Cupertino, CA — According to a source within Apple, a project team has been working on a new computer designed to woo the large market segment that has simply “had it up to here with these newfangled computers.” Well aware that New Coke nearly brought down Coca-Cola, Apple is concerned about a possible backlash from customers aching for simpler times.
Don’t expect a return to the bulbous CRT. But do expect a return to some of the more lovable features from Macintosh’s glorious past. Physically, the new machine will resemble the current iMacs, except it will sport a more diminutive 15-inch size. It’s the technology inside that reflect Apple’s desire to win back the love of its disenfranchised customers.
The 64K iMac Classic will ship with 20 Apple-branded floppy disks and SimpleSuite — a suite with a single application
The new iMac Classic will ship with a 20MB hard drive (optional upgrade to 40MB) and, instead of a CD drive, it will feature a built-in floppy. “We know that the built-in floppy drive will disappoint a number of customers, as there is a great fondness for the external floppy drive. We think that in the end they will appreciate the convenience,” says our source.
But what of the 20MB drive capacity? Even the lowly iCal currently consumes over 50MB of disk space. Just the basics, such as Mail (77MB) and Safari (45MB), would consume six iMac Classics. And never mind that pesky Mac OS X System Folder, which clocks in at 4.6 gigabytes.
“You’re not thinking ‘Classic’,” says our source, “the iMac Classic runs Mac OS 3, and features new apps that are much more single-purposed.” He offered up two intriguing examples of simpler applications designed for the iMac Classic mindset. One was QuickNote, which lets you compose notes up to three sentences long, and supports both upper- and lower-case characters. The other is MacFoghorn, which plays an amusing boat sound when you hit the space bar.
The new iMac Classic is expected to launch before the 2010 holiday shopping season.
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