IIRC Windows 98 was released 2 months after the iMac, so Apple has received a lot of credit for hardware that was probably mostly intended for Windows users. As the article mentions, it originally was supposed to be Windows 97. (USB was finicky under 98, but I never had issues with XP.)
The iMac was very much a boon for Apple though, as many older Mac users upgraded and had to buy new printers, zip drives and etc. This encouraged retailers to expand their Mac sections, which had shrunk to practically nothing, and the platform started to look viable again.
My impression that the iMac was so important for USB comes from my memory that most of the early peripherals als came in non-beige versions to be marketed for the iMac.
That’s my memory, and I was not a heavy user of windows and not at all at that point a user of the Mac OS, so it’s hardly a scientific survey.
I remember there was a time window where if you bought a new PC you got USB ports, but the Win95 OS couldn't do anything with them.
In this time and a few years that followed, your typical PC motherboard had a few USB ports but also PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports and maybe a BIOS that did not accept USB keyboards out of the box. Actually I still have one motherboard that is like that.
Windows 95 only got USB support in a series of "supplement packs" in 1997. Win98 had that out of the box, but it was still missing some things that we take for granted now, such as generic UMS drivers. It wasn't until 2K that things were generally working well, and not until XP for most consumers.
But PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports persisted for a long time. I remember it was still pretty common in late 00s, and the keyboard port specifically is still found today on some mainboards.
It's not just a compatibility thing, though. For one thing, there was the N-key rollover issue with USB keyboards for a while. For another, enterprises like to lock out USB ports to prevent use of flash drives.
Growing up I had an Acer desktop from that era that had USB ports on the motherboard, but they were covered by a breakaway metal cover. Unfortunately I think my parents tossed it a few years back before I had the chance to see if I could get them to work.
No, the early peripherals were the same stuff with a different plug. Two years later, people were copying Apple designs. But they still do that to this day and it is not 'for Apple users', just that Apple is known for great design.
There was probably a certain egotism in thinking PC users weren't buying those translucent blue printers.
> IIRC Windows 98 was released 2 months after the iMac, so Apple has received a lot of credit for hardware that was probably mostly intended for Windows users.
For some reason, a lot of the hardware intended for Windows users came in semi-translucent plastic cases.
To this day, everyone copies Apple's industrial design. So I'm not sold those Braun Iron printers were for Mac users, or just what was in fashion for the time.
The iMac was very much a boon for Apple though, as many older Mac users upgraded and had to buy new printers, zip drives and etc. This encouraged retailers to expand their Mac sections, which had shrunk to practically nothing, and the platform started to look viable again.