ElDiabloConCaca
U.S.D.A. Prime
They brought with it the proliferation of USB, which, in turn, caused a surge of USB-based devices to market (external USB Zip drives, card readers, external storage devices, headsets, microphones, etc.) -- arguably, without the iMac, USB would not be where it is today. Remember when every damn piece of USB equipment on the market came in a bondi-blue color, or was offered with a matching bondi-blue accent piece meant solely to match the design of the original iMac? I sure do. It was an ugly, ugly time... but revolutionary, nonetheless.
It wasn't revolutionary in terms of hardware, but in terms of mass appeal and ease of use (remember the commercial about the PC vs. the new iMac, and the steps needed to get each on the internet? Little Billy, age 7, won that hands down -- not to mention the "There is no step 3" ad campaign).
It also used the G3 processor (not the first to use it, but the most well-known to use it) -- a relatively new RISC-based processor that was faster than Pentium counterparts clocked at higher speeds.
It also was the beginning of the end of the floppy drive (again, not the first to ditch it, but the most important to ditch it). Apple was chastised for this, but people soon saw the light that it was a dying technology. The iMac was revolutionary in helping people to understand that a floppy drive wasn't needed anymore. A new era of removable media was in: the CD-ROM, and solely the CD-ROM. The iMac wasn't the first with a CD-ROM by a long shot, but the first with only a CD-ROM.
In my opinion, the first bondi-blue iMac was, indeed, revolutionary. It redefined what people expected out of their personal computers. Not to mention it was "cute," and it could be argued that it's the first time people starting caring not only about the performance of their computers, but their aesthetics as well. In a sea of beige blocks, the iMac stood firmly out front and grabbed attention -- enough attention that some people credit it with starting the turn-around of Apple at the time.
Revolutionary doesn't have to mean "futuristic" or "uses some exotic material" or "operates in a way unbeknownst to mankind before this time." (Quotes are mine for emphasis -- not implying you said any of that)
Then let's agree to disagree since we can't find much common ground to debate upon, yes?
Perhaps we can end this with a handshake, pat on the back, and a simple gentlemen's bet: you say "Apple netbook" before the end of the year, and I say "no Apple netbook" before the end of the year. Deal?
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