On April 29, 2002, Apple introduced the eMac, a desktop computer based on the iMac but with a less expensive look and technology to bring down costs for the education industry.
In the month of eMac’s launch, Steve Jobs stated, “Our school customers urged us to design a desktop computer specifically for them.” “The new eMac has a 17-inch flat CRT and a fast G4 processor, but it still has the all-in-one small shell that educators appreciate.”
The eMac has a design that is similar to the first-generation iMac, although it is white, larger in scale, and heavier than the previous G3, at 50 lb (23 kg).
eMac had a 17-inch (430 mm) flat-screen CRT monitor, a 700 or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, Nvidia GeForce2 MX graphics, and constructed 18-watt sound system.
The Apple’s device was primarily targeted for the mass market, eventually replacing the iMac G3 as the entry-level Macintosh from 2003 to 2005, while the iMac G4 was marketed as a premium option throughout the eMac line’s lifespan. While they were launched side by side, the eMac and the iMac G4 both had identical performance and features. In 2005 and 2006, the eMac was eventually replaced by the iMac G5.
The eMac was initially only available to educational institutions, with costs starting at $1,099. Apple then cut the cost to $999 and made the machine available to the general public. In July 2006, when Apple replaced the eMac with a version of the iMac G5 that could only be used in schools, it was officially put out of service.
A number of eMac devices have experienced “Raster Shift,” a bizarre occurrence in which the bottom third or half of the display turns black, with the rest of the image moving upward and out of the screen’s top limit. The problem is characterized by major static, rendering the viewable portion of the screen essentially worthless. Apple responded by offering a remedy that entailed the replacement of a video wire within the eMac’s case.
