs then turned to hardware devices. While the “iApps” were great, the lack of hardware to interface with them was a shame, he said. They chose music to get started, he said, because it was a very large target market, yet no clear market leader when it came to digital music.

Jobs said that Apple’s brand was a perfect fit for the market and that the company was well-positioned to take on things like portable CD players with a hard-drive-based player.

They named it iPod, but in true Steve Jobs fashion, he didn’t show the product right away.

Instead, he spoke about features, and the biggest one would become the marketing slogan for the iPod.

It held 1,000 songs in your pocket.

A 5 GB capacity, 1.8-inch hard drive that was just .2 inches thick helped make the iPod’s small size possible. Jobs compared the iPod’s size to a deck of cards: 2.4 inches wide x 4 inches tall x .78 inches thick. At 6.5 ounces, it was lighter than cell phones at the time.

The iPod included a FireWire port, allowing support for fast transfers and charging.¹ Users could expect 10 hours of music playback thanks to the iPod’s rechargeable battery.

Jobs then finally got around to showing off the device, with its stainless steel back and white front:

The design is now classic, but at the time, the iPod introduced an elegance to the market that just wasn’t present in other products. The black and white, backlit display ran at 160-by-128-pixels, and sat above a scroll wheel that physically turned. It may have lacked the grace that later iPods would have with their solid-state storage and click wheels, but the original iPod was still a stunner.

Those controls made zipping around a large music library fast and easy. Jobs showed these controls off with an overhead camera — after making a joke about biting his fingernails. The demo was simple and slow, but was effective at showing off what the iPod could do.

Eventually, Jobs makes his way to iTunes, announcing version 2 of the application. The update brought much faster CD burning, a new equalizer, crossfade support and more.

And, of course, support for the iPod. Here’s a bit from the company’s press release about how it worked:

Apple today announced iTunes 2, the next generation of its award-winning digital music software for the Mac that has been distributed to over six million users. iTunes 2 adds the three most requested features from iTunes users: MP3 CD burning, an equalizer and cross fading.

But iTunes 2’s most stunning new feature is its seamless integration with iPod, Apple’s new breakthrough portable MP3 player. When iPod is first connected to a Mac running iTunes 2, all the songs and playlists from iTunes 2 are automatically downloaded into iPod, and updated whenever the iPod is plugged back into the Mac.

“The world’s best and easiest-to-use digital music software just got better,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iTunes 2 seamlessly integrates with iPod to revolutionize the portable MP3 music experience.”

Even though this was early days, the iPod and iTunes 2 combo had some clever features, like Auto-Sync. Here’s Apple:

iPod’s revolutionary Auto-Sync feature makes it easy to get your entire music collection into iPod and update it whenever you connect iPod to your Mac. Simply plug your new iPod into your Mac with the supplied FireWire cable, and all of your iTunes songs and playlists are automatically downloaded into iPod at blazing FireWire speed. Then just unplug and go. Whenever you plug iPod back into your Mac it will be automatically updated with your latest iTunes songs and playlists, usually in seconds. There has never been a faster and easier way to always have your up-to-the-minute music and playlists with you wherever you go.

If you really want to dive into Apple’s marketing of the time, don’t miss this grab of the original iPod web pages.

Then there’s this original ad:

The original 5 GB iPod sold for $399, starting a few weeks after this event. And while not all at once, the iPod changed Apple. Originally only available for the Mac, the iPod soon found its way to Windows, as did the forthcoming iTunes Music Store. As these events unfolded, Apple slowly changed from a computer maker to a company focused more on consumer electronics.

Five years after the original iPod was introduced — and a mere three months before the original iPhone was unveiled — Jason Snell wrote to mark the occasion:

Since its first release five years ago on October 23, 2001, the iPod has become one of the most recognizable products in the world. It has transformed Apple’s business and its public image, and is probably responsible for a “halo effect” that has improved the Mac’s image and fortunes as well. Whether you’re a rabid iPod lover or someone who just doesn’t see why the iPod’s such a big deal, it’s hard to dispute the gigantic impact the iPod has had on our technological world.

On the day the iPod was unveiled, none of us knew we were witnessing the arrival of the first iconic product of the 21st century. We had a pretty good idea we were going to see an Apple music player, but we got more than we were expecting.

I’ve often wondered if Apple knew what was on the horizon in terms of its business when it launched the iPod. It catapulted Apple to financial heights it had never seen, and took it from being that company that made weird computers to one that everyone knew.

Some Other iPod Coverage:

Lots of folks are marking this anniversary. Here’s some other cool stuff to check out:

• Simple Beep Episode 90: The iPod at 20
• CNET’s interview with Tony Fadell
• Macworld: How Apple’s legendary portable music player came to be
• Macworld’s original hands-on with the iPod
• Macworld: A complete timeline of Apple’s iconic music player
• Om Malik’s reflection on the iPod at 20
• Connie Guglielmo remembers covering the original iPod announcement

In my series 2001 Revisited, I’m covering Apple’s major announcements from 20 years ago. On July 18, 2001, Steve Jobs presented the keynote at Macworld New York, less than two months after WWDC 2001.

Retail Update

This event took place a couple of months after the first two Apple Stores opened, and Jobs seemed eager to show photos of them off before announcing four new stores:

• Willow Bend in Dallas, TX, which closed in 2019
• Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN
• Woodfield in Chicago, IL
• Northshore in Boston, MA, which moved locations in 2016

This would bring the total number of Apple Stores to six, with a goal of 25 being set for the end of 2001. To share his excitement about this, Jobs ran a video showing off the concept.

Mac OS X

Next, Jobs turned to Mac OS X, which had been on the market for a mere 116 days at the time of this keynote.¹ He said that while Apple was still in the early days of the transition away from the classic Mac OS, there were many signs that the young operating system was doing well:

• Over 1,000 native Mac OS X apps shipping
• 29% of Mac developers were targeting OS X in a release due within three months of WWDC
• 55% of them were planning releases for OS X by December 2001

Jobs went on to talk about “10 on X,” a collection of ten great apps that were coming soon to Mac OS X. These included some major names, including titles from Macromedia, Adobe and Microsoft.²

Demos of these applications took up a big chunk of time in the keynote, but when they were done, Jobs moved on to talk about OS X itself.

He lauded the operating system’s progress, with four updates being pushed to version 10.0 since its launch. These updates has patched bugs and added features such as support for burning CDs in iTunes.

These were minor updates, ticking the version number up to 10.0.4 by the time Macworld New York rolled around. What was next, Jobs said, was a major update.

Mac OS X 10.1 Preview

Jobs then went on to preview Mac OS X 10.1 Puma:

I will write more fully about Puma this fall when the 20th anniversary of its release rolls around, but what Jobs showed off was a more refined, feature-complete version of Mac OS X.

10.1 was focused on performance, something that plagued OS X in those early days. If you haven’t read John Siracusa’s review of 10.0 in a decade or two, this section really shows how slow OS X could be.

Aqua, the Mac’s new user interface, got big updates as well, with a Dock that could be placed on the side of the screen, alongside other options for customization.³

iTunes would be bundled with the OS, as well as support for DVD playback. Finder gained the ability to burn CDs, and a new application named Image Capture made grabbing pictures off of digital cameras a whole lot easier.

(The demo for that didn’t go super well.)

Mac OS X 10.1 would ship in the fall of 2001, as would iDVD 2, also previewed at the show. The big feature was the ability to use video for the background of menus or buttons.

Mac Hardware

Jobs opened the hardware section of the keynote talking about the new iBook G3, which had been introduced on May 1. He reported that the iBook was already a huge hit, both with reviewers and customers, with 182,000 models already sold, overwhelming Apple’s production abilities.

The Titanium PowerBook also got a mention, with Jobs rattling off praise for the machine from the tech press. I liked this quote from Hiawatha Bray from The Boston Globe in particular:

“If you could take just one laptop with you on a desert island, this would be the one.”

Up next was the iMac, with three new models being announced at 500, 600 and 700 MHz. You can read all about these iMacs over here, but the gist is that the new machines were faster and more capable than ever, even as the finishes of Indigo, Graphite and Snow were more mature than the outgoing models.

The “Quicksilver” Power Mac G4 was the next announcement. Personally, I think this is the best looking G4 tower:

(It’s the classy one in the middle.)

This was more than just a fresh coat of polycarbonate. Inside the Power Mac was a nice jump up from the previous model. As with the iMac, Apple had three new models for sale:

	733 MHz	867 MHz	Dual 800 MHz
RAM:	128 MB	128 MB	256 MB
HDD:	40 GB	60 GB	80 GB
GPU:	GeForce2	GeForce2	Dual Display
Optical:	CD-RW	SuperDrive	SuperDrive
Price:	$1,699	$2,499	$3,499

The previous generation topped out at 733 MHz, and the SuperDrive had been only available in the most expensive model.

(Years later, the Dual 800 MHz Quicksilver would be the center of a small storm when it came to Mac OS X Leopard’s system requirements, which stated a 867 MHz G4 or faster was required. Customers with a Dual 800 MHz machine were stuck on OS X Tiger, or forced to look for ways to trick Leopard’s installer.)

After it was announced, the new G4 was pitted against an Intel Pentium that was clocked much higher. As was the case in all of these shootout segments, Apple showed the PowerPC was competitive with the best Intel had to offer, despite what the numbers on the box may have suggested. This time, Jon Rubinstein got roped into things to explain why the G4 was better than what else was on the market.

After reminding the crowd of Apple’s display lineup for these new towers, a promotional video for the new G4 played:

Wrapping Up

Macworld New York 2001 wasn’t the most impactful event of 2001, but I was surprised to see just how much Apple managed to announce so close to that year’s WWDC. 2001 really was a busy year.

In my series 2001 Revisited, I’m covering Apple’s major announcements from 20 years ago.

And yes, in 2001, WWDC took place in May. That may seem strange to us now, but from 1989 to 2002, that’s when Apple hosted the conference. It’s been in June every year since, except for 2006, when it slipped to August.

I think we can guess what was keeping Apple busy that year.

Turns out, finding video of WWDC 2001 was way harder than I thought it would be. There are videos of Macworld keynotes that year on YouTube, but I can’t seem to find the developer conference. If you know of a copy of it, please let me know.

Thankfully, Apple’s press release archives go back to 2000, so we have something to go on.

As we’ve seen already, 2001 was a bonkers year for Apple, so I wasn’t surprised to see that the press release coverage left me thinking that WWDC that year was a bit sparse in terms of actual news.¹

Here’s how Apple pitched the $1595 conference:

It’s time to raise your development to the power of ten! With Mac OS X, developers can create great-looking, robust software applications and high-performance hardware peripherals.

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, May 21-25, 2001 in San Jose, California, you will get the very latest information on Mac OS X and other important Apple technologies. What’s more, you’ll get it directly from Apple engineers and technology experts in more than 100 in-depth technical sessions and hands-on labs.

The unique combination of technologies in Mac OS X make WWDC 2001 especially interesting to Java and UNIX developers looking to take advantage of this new desktop platform.

The gift to attendees was something special: a black leather jacket with an Aqua X on the back. Here I am, with my jacket, given to me by James Thomson at Relay FM’s live show at WWDC 2018:

So, with that out of the way, let’s get to the news of WWDC 2001:

An Update on Apple Retail

The WWDC 2001 keynote took place just days after Apple had opened its first retail stores, and as such, Steve Jobs took some time to talk about them. Here’s a bit from Apple PR:

Apple today announced that its first two retail locations welcomed over 7,700 people and sold a combined total of $599,000 of merchandise during their first two day weekend. The stores, located in Glendale, California and McLean, Virginia are the first of 25 stores the company is opening across the U.S. in 2001.

“We are blown away with the numbers,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “More importantly, customers have told us they love everything about the store—from the knowledgeable sales staff to the Genius Bar to the store’s design and unique approach to presenting digital lifestyle solutions.”

Not a bad start at all.

An All-LCD Display Lineup

After updating its display lineup just a few months earlier, Apple took this chance to kill of its last stand-alone CRT. My all-time favorite Apple external display, the Apple Studio Display (17-inch ADC) was gone.

In its place was a new 17-inch flat panel display running at 1280 by 1024 pixels and a full 16.7 million colors. Here’s a bit from the press release:

The 17-inch Studio Display continues the award-winning industrial design of its 15- and 22-inch siblings that is both beautiful and functional. In addition to its slim desktop footprint and low power consumption, the 17-inch Studio Display also features the Apple Display Connector, an innovative single-connection quick-latch mechanism that combines USB, power and video in one cable, for easy hookup and reduced desktop clutter. For easy plug-and-play connections to peripherals, the 17-inch flat panel also offers a 2-port powered USB hub.

The 15-inch models was $599, the 17-inch cost $999 and the mammoth 22-inch ran $2,499.

Mac OS X Server

This one is a little confusing, as it was the second product Apple sold with this name. The first one was based on Rhapsody, Apple’s failed first attempt at smashing NeXTSTEP and Mac OS together. It was … quickly forgotten.

This new Mac OS X Server was based on Mac OS X 10.0 which had launched just two months before WWDC. To OS X, Apple had added a range of services that, according to the company, would let admins:

• share files and printers with Macintosh, Windows, UNIX and Linux clients;
• host Internet web sites with Apache, the world’s most popular web server;
• enable collaborative web publishing and remote content management with WebDAV, the new extension to the HTTP protocol;
• stream digital media over the Internet using the QuickTime Streaming Server;
• deploy scalable network applications with WebObjects 5, Apple’s powerful pure Java application server;
• can easily be managed with secure remote administration tools;
• support SMTP, IMAP and POP mail protocols and provide anti-spamming services;
• protect network resources and dynamically assign IP addresses using advanced networking services such as IP filtering firewall and DHCP;
• locate Internet resources and organize IP-based work groups using standards-based – protocols DNS and Service Location Protocol (SLP);
• provide students and educators with a consistent, personalized and controlled experience by centralizing the method of unifying system configurations with Macintosh – Manager and NetBoot; and
• share user and group information between servers, utilizing NetInfo and LDAP-based directory services.

For a 10-client license, Mac OS X Server cost $499, with the unlimited license costing $999. Apple also sold a dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 with a 4-port Ethernet card and OS X Server built-in for $3,999.

WebObjects 5

Uhhh, WebObjects got a big update at this WWDC. I find it hard to write or talk about WebObjects outside of making jokes about Apple’s infrastructure, so I’m just going to link to the press release and move on.

Pre-Installing Mac OS X

Even though it was basically brand new, at this event Apple announced that Mac OS X would be pre-installed on all new Macs — alongside Mac OS 9 — effective immediately:

“The reception of Mac OS X has been so positive that we’ve decided to pre-install it alongside Mac OS 9 on all Macs beginning today—two months ahead of schedule,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “This will give all our customers access to the world’s most advanced operating system and ensure a ready and lucrative market for Mac OS X applications.”

Beginning today, all new Macs coming from Apple’s factories will include both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.1 pre-installed. The systems are set to default boot into Mac OS 9.1, but using Apple’s Dual Boot technology users can easily change the default boot to Mac OS X, and just as easily revert back to Mac OS 9.1 if they choose. During the transition, customers buying new Macs that do not yet have Mac OS X pre-installed will receive a free copy of Mac OS X.

A lot of people probably experienced Mac OS X for the first time because of this. I’ve heard many people say that they would boot into OS X, poke around a bit, then return to Mac OS 9 for getting their work done. Over time that would change, and this was one of the first big steps in that direction.

In my series 2001 Revisited, I’m covering Apple’s major announcements from 20 years ago.

It’s hard to imagine the Apple of 2021 without its huge retail footprint, but the first Apple Stores opened just 20 years ago.

Let’s jump right to the press release:

Apple today announced that it will open 25 retail stores across the U.S. in 2001, with the first two stores opening this Saturday, May 19, at Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, and the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California.

“The Apple stores offer an amazing new way to buy a computer,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Rather than just hear about megahertz and megabytes, customers can now learn and experience the things they can actually do with a computer, like make movies, burn custom music CDs, and publish their digital photos on a personal website.”

Knowledgeable salespeople will be able to demonstrate Macs® running innovative applications like iTunes and iMovie™, as well as Mac® OS X, Apple’s revolutionary new operating system. All of the Macs are connected to the Internet, and several are connected to digital lifestyle products that complement the Mac experience, such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, MP3 players, and handheld organizers.

On its website, the company went into more detail about why the Apple Store was such an important step:

Apple currently has around 5% market share in personal computers. This means that out of one hundred computer users, five of them use Macs. While that may not sound like a lot, it is actually higher than both BMW’s and Mercedes-Benz’s share of the automotive market. And it equals 25 million customers around the world using Macs.

But that’s not enough for us. We want to convince those other 95 people that Macintosh offers a much simpler, richer and more human-centric computing experience. And we believe the best way to do this is to open Apple stores right in their neighborhoods. Stores that let people experience firsthand what it’s like to make a movie right on a Mac. Or burn a CD with their favorite music. Or take pictures with a digital camera and publish them on their personal website. Or select from over 300 software titles, including some of the best educational titles for kids. Or talk to a Macintosh “genius” at our Genius Bar. Or watch a demonstration of Mac OS X, our revolutionary new operating system, on our theater’s giant 10-foot diagonal screen.

Because if only 5 of those remaining 95 people switch to Macs, we’ll double our market share and, more importantly, earn the chance to delight another 25 million customers.

This was also used for full-page newspaper ads in areas that were home to new stores.

In this video, Steve Jobs gives a tour of what Apple came up with to lure Windows customers in:

That initial store design and layout spread across a bunch of different locations, including my own Saddle Creek store, where I was hired as a temporary salesperson for the holiday rush of 2006, before becoming a Mac Genius for a couple of years. Saddle Creek has since moved to a newer section of its shopping center and ushered in a new design for the stores.

The history of the Apple Store is an interesting one. For years, Ron Johnson was at the heart of it. In 2018, he did an interview on the now-defunct “Without Fail” podcast telling some pretty wild stories from those early days of Apple retail.

For a decade, the changes Apple has made to its stores were faithfully chronicled at ifoAppleStore, until its founder Gary Allen passed away in 2015. Today, folks like Michael Steeber faithfully report on the Apple stores.

From the very first store openings to dealing with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Apple store is how millions of people interact with Apple. It’s a bit cringe-worthy when Apple says that the stores are meeting places and town halls, but for many fans of the company and its products, there’s something special about them, even as they’ve changed and grown over the last 20 years.

In my series 2001 Revisited, I’m covering Apple’s major announcements from 20 years ago.

On May 1, 2001, Steve Jobs unveiled an all-new iBook, and the new notebook was a huge departure from what came before it.

This came at a special on-campus event¹ at Infinite Loop, and a somewhat-janky video of the event is still online:

This event came just a few months after the launch of the Titanium PowerBook G4, and Apple’s notebook game had never been stronger. In fact, Jobs announced that notebooks accounted for nearly 30% of the company’s Mac sales, up from less than 20% just a year before.

Redefining the iBook

The all-new iBook was a huge departure from the “Clamshell” design that came before it:

Gone were the swooping edges and vibrant colors of the original iBook; this new iBook G3 was far more conservative in design, being dressed in all white.

The top and bottom parts of this enclosure were actually made of clear plastic that had white paint applied to the inside, giving it a slightly frosted look, earning it the nickname “IceBook.” This design lent itself to some … interesting modifications made by some users.

The new iBook was 4.9 pounds, a huge reduction from the 6.7 pound Clamshell. It was also some 35% thinner. As Jobs was quick to point out, this made the iBook the thinnest and lightest notebook in its class.

This was made possible by Apple ditching the large rubber-injected molding that gave the original iBook its rugged nature.

That said, Jobs insisted that the new machine would still hold up to the demands of being used in the home and in schools, saying it proved to be “twice as durable” in Apple’s internal testing. The hard drive was rubber-mounted to absorb shocks and the magnesium frame was meant to be strong and light, but as many Apple techs from back in the day will tell you, it wasn’t uncommon to see iBooks with broken frames come in for repair.

The display was still a 12-inch LCD, but now running at 1024×768, an upgrade from the old 800×600 panel. The additional space made running Mac OS X much more comfortable, and matched the number of pixels on the iMac G3.

The screen rotated down and away from the keyboard on a new hinge that was markedly better than anything Apple had shipped on a notebook before. I honestly think the hinge feel holds up today, two decades later.

The I/O on the new machine was also an upgrade from before, with an additional USB port joining the single port on the Clamshell. It joined the power, FireWire, Ethernet, modem, mini-VGA and the combo audio/composite video ports, all along the left side of the machine.

Inside, the iBook had been improved as well. The Clamshell topped out 466 MHz, but the new iBook was clocked at 500 MHz and could be equipped with up to 640 MB of RAM. The display was powered by the ATI Rage Mobility 128 GPU 8 MB of video memory, which was the same as the FireWire-equipped Clamshell models.

The laptop could be outfitted with one of four optical drives:

• CD-ROM player
• DVD-ROM player
• CD-RW burner
• Combo (DVD-ROM + CD-RW burner)

Prices ranged from $1,299 to $1,799 — $200 less than the Clamshell:

Regardless of price, the iBook came with a 10 GB hard drive, something Apple would improve drastically later in 2001 when it revised the machine for the first time.

In its press release about the new laptop, Apple was quick to praise it:

“The new iBook is wonderfully small and light, and packs in all the amazing features you’d expect from Apple,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With iMovie, iTunes and iTools, the new iBook builds on the incredible success of the original iBook and is designed to fit today’s digital lifestyle.”

Every iBook is powered by 500 MHz PowerPC G3 processors, and offer up to twice the onboard memory, twice the memory expansion, and twice the storage than previous models. iBook’s new stunning design is almost two pounds lighter and twice as durable than previous models, and small enough to easily fit into any backpack or computer bag. Made for students and consumers alike, iBook’s streamlined impact resistant polycarbonate enclosure has no doors protruding, latches or levers to break or accidentally catch.

I encourage you to watch the video, but I love how the whole thing is announced. Jobs talked about the specs for over ten minutes, before ever showing off the iBook’s new design. He holds it up compared to a Dell, making fun of the PC’s design and features before Apple employees passed iBooks down the rows of journalists in the audience. As they looked at the machines, Jobs answered a couple of questions about the notebook, and he shared that the notebook did have a fan, and that the only color it came in was white.

Schools

After announcing and showing off the new iBook, Jobs demoed it for the audience, showing iTunes, iMovie, and the DVD Player all running on the 12-inch machine. Despite its size, Apple wanted people to see the iBook as worth of being part of the company’s Digital Hub strategy.

After that, Jobs spoke about the importance of education to Apple, leaning on its history with schools going back to the Apple II. However, he then spoke about dedicated computer labs and how the idea of moving student into a room full of computers was an outdated idea. With wireless notebooks, computers could come to the students, he said, showing off a cart full of iBooks on the screen behind him. Apple was the number one computer company in education, he said, and Apple planned on keeping that title. In fact, the iBook could be bought starting at $1,199.

Jobs then announced a huge deal with Henrico County Public Schools in Richmond Virginia, with 23,000 notebooks making it the largest portable computer order in education to that point. Every middle school student, high schooler and teacher in the district would have their own iBook G3.

Apple shared more about this in a press release:

“This is the mammoth–the single largest sale of portable computers in education ever,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Apple is thrilled to partner with Henrico County Public Schools in their revolutionary initiative because when every student and teacher has access to wirelessly-networked mobile computing, learning reaches far beyond the classroom.”

“Students, teachers, parents and the community will now have the best technology tools in the world at their fingertips every day,” said Dr. Mark Edwards, superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools. “We chose Apple’s iBook because our experience has shown that it costs significantly more to support other platforms. Apple’s iBook is the best product available to meet our instructional needs.”

When these machines were sold off by the school district four years later, all hell broke loose in Richmond.

Legacy

This new design would stay with the iBook until its demise at the Intel transition five years after this announcement, with some changes. The clear-but-painted exterior would be swapped for white plastic panels, and the nasty smell would be resolved with a keyboard revision as well.

A 14-inch version would show up as well, but neither would survive the introduction of the MacBook in 2006. While that machine is well-loved by many, the IceBook was an important step in the Mac’s shift to being a primarily mobile platform.

If you want even more Mac OS X reading, I’ve got a couple of PDFs for you:

• The “Welcome to Mac OS X” guide
• The 10.0 “Before You Install” document

Jason Snell at Macworld:

So when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mac OS X, it’s important to realize what we’re celebrating. We’re celebrating a software release that was the culmination of Steve Jobs’s return to Apple. We’re celebrating the operating system we still use, two decades later. But we’re also celebrating the foundation of iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

In that way, this isn’t just the 20th anniversary of Mac OS X 10.0. It’s the 20th anniversary of modern Apple, and the end of the dark days when Apple couldn’t fix its own operating system.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it here: Apple buying NeXT was the most important tech acquisition of all time.