OS Opinion on the legacy of the original iMac:
The iMac’s influence persists in a variety of consumer products that sport the computer’s groundbreaking translucent hues. Its impact “still blows me away,” says Bryan Chaffin, editor of The Mac Observer. Non-computer products influenced by its look include such items as hair curlers and George Foreman grills. “It changed a lot of different things — the industrial design was copied everywhere,” Chaffin told NewsFactor. The iMac also achieved a first in computing history, according to TidBITS publisher Adam Engst. “It was notable because it marked the first time in the mass market when design became paramount with computers,” he told NewsFactor. The iMac “changed the sphere of discussion,” Engst explained. People stopped worrying about processor speed or disk size and began thinking about what color they wanted.
The article also points out that the introduction of the iMac helped save the USB standard, which up until that point had been having trouble.
